I finally found a pair of earbuds that drown out my noisy commute (and they’re $99)

The OnePlus Buds 4 sit below the Pro model in name, but they borrow some of its best features and pack them into a more affordable price tag. With a handful of upgrades over their predecessor, the OnePlus Buds 4 feature a new dual DAC system, larger dual drivers, LHDC 5.0 and the same audio quality I’ve come to expect from the brand. 

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There’s not much to fault OnePlus Buds 4 apart from one annoyance that keeps coming back daily — but I’d happily put up with it for the top-notch ANC performance. I’ve been using them for the past 10 days, and here’s why I’m not putting them down any time soon.

Form factor tradeoffs

In terms of design, OnePlus Buds 4 are a mix of Nord Buds 3 Pro and Buds 3 Pro. They live in a shell case, which has a metal feel and matte finish. It doesn’t have a grippy, leather-like textured finish from the Buds 3 Pro, which makes it slippery. In fact, I’ve accidentally dropped it twice in my 10-day usage, and have had to consciously be more careful taking it out of my pocket.

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The earbuds themselves are light and comfortable to wear. OnePlus has flattened the stem, a design element taken from the Nord Buds lineup, which makes them feel bulkier than before. However, it doesn’t impact the wearability. I’ve worn them for long durations without any issue. They fit me well and don’t fall off easily. I’ve worn them on a run, in flight, on commutes and while walking around the busy streets of New York. They haven’t fallen out of my ears accidentally even once. 

My aforementioned major annoyance stems from this updated stem design. The earbuds’ control touch-sensitive area is placed on the outer part of their stem, so whenever I try to change volume or do anything with the swipe gestures, I have to fiddle with the fit. 

To keep them in place, I need to hold them with my thumb and middle finger while swiping with my index finger on the buds. It is less intuitive than side controls, where I only use my thumb and index finger. Most people will get used to it over time, but it’s something that has consistently bothered me.

The OnePlus Buds 4 offer a full suite of controls, without needing to pick from volume adjustment, playback control, smart assistant, ANC on/off and more. Like the OnePlus Buds Pro 3, you get all of them simultaneously, thanks to support for multiple tap and swipe gestures. The Buds 4 are rated IP55 for dust and water resistance, so sweat or drizzle won’t be a problem. 

It’s all about that bass

If you enjoy bass-forward audio, you’ll like the OnePlus Buds 4. They feature dual drivers with 11mm woofers and a 6mm tweeter for high frequencies. They also add a dual DAC system to power each driver individually. You get support for SBC, AAC, and LHDC 5.0 over Bluetooth 5.4.

By default, the OnePlus Buds 4 are tuned to be bass-heavy. The lower frequencies are boosted, while the highs are no longer piercingly high (an improvement over the Buds 3). The mids are pleasant but the lower mids can sound muddy due to boosted low frequencies. I miss the brilliance in high frequencies from the Buds 3 Pro but I’d take this over Buds 3’s sharp highs.

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You can tune the OnePlus Buds 4 to your liking through the HeyMelody app for iOS and Android. You can boost bass even further, turn on Game Mode for reduced latency, activate OnePlus 3D Audio for a spatial listening experience (without head tracking), and change controls. 

The app also has a Golden Sound feature, which produces a custom audio curve based on conducting a hearing test. It takes a couple of minutes to complete and it’s a fun feature to try but I’d rely on custom tuning through Master EQ. 

The ANC competes with rivals

The OnePlus Buds 4 claim to reduce noise up to 55dB and cover 5500MHz frequency range, which is better than the Buds Pro 3. You can adjust the ANC level from Low, Moderate, and High options, but I left it on Auto to let the earbuds determine levels. It works very well, definitely on par with their more expensive flagship sibling, muffling street noise as well as the plane engine on a recent flight. 

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The transparency mode is also quite good. When activated, I could hear my surroundings quite clearly with the buds sitting in my ears. There’s a new adaptive mode that toggles ANC or transparency mode based on ambient sound. I found it didn’t quite work as well as it’s supposed to, and prefer having manual control over the ANC. 

ZDNET’s buying advice

The OnePlus Buds 4 are priced at $129 but available for $99 on Amazon right now. If you are looking for a pair of earbuds for active noise cancelation for around $100, they’re a great choice. They feature flagship-level ANC and transparency performance, paired with bass-heavy sound, a plethora of features, and a comfortable-to-wear design. 

These are ultimately earbuds made for people who want to drown out their daily commute and street noise.