At $39, the Nord Buds are easily the most affordable true wireless earphones we've seen from OnePlus yet. They're also stylish, comfortable, and feature larger-than-average titanium drivers that produce solid audio. That said, you really shouldn't consider buying them unless you own a OnePlus handset, because the user experience is heavily dependent on the phone's software. If you have a OnePlus phone, the NordBuds are definitely worth check out. For everyone else, we recommend the $35.99 Tribit Flybuds 3 thanks to their powerful audio performance, fully waterproof design, and excellent battery life, bundled with a carrying case that can even charge your other mobile devices.
Big Drivers
Available in black or white, the Nord Buds look like high-end earphones, blending matte and glossy surface materials in a stem-style design. The matte surfaces of the stems makes them particularly easy to grip, and the earpieces fit snugly. You get three pairs of silicone eartips in the box to help you find an ideal fit.
Inside the earpieces, 12.4mm titanium drivers deliver a frequency range of 20Hz to 20kHz. These drivers are larger than usual and make for strong audio performance. The Buds are compatible with Bluetooth 5.2 and support the AAC and SBC codecs, but not AptX. This is a bit strange, as AAC is the native codec on iOS devices, but doesn't work nearly as well on Android devices, including those from OnePlus.
You control the earbuds via circular capacitive touch areas on the outside of their stems. The controls are the same on each side: tap once to control playback, twice to move to the next track, or three times to go to the previous one. You tap twice to answer incoming calls or hold down on either earbud to reject them. The controls work well and you can adjust them in the app, but you can't configure each earpiece independently. This means that whenever you add a function, you must get rid of an existing one, which is disappointing.
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The Nord Buds carry a respectable IP55 water-resistance rating, which means they can withstand light splashes from all directions and resist most dust ingress. Light rain and sweaty workouts shouldn't pose a problem, but we still don't recommend that you submerge the earpieces or place them under a running faucet for cleaning. The rating also doesn’t apply to the charging case, so be sure to fully dry the earpieces before you dock them. For comparison, the Tribit Flybuds 3 boast an IPX7 rating, meaning they are completely waterproof (so a putting them under a faucet isn't an issue) but don't have a dust-resistance rating. Nonetheless, both are solid earbuds for runners.
The included charging case is somewhat large, but its flip-top lid is easy to operate and we like that its matte design matches the earpieces. A USB-C port sits on the back for charging (the box includes a snazzy red-and-white USB-C-to-USB-A charging cable), alongside a pairing button.
OnePlus estimates that the Nord Buds can last roughly seven hours per charge and that the case holds an additional 23 hours of battery life. Both estimates are solid, though your results will vary based on your volume levels.
The app experience depends on what kind of phone you own. If you use a OnePlus 6 (or a newer model like the Nord N20), the OnePlus Buds app unlocks features such as an EQ and fast pairing. If you use an Android phone that isn't from OnePlus, you need to use the HeyMelody app for OnePlus and Oppo earphones, which gives you access to an EQ and other features.
iOS users can also download the HeyMelody app, but the experience is inferior on Apple's mobile platform. For instance, you don't get access to an EQ.
Sculpted, But Balanced Audio
On tracks with intense sub-bass content, like The Knife’s “Silent Shout,” the Nord Buds offer a booming low-frequency response. The drivers don't distort at top volume levels, and the lows still sound robust at more moderate ones. The Buds appropriately sculpts the highs to provide balance.
Bill Callahan’s “Drover,” a track with far less deep bass in the mix, better reveals the sound signature. The drums on this track sound almost thunderous, but don't quite go overboard. The drivers draw out the bright attack of the acoustic strums and the percussive hits as much as they pump out low-frequency thumps. Purists won't like this treatment, but if you enjoy robust bass depth and crisp highs, this sculpted sonic approach should be appealing.
On Jay-Z and Kanye West’s “No Church in the Wild,” the kick drum loop receives a pleasant balance of high-mid presence and low-frequency boosting, thus allowing the loop’s attack to retain its punchiness and thump. The vinyl crackle and hiss that typically stay in the background step forward in the mix here, and the sub-bass synth hits that punctuate the beat come across with laudable power.
Orchestral tracks, like the opening scene from John Adams’ The Gospel According to the Other Mary, sound bright and bass-boosted. Again, the Buds won't satisfy purists, but they can still present a relatively balanced, exciting soundscape. The lower-register instrumentation gets some added body, but the spotlight remains on the higher-register brass, strings, and vocals.
The mic array works well, and we had no issues understanding every word in a test recording from an iPhone. The mic signal seems strong, and we didn't notice any Bluetooth audio artifacts either. Therefore, you shouldn't have any issues with call clarity.
Affordable Buds for OnePlus Users
The OnePlus Nord Buds get the major things correct—they sound good, fit well, look stylish, and offer a solid water-resistance rating for just $39. But they're an admittedly niche offering, designed to work best with OnePlus phones. There's enough compatibility to recommend them to other Android device users as well, but iPhone owners should certainly look elsewhere. Below $50, we're also fans of the aforementioned Tribit Flybuds 3, as well as the gym-friendly JLab Go Air ($29.99), though neither sounds as strong as the Nord Buds. If you're willing to spend more, Anker's $79.99 Soundcore Life P3 earphones bring surprisingly good active noise cancellation to the mix in addition to strong, adjustable audio quality.
The true wireless Nord Buds look and sound great for just $39, but you really need to pair them with a OnePlus phone to unlock their full potential.
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