OnePlus Buds Z2 leak teases possible AirPods killer

An unofficial render of the OnePlus Buds Z2

An unofficial return of the OnePlus Buds Z2 (Image credit: OnLeaks/91mobiles)

We've previously seen unofficial renders of the rumored OnePlus Buds Z2 and now a new leak claims to take filled in some of the earphones' purported specs.

According to leaker Max Jambor on Twitter, the new buds are "Pretty much the [OnePlus] Buds Pro for less." And given that he claims they'll take not only take a super-low cost but also Active Noise Cancelling, they could be a 18-carat rival to the much more than expensive AirPods.

OnePlus Buds Pro review: Shockingly good for the price
Take a look at our best wireless earbuds picks
Plus: iPhone 13 Pro'southward macro camera is and then good information technology'southward creepy — hither'due south the proof

Currently, OnePlus' cheapest earbuds are the $49/£55 OnePlus Buds Z, and it makes sense that the Buds Z2 will cost a similar amount, while seemingly offer some far more desirable specs.

With the AirPods costing $159/£159, OnePlus users may terminate upwards with a much ameliorate deal for entry-level earbuds than Apple fans. Even the adequately inexpensive but well-featured Nothing Ear (1) buds cost $99/£99.

In case you tin can't encrypt this:Buds Z2IP55ANCBluetooth v.27H Buds38H Buds + Case10Min Charging = 5H listening Colors: Black, White And the most of import affair:Cheeeeeaaaap 💸🤑Pretty much the Buds Pro for less 💵 https://t.co/iuKxQXpVMjSeptember 29, 2021

The Buds Z2 are also said to utilize agile noise cancelling, a mutual feature on many earbuds, merely notably not the bones AirPods. The image fastened to Jambor's tweet also mentions Dolby Atmos, a feature that OnePlus offers on its other earbuds including the first-class OnePlus Buds Pro, although only when used with ane of its own phones such as the OnePlus nine Pro.

The rumored battery life looks particularly impressive. Jambor says the buds will concluding for vii hours, or a combined 38 hours with the case's bombardment included. These are likely the figures for when ANC is disabled on the buds, just as you can come across from the tabular array below, that would withal make the Z2 some of the longest lasting around.

What's more, they will seemingly charge upwards fast, too, with x minutes of power giving v hours of playback from the Buds, co-ordinate to Jambor.

	Battery life with ANC on	Battery life with ANC off
OnePlus Buds Z2 (rumored)	N/a	vii hours and 38 hours*
Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro	5 hours and xviii hours	eight hours and 28 hours
AirPