OnePlus Nord Buds 4 review: Almost a Pro

OnePlus has been busy. Despite rumours doing the rounds that the company may be secretly planning to exit key global markets, OnePlus, at least in India, is showing no signs of slowing down. Hot on the heels of launching the Nord Buds 4 Pro, OnePlus has launched an even more affordable version called the Nord Buds 4, giving more people access to premium wireless audio without breaking a bank.

At Rs 3,299, it seems that OnePlus has managed to bring almost everything from the Nord Buds 4 Pro into the Nord Buds 4 but at a lower price. Not unless you go about pixel-peeping into the details, you’d be hard-pressed to tell a difference. That is the Nord Buds 4’s core USP which is to say that they have every ingredient in the book to make for a high-value proposition. Read on to find more.

OnePlus Nord Buds 4 design and fit

When you first hold the Nord Buds 4 case, you will find some similarities to the Pro. Gone is the elliptical case of the Nord Buds 3. Instead, you get a more squared off design, though the top and bottom are slightly more curved than the Nord Buds 4 Pro.

This makes the OnePlus Nord Buds 4 quite easy to hold, and they can fit seamlessly inside your pocket. The matte finish also keeps it less prone to fingerprints. Though we noticed that the case can get scratches if you are not careful. The Astral Teal shade we have comes with spot-like patterns that add a bit of character to the otherwise simple design. Though it is made of plastic.

The OnePlus branding is printed at the centre — the Nord Buds 4 Pro has the branding embossed. You get the USB-C port and pairing button at the bottom.

Coming to the earbuds themselves, they follow the same long stem design that we have become used to with OnePlus and Oppo earbuds. The earbuds weigh 4.3 grams each, and feel quite comfortable to use even during long sessions. As you would expect, you get different-sized eartips in the box.

There is also an IP55 rating for dust and splash resistance – enough for sweat or light rain.

OnePlus Nord Buds 4 sound

The Nord Buds 4 get titanium-coated 12mm drivers, the same as the Pro. The OnePlus Nord Buds 4 deliver a decent sound experience. During my time with the earbuds, I found that on most occasions, you get good clarity, the vocals come out decent, and the mids are fine too.

While listening to Tame Impala’s Dracula, I noticed that you get deep bass, but the vocals don’t feel muted either. However, overall, the bass tuning seemed to be slightly on the higher side when compared to the Buds 4 Pro – for example, while listening to Ariana Grande’s Hate That I Made You Love Me. The difference is marginal though.

That is to say, that the Nord Buds 4, for the most part, give you a balanced audio experience. And you get different sound modes with the Nord Buds 4 depending on what you prefer. You can switch between Balanced, Serenade – more focus on lows and mids, and Bass. During Lana Del Rey’s Diet Mountain Dew, I switched between different modes and there was a significant difference in how the earbuds manage the output.

You also get a new BassWave option to further boost bass, as well as an option for a custom equaliser. All of this can be managed via the HeyMelody app – or via settings if you use a OnePlus, Oppo, or Realme device.

But there is a catch. The Nord Buds 4 do not get LHDC Hi-Res audio support. While this may not be a dealbreaker for casual listeners, if you are an audiophile, you will miss out on Hi-Res music on these earbuds. For context, the Realme Buds Air 7 get LHDC 5.0 support. There is spatial audio support though, allowing you to get a truly immersive experience if you have the right audio to play.

While we are discussing audio quality, do note that the earbuds get 6 microphones now – 3 each for each earbud. This allows for a clear call experience, and the call quality is decent.

OnePlus Nord Buds 4 ANC

For anyone who uses TWS nowadays, Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) has become increasingly important. And OnePlus has improved the ANC with the Nord Buds 4 – up from 32db in Nord Buds 3 to up to 52db this time around.

I noticed that the Nord Buds 4 were quite good when it came to reducing external noise – think ambient sounds, the humming of AC. What I particularly liked was that the earbuds do manage to isolate you to some extent even outdoors as far as budget TWS earbuds go.

Indoors, the Nord Buds 4 also manage to reduce the noise of conversations around you. While not as good as the Pro buds, these do an impressive job overall.

There is also a transparency mode, which helps to keep you in tune with your surroundings. And it does a decent job as well. The in-ear detection on the Nord Buds 4 works well.

OnePlus Nord Buds 4 battery life and everything else

The Nord Buds 4 come with a 62mAh battery for each earbud, with the case having a 530mAh cell. This is identical to the Nord Buds 4 Pro, and this ensures that the earbuds never give you battery anxiety.

OnePlus claims that you can get up to 54 hours of playback with the case, and up to 14 hours without it. I found that the Nord Buds 4 easily lasted me a week, with around 3-4 hours of listening on a single charge. Keep in mind that I had ANC on the entire time.

When it comes to charging, the Nord Buds 4 can give you up to 11 hours of playback in 10 minutes, with a full charge in 80 minutes. Once when I was in a hurry, I charged the earbuds for just about 5 minutes, and got a 10 per cent top up – which was enough for my outing that day.

Now, let’s discuss what else you get with the OnePlus Nord Buds 4. The earbuds come with Google Fast Pair and Microsoft Swift Pair support – allowing for quick connections. And the earbuds can connect to two devices at a time – something we expect at this price.

You also get AI translation features and an AI assistant that you can trigger via shortcuts. Speaking about shortcuts, the OnePlus Nord Buds 4 come with a bunch of tap-based shortcuts – single tap, double tap, and the works. But there is no swipe up/down to control the volume.

Apart from that, there is a 47ms low latency game mode. In case you like to play something like BGMI or COD Mobile, this comes in particularly handy – lower latency means that the audio is better synced with the game as you play.

OnePlus Nord Buds 4 verdict

So, after covering everything about the OnePlus Nord Buds 4, it is clear that the earbuds get a lot right. The ANC is quite good, the audio experience is decent, and you get long battery life. There are some quirks, as you’d expect in any device – lack of LHDC, no swipe controls.

But for a casual listener, you don’t really miss out on much when compared to the Nord Buds 4 Pro. This makes the OnePlus Nord Buds 4 a solid pick for Rs 3,299.