Oneplus Buds Z2 Review: Solid Anc Earbuds for Cheap

The OnePlus Buds Z2 may easily be some of the best value true wireless earbuds right now. For their affordable price of $99 the Buds Z2 offer solid ANC, good sound for casual listening with punchy bass, good build quality, and even water resistance.

So if you're on a budget and want something cheaper than the OnePlus Buds Pro, AirPods or Galaxy Buds, these are definitely worth your consideration. The OnePlus Buds Z2 are available starting today, in many regions worldwide, including the US, Canada and Europe, in two colors – Obsidian Black and Pearl White.

OnePlus Buds Z2

Design

The Buds Z2 come in a familiar (at least to OnePlus fans) red and white box with a hang tab. Despite having its own OnePlus identity visually, the box opens up in an Apple-esque way by its bottom sliding out as you're holding its sides.

Inside awaits the glossy, pill-shaped OnePlus Buds Z2 charging case. And under it, rather hidden, is another box containing a red and white USB-A to USB Type-C charging case, as well as two extra pairs of rubber eartips, should you need larger or smaller ones than the default.

But back to the Buds Z2 charging case. It has an LED light in the front (or "Indicator Lamp" as the manual calls it), a USB Type-C charging port in the back, and next to it - a Bluetooth pairing button.

While the Buds Z2 case isn't as thin as an AirPods case, it is still small, portable and pocketable. It's not a heavy charging case either, even though the 520mAh battery inside is bigger than the battery inside the AirPods 3 and Galaxy Buds 2 cases.

The case's lid feels nice and sturdy, and opening it reveals the earbuds themselves. The case's inner plastic is matte and rather cheap-feeling, but at least it has markings to guide you which earbud is left and which is right.

As for the earbuds themselves, their design is pretty familiar too – straight stems (not curved like AirPods 3), rubber eartips, glossy plastic built, also with glossy touch-sensitive disks on the sides. And that's very subjective, but I think they look pretty good in the ear.

Before we move on, it's also noteworthy that both the Buds Z2 case and earbuds have a water resistant rating. The charging case is IPX4 splash-resistant, while the earbuds are IP55-rated, meaning they should be fine if they get wet, and are definitely okay for heavy use at the gym.

Fit and comfort

Thanks to their rubber eartips the Buds Z2 fit nice and snug in the ear, with no indication of them being loose or any chance of them flying off even during vigorous exercise.

The earbuds are light, so there's no uncomfortable feeling after wearing them for a while. What is a bit uncomfortable (for me at least) is the ANC, which we'll get to, that kicks in immediately and sounds like faint wind noise, plus makes me feel slight pressure in my ears.