OnePlus launched the OnePlus Nord Buds 4 Pro, the company’s latest Nord series earbuds, earlier this week as the successor to Buds 3 Pro, which was launched in 2024. The new Nord Buds 4 Pro brings features such as 55 dB ANC and LHDC 5.0 and promises up to 54 h total playback on a single charge.
So, are these the best true wireless earbuds with ANC and Hi-res audio under Rs. 4,000? Let us dive into the review to find out.
Box contents
- OnePlus Nord Buds 4 Pro earbuds in Raven Black colour
- OnePlus Nord Buds 4 Pro charging case
- User guide
- Silicon ear tips (S and L, M pre-installed)
- Safety and Warranty card
- USB Type-C charging cable
Design and Build Quality
Starting with the design, the headset comes in a slightly squarish charging case compared to a pebble-shaped case, and it is compact. The size has been reduced by more than 10% compared to previous models, says OnePlus. It has a matte finish, so it doesn’t attract fingerprints easily.
You can see the OnePlus logo, and there is an LED on the front. The charging case weighs 43 grams. There is a tiny LED indicator on the front that glows in white, green, and red colours. Opening the case, you can see the slots for left and right earbuds with the markings. It has strong magnets to secure the buds in its place.
The USB Type-C port is present in the back, along with the setup button.
The headset has a plastic build with a matte finish, so it doesn’t attract fingerprints easily, unlike the predecessor, which had a glossy finish in some parts. There are three microphones on each headset: the front, the back, and the bottom.
This uses touch controls, same as the old Nord series buds, instead of squeeze or press controls in the Buds Pro models, but the company had added slide volume controls finally.
The earbuds weigh about 4.4 grams and feature an in-ear design. The earbuds come with medium-sized ear tips pre-installed, but you can change to bundled large or small-sized ear tips if you wish. There is an optical sensor for wear detection so that it can automatically pause the audio when you remove it from your ears and play when you put it back.
Overall, the headset has good build quality, is compact, and fits your ears perfectly so that they don’t fall off your ears easily, even during outdoor activities like running or cycling. The earphones have IP55 ratings for dust and water resistance, so they can withstand splashes or light rain, but you can’t use them when swimming. There are no IP ratings for the case.
Connectivity, Pairing, and Controls
The OnePlus Buds 4 supports Bluetooth 6.0 with LHDC 5.0 Hi-Res audio codec for HD sound quality on supported devices, offering a transmission rate of up to 1Mbps, and supports the AAC codec that works in phones that have it.
The pairing process is very easy for OnePlus devices. Just enable Bluetooth on the OnePlus phone, open the charging case of the buds, place the charging case close to the phone, and follow the prompts. To connect to a non-OnePlus phone or other Bluetooth device, place the Nord Buds 4 Pro into the charging case with the cover opened. Press and hold the setup button in the case for 2 seconds to enter Bluetooth settings. Then, select OnePlus Nord Buds 4 Pro.
There is a fast pair option that works on the latest Android phones. We tested it on the Nothing Phone 4a, POCO X8 Pro, and the MacBook Pro and never faced any pairing or disconnection issues. It also comes with Microsoft Swift Pair. Since the phone pairs with the case and not the headset, you will need the case if you want to reconnect it or even turn on the headset if it’s disconnected from the phone.
You can enable the dual connection option that lets you connect to two devices at the same time and switch the audio playback between them.
| Function | Left earphone (L) | Right earphone (R) |
| Play / Pause | Single tap | |
| Play next track or Answer call / Hang calls | Double Tap | |
| Play previous track | Triple Tap | |
| Volume control | Swipe to increase or decrease | |
| Enable noise cancellation or switch between noise cancellation modes | Press and hold for 1s | |
| Switch the device / Reject calls | Press and Hold for 3s | |
You can customize the controls from the settings if you have a OnePlus, OPPO or realme phones. Other use the Hey Melody app on Android and iOS.
You can’t edit a single press for play/pause but can change a double-press for the next track to the previous track or to launch the voice assistant for either the left or right or both earbuds. The triple tap function can also be customized. You can slide to control the volume, which comes in handy. This can also be customized to switch track.
You can also customize the controls with Spotify Tap and even tap a bud to start their chosen AI assistant. You can also choose at least two from noise cancellation, transparency, and noise cancellation off when you press and hold either earbud. The autoplay / pause option when you remove the earbud can be disabled. The Zen mode option has been replaced by sound that can play ambient sound to help you sleep or stay calm.
