We have previously seen unofficial renderings of the rumored OnePlus Buds Z2, and now a new leak claims to have revealed some of what are believed to be specs for the earphones.
According to leaker Max Jambor on Twitter, the new Buds are "Pretty much [OnePlus] Buds Pro for less." And not only are they super low-priced, but they also claim to have active noise cancellation, which could make them a true competitor to the much more expensive AirPods. [Currently, OnePlus' cheapest earbuds are the $49/£55 OnePlus Buds Z, so it makes sense that the Buds Z2 would be similarly priced, while seemingly offering much more desirable specs.
Since the AirPods are $159/£159, OnePlus users may get a much better value than Apple fans for entry-level earphones. Even the much cheaper but feature-rich Nothing Ear (1) buds are $99/99 lbs.
The Buds Z2 is also said to feature active noise cancellation, a common feature found in many earbuds but not in the basic AirPods The image attached to Jambor's tweet also shows Dolby Atmos listed, and OnePlus offers this feature on other earphones, including the OnePlus Buds Pro.
The rumored battery life is particularly impressive: according to Jambor, the Buds will last 7 hours, or 38 hours with the case battery combined. This figure is supposed to be with ANC disabled on the buds, but as the table below shows, the Z2 would still be one of the longest-lasting.
Furthermore, according to Jambor, a 10-minute charge will provide 5 hours of playback.
* These figures are not specified with or without ANC enabled, but are assumed to be with ANC turned off, as they are similar to those of other rival earphones.
Another impressive feature would be the rumored IP55 water and dust resistance. This is the same as the original OnePlus Buds Z, which is not only better than the IPX4 AirPods, but arguably surpasses the majority of other earbuds with its dust protection. This will hopefully help keep the sensitive internals safe and give the earbuds a longer lifespan.
As for colors, Jambor says that you can simply choose between black or white buds. The Bud also appears to have Bluetooth 5.2, which is not the latest version of the wireless communication standard, but if the price is as low as the leak claims, that should be enough.
This latest leak does not mention anything about the design. However, the angle of the tip appears to have been changed, and a new cutout appears on the head. These undoubtedly support Jambor's claim that ANC has been introduced, since the change in angle allows for a tighter in-ear fit and the cutouts hide the extra microphone needed for ANC to function.
There is no mention of a release date for these new buds from Jambor. However, previous leaks mentioned that they would appear a year after Buds Z was launched, i.e., in November 2020.
Given that the OnePlus 9T was officially cancelled and previous generation devices like the OnePlus Nord N10 and OnePlus Nord N100 were also launched last November, it is possible that the Buds Z2 will appear with the new OnePlus Nord devices seems likely.
Of course, we cannot be certain that this leak is genuine, but we certainly hope it is. If these specs turn out to be accurate, we could easily have a candidate for our best inexpensive wireless earphone guide.
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