When I was in New York last week, I took the subway to travel from Brooklyn to Manhattan. The week before that, I was in London and used the Tube to get around the city. Back in Delhi, where I am based, I travel by Delhi Metro, auto, or local bus. Public transportation is a part of my everyday life.
While I can drive a car, I prefer the anxiety-free experience that public transport offers and I am glad I am not in the driver’s seat in a city like Delhi. It allows me to explore the city through my own eyes and find time to read a book with my earbuds plugged in. However, as a city boy, I can’t completely escape the hustle and bustle and one device that’s been traveling with me everywhere (including long-haul flights) is the OnePlus Buds 4.
They have quite literally saved me from loud conversations on the Delhi Metro, noisy roads of New York, and the constant chatter in Indian restaurants in London. It’s the one device I have found most helpful during my travels over the past few days, thanks to its suppressive active noise cancellation, lightweight fit, and superb sound quality, all for Rs 5,999.
What: OnePlus Buds 4| Price: Rs 5,999
A familiar fit
The Buds 4 themselves have an AirPods Pro-like feel to them. While they are made of plastic, they have a premium look. The Buds come in two colours: Storm Grey and Zen Green. I received the latter for review, and they look especially sleek in the summer, particularly the case. The charging case has a pebble-like shape, measuring 6.54 × 5.24 × 2.53 cm and weighing 39.5 grams. One often overlooked but impressive feature of the case is its strong magnetic connection. The magnets are incredibly powerful, keeping the earbuds securely locked into the charging dock, so how hard you shake it, the connection remains intact and charging continues. The buds come with an IP55 rating, meaning they can withstand splashes and bursts of water, making them well-suited for the monsoon season. Having an IP rating gives more confidence to wear them in rain, or if you are sweaty as I am during running in the morning.
Take one out and the music pauses and resumes when you put it back in your ear. (Image credit: Anuj Bhatia/Indian Express)
The Buds 4 have a familiar fit, similar to the Buds 3 Pro. They are also quite comfortable. They sit securely in my ears. I never felt them slipping during any of my runs, and they passed my head shake test with no movement.
I am not a huge fan of touch controls on earbuds. I prefer physical buttons instead. That being said, I know a lot of people like touch controls for some reason. Anyway, the touch controls on the Buds 4 were responsive and unobtrusive. They use ‘squeezy’ stems for playback controls and allow you to adjust the volume by brushing your finger up or down the stem.
All-around better sound and impressive active noise canceling
Typically, true wireless earbuds in this price segment fail to excite me. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the Buds 4. While they don’t come close to the AirPods Pro 2 or the Sony WF-1000XM5, the Buds 4 definitely hold their ground. They offer a rounded sound, not flat, as many earbuds in this price range tend to be. The Buds 4 sound full, rich, and generally well-balanced, thanks to a new coaxial dual-driver system: essentially, a large 11mm woofer for the rumbly lows and a separate 6mm tweeter for the highs.
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They stay in place even when shaking my head. (Image credit: Anuj Bhatia/Indian Express)
Listening to Coldplay’s Viva La Vida, I could clearly hear the instruments; the vocals were clear and moving, and the overall sound carried a nostalgic hue without compromising cohesiveness. The Buds 4 were equally impressive while playing Kanye West’s Flashing Lights, a complicated track, yet I didn’t notice any major distortion or blowouts. Clarity can suffer slightly at higher volumes, though. While the bass isn’t the most powerful, it holds up well. As I listened to French Montana’s Unforgettable, the earbuds delivered clear bass and maintained detail and clarity as the track grew in complexity.
The Buds 4 have shorter stalks and a better fit. (Image credit: Anuj Bhatia/Indian Express)
There’s also a spatial audio feature supported on the Buds 4. Simply put, spatial audio creates a surround-sound listening experience, making it feel like the music is coming at you from all angles, much like in a high-quality movie theater or concert hall. It’s not particularly great for music, but it works well for movies.
These buds also support streaming high-resolution audio via the Hi-Res Audio Wireless standard, using the LHDC 5.0 Bluetooth codec, and offer a sampling rate of 192kHz. However, the high-res audio feature doesn’t work on the iPhone 16 Pro, which is my primary device at the moment. The feature is supported on premium Android smartphones, though.
Matching the upgraded sound quality is the noise cancellation. As someone who commutes via public transport on a weekly, sometimes daily basis, having earbuds with a decent level of active noise cancellation (ANC) is a must. In fact, while listening to music on New York’s subway, I was able to completely drown out the ambient noise and immerse myself so deeply that I missed my stop. There’s no noticeable degradation in sound quality or noise cancellation performance, exactly what you want from a pair of daily driver earbuds.
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They work great in offices, cafés, and open public spaces too. The transparency mode does its job well, especially in an open-plan office. These types of offices can get quite loud by noon, when more people arrive and everyone’s on calls or chatting. That’s when the Buds 4’s transparency mode comes to the rescue as it adjusts the level automatically based on the surrounding noise conditions.
The Buds 4 sound incredibly clear, especially when on calls or when listening to podcasts or audiobooks, something I do a lot while travelling. Battery life is outstanding, too. They have a battery life of up to 11 hours with ANC turned off. The case itself holds quite a bit of charge, offering up to 45 hours of listening time, which drops to 24 hours with ANC enabled.
Should you buy the OnePlus Buds 4?
The Buds 4 are fun to use and quite likable. They are lightweight and compact, yet they don’t skimp on features or performance. They feel like a cross between premium and budget wireless earbuds.