The Earbuds fit test option plays music to ensure that your ear tips make a good seal with your ear canal for better noise-cancelling. For OnePlus phones running OxygenOS 15.0.1 or later, there is AI Translation that can translate between languages such as English, Hindi, Spanish and French. Meanwhile, users of the HeyMelody app on any phone can also use their OnePlus Nord Buds 4 Pro to record sound and translate it with the upcoming update, said the company.
Audio Quality
The OnePlus Nord Buds 4 Pro pack a 12mm titanized dynamic driver, similar to the predecessor. Audio from the earbuds is very loud and crisp, and as usual, the bass is on the higher side even without enabling the BassWave option, which further enhances the bass.
The BassWave Enhancement algorithm lets you boost the bass, and you can choose the strength manually. It features three equalizers—Balanced (default), Serenade, and Bass—so that every song can be heard how it should. You can also create a custom EQ. There is OnePlus 3D audio, which uses software to create spatial sound.
LHDC 5.0 worked with the POCO X8 Pro Max, and Nothing Phone 4a. The audio quality is crisp with clear vocals and a good amount of bass. Highs are good, and the mid-range is average.
Noise Cancellation and Call Performance
Regarding the noise cancellation, the Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) blocks the ambient sound, which helps in most cases. You can feel the difference when you are listening outdoors. For the price, it does a good job. It has received TÜV Rheinland high-performance noise cancellation certification, said the company.
Compared to 49dB ANC in Nord Buds 3 Pro, this offers 55dB ANC, and it has a wide 5000Hz frequency range. There are high, moderate, and mild modes. This doesn’t use hybrid noise cancellation, so you will need to set it to high, and it will adjust it in real time accordingly.
This also has Transparency mode that allows you to listen to ambient sound so that you can recognize the surrounding situation and any potential risks. It can turn on the transparency mode automatically when you remove a single earbud.
The low latency is 47ms. This is useful when gaming. The new gaming-specific spatial audio mode tuned for BGMI, Free Fire, and Call of Duty helps you hear gunshots and footsteps clearer and earlier, says the company.
Coming to the call noise cancellation, it uses an AI-powered noise reduction algorithm and three ENC microphones to cut external noise. This does a good job in cutting down wind and traffic noise. During my use outdoors, wind noise was completely cut out to the receiver, but the traffic noise was faintly audible. OnePlus says that it can block winds of up to 25 kilometers per hour.
Battery Life
The earphones pack a 62mAh battery that promises about 13 hours of standalone battery life and 7 hours with noise cancellation enabled. During my use of LDHC with noise cancellation on and off, I got about 8 hours of battery life at about 60% volume, so it is good. For calls, it lasts for less than 5 hours since it uses call noise cancellation tech.
With the 530mAh charging case, it promises up to 54 hours of total battery life without ANC and 26 hours of total battery life with noise cancellation enabled with LDHC. The green light in the case indicates that the battery is high, and it turns red when it is low. You can also see the charge left in the case in the HeyMelody app when the earbuds are placed in the case.
Charging the case fully with the earbuds takes about an hour. It also has fast charge, so that you get 13 hours (charging case + earbuds combined) of playback with 10 minutes of charging with ANC off.
Conclusion
The OnePlus Nord Buds 4 Pro prove to be a highly competitive and feature-packed option in the sub-Rs. 4,000 TWS market. By bringing premium upgrades like 55dB ANC, Bluetooth 6.0, LHDC 5.0 Hi-Res audio, and the much-requested slide volume controls to a budget-friendly price point, OnePlus has delivered a worthy successor to the Buds 3 Pro.
While the mid-range audio frequencies are average, the punchy bass, stellar 54-hour battery life, and comfortable IP55-rated build make them a fantastic everyday choice for bass lovers, commuters, and mobile gamers.
Priced at Rs. 3,999, the Nord Buds 4 Pro will be available from Amazon.in, Flipkart.in, OnePlus.in, OnePlus Store App, Myntra, Blinkit, OnePlus stores, and select offline partner stores starting from March 23rd. For a limited period it will be available for Rs. 3,799 as a part of launch offer.
Pros
- Good audio quality, LHDC 5.0 support
- Good call quality with call noise cancellation
- Up to 55dB ANC is good
- Compact, matte-finish design, IP55 ratings
- Slide volume controls
- IP55 ratings for the headset
- Excellent battery life with fast charging
Cons
- Average Mids
- No hybrid ANC