OnePlus Buds vs OnePlus Buds Z – Which is Best? 2023

OnePlus Buds vs OnePlus Buds Z | Which is Best or Better Comparison – Sometimes before buying a similar product, that has a similar features creates a lot of confusion. Because of that there’s a need of clear cut and details comparison.

The compare of OnePlus Buds vs OnePlus Buds Z will mainly focus on Sound Quality, Battery, Latency, Call Quality, Comfort & Fit, Design & Build, Connectivity, Price etc.

OnePlus Buds vs Buds Z Specifications Comparison

What’s In The Box?

In the box you will get pair of earbuds, a charging case, a user guide, Silicone ear-tips-S, M, L(Only For Z Edition), Safety and Warranty card and a USB Type-C charging cable.

Price:

Let’s get started with the price of both the earphones, the OnePlus Buds is price in India at ₹ 4,699 while the OnePlus Buds Z is price at ₹ 2,799 and Steven Harrington Special Edition is price at ₹ 3,699 as per the official website. However on the other online shopping portal like Amazon or Flipkart the price may get a bit different due to sales or deals.

Design & Build:

Starting with the material and the quality of both the earphones, the Buds have an overall plastic build while the Buds Z have Silicon Ear-tips with a plastic body. Even the case are also have a Plastic materials on it. But the quality of the build on the earphones are good and no cheap feeling on it.

The case of both the earphones have a different design as well as the earbuds itself. The OnePlus Buds have a half in-ear design while the other Z have a in-ear design. The Z have a silicon Ear-tips because of this there might be a bit difference when it come to sound isolation while the Buds doesn’t have any Silicon Ear-tips.

Both the size of the case are small it can easily fit in any pockets without any problem. Both of them have a touch control but the Z has more area however they do work really good and fine.

Both of the Earphones also a features called wear detection. In which if you pulled out one of the earbuds from the ear it will stop playing depending on what your playing. But this features is more accurate and fast in the OnePlus Buds than the Z.

In terms of IPX ratings the Z has offer more reliability because it features IP55 while the Buds offer only IPX4. Which means you do not need to worry about the sweat or any splashes of water. However this features is only applicable with the buds not with the case.

Comfort & Fit:

Both the wireless earphones doesn’t have the same comfort and fit. The comfort and fit might be different as per individual likes and dislike.

Indeed both the earphones can be use for Gym, Running, Exercise etc. and there’s no need to worry about the fit, both have the ability to stay put on ears even if there’s an heavy usage.

However as far as the comfort is concern the Z has more comfort the reason is that because of Silicon Ear-tips, which are soft and can also be change according to one needs and fit.

Because of that even listening for a long time there won’t much be problem. While the Buds doesn’t have any Silicon Tips.

Call & Mic Quality:

It is worth to know that both the wireless earphones doesn’t have any Active Noise Cancellation they only have only Environmental Noise Isolation Features.

But the OnePlus Buds equipped three microphone for better quality and better experience when making calls or using as voice recording, onthe other hand the Buds Z has only two microphone. In fact the earbuds can also be use as mono as well.

During making call in the quiet environment the call or mic has the same quality the between this two earphones both provide a good and clear quality.

However when it come to noisy environment the Buds provide more clarity even if the background noise present. While the Buds Z sound more a bit low and the sound doesn’t that much clear.

Controls:

By double tapping on the Earbuds you can Next Track, Previous Track, Wake Up Voice Assistant(Depending Upon The Device Your Using), Play/Pause Music. For Switching the device you need to Press for at least 3 seconds. For rejecting calls you need to press the touch area for 5 seconds.

If you want to do a Factory Reset, firstly you need to put the buds on the case without closing the case and after that hold or press the setup button for 10 seconds and wait until the red flashes popup and then release.

If you’re using OnePlus Phone starting from OnePlus6 to Nord you can customize the double according to your like. To customize you need to go to Settings > Bluetooth & Device Connection > Bluetooth > OnePlus Buds’ Settings Icon > Double Click On Left/Right Earbud.

Latency:

Both earphones give a minimum latency of 103ms. This is only applicable if OnePlus 6, 6T, 7, 7 Pro, 7T, 7T Pro, 8, 8 Pro, Nord is available and turn on Fnatic Mode. There is therefore a possibility that different latencies will be induced depending on the games.

The latency in other device is high and is not the best option if you use a non OnePlus Handset. But due to the clearer sound and clarity, the Z is a little better compare to OnePlus Buds.

Connectivity:

Both the Earphones has a support of features called Fast Pair. But the phone must use atleast Android 6.0 Marshmallow and above or with Google Play service 11.7+.

Both the Earphones has Bluetooth version of 5.0 with a codecs support of SBC and AAC, unfortunately there’s no any support of aptX. Which means the highest resolution is AAC Codes in both the Earbuds.

Even though they are compatible with all the Bluetooth devices. But to get the best experience of it there’s a need OnePlus Buds and OnePlus phones. In fact it provide the longest Bluetooth distance is 10m between Earphones and the Bluetooth device.

The connection between both the devices are strong and reliable and even the latency or voice synchronisation while watching videos are also great. There’s no any lag or delay.

However, sometimes because of electromagnetic interference there’s a chance of breaking in connection. Also when turning on the device screen there is a transmits the Bluetooth sound signal. With that reason there might be delay can occur between the audio and the video signals. In short, the sound may not synchronized with the picture.

Battery Performance:

The actual output battery life of both the earbuds may be different because of the environmental interference, features of the product, usage or volume of the wireless earphones

In addition, both the OnePlus Buds and Z support fast charge features, you can either use a regular adapter or Type-C USB charging cable. But it need at least  5V to 1.5A or higher adapter. The earphones also support the wrap charge, but only with the case  these feature is available.

The OnePlus Buds has a total playback of 30-hours of battery life. However this is applicable only when in AAC mode is turn on that’s also when the volume is set at 50%. On the other hand, the Earbuds itself has a Music Playback time of 7 hours and 4 hours Phone Call.

The fast charge features provide just 10 minute charge for a playback upto 10 hours. However this is a combination of both the earphones and case. Which means the case has 8 hours of battery life, while the earphones has 2 hours of battery life. But there’s a need of putting the earphones into the box after 2 hours.

The OnePlus Buds Z Earbuds and Case a full charge provides upto 20 hours of battery life. Which means the earbuds can provide upto 5 hours for music playback and for phone call it can last upto 3 hours. And the case can provides upto 15 hours. But this is only when music is playing at 30 to 40 percent volume in AAC codecs modes.

There’s no need to scare from running out of battery. Because the Buds Z has a combination of efficient power management, to keep a regular flow on the music. The OnePlus Buds Z fast charging can provide upto 3 hours of playback with just a 10 minutes charge. However this is a combination of both the earphones and the case.

Sound Quality:

Either OnePlus Buds or Buds Z has a support of Dolby Atmos, but the devices need to be atleast 7, 7 Pro, 7T, 7T Pro, 8, or 8 Pro devices. However to get more tune audio there’s also a features called Dirac Audio Tuner but this only supported on OnePlus Nord devices.

Both of them sound really good, but in terms of loudness the Buds Z is more a bit loud. Which means the Z 70 to 80 are same with the Buds full volume. In the Buds leakage of sound is a bit high than the Z.

Now, in terms of Bass performance at a glance both have the same quality that everyone need. They do provide the deep and punchy bass, and also they are very well tune and there will be no any unpleasant feel while listening song.

But the OnePlusBuds got a bit deeper not by a large margin. Which means in terms of low end music both can work well, you can go with anyone of this depending on your budget.

The vocals on the OnePlus Buds is more a bit natural and on the Buds Z it’s like they are a filter and sounded thinner. Even there’s no any sibilance in the voices as well.

The instruments on both the earphones are very detail in fact there’s no any jumble up with other frequencies. They sound clean and crisp and both are very similar in terms of the mid-range.

HeyMelody App For Non OnePlus Phone User:

HeyMelody App is an application for Non- OnePlus devices users in which it provides features like OTA update services for smart devices.

The HeyMelody software can be use for firmware update as well as function setting for OnePlus Wireless Headsets and OPPO wireless headsets. Using this app you can also view the battery percentage both of the earbuds and customisation settings.

OnePlus Buds vs OnePlus Buds Z | Which One Should You Buy?

Either OnePlus Buds or OnePlus Buds Z are really worth the price and without a doubt both are really worth to buy. The reason is that they have value for money features and performance as well. Not only with the Android but it works well with IPhone devices as well.

But there’s a need of knowing which one should you buy?

The OnePlus Buds have a bigger drivers size than the Z but the sound quality are not much different. They both have the same OnePlus Buds sound signature. To get the difference between you need to have a close listen to it. However by looking at the over all build and sound quality the OnePlus Buds has a slight better than the Z.

In fact, at this price point the OnePlus Buds Z is one a kind. However in terms of comfort the Buds Z edition provide a better than the normal edition. The call or mic quality are good on the Buds than the Buds Z. However when it comes to battery the OnePlus Buds has bit more life.

So, both are best in different, that because of it’s price point. If you are in hunt for a good and a better quality as well as long battery life you can buy OnePlus Buds. If comfort is you’re main concern and if your budget is low you can buy OnePlus Buds Z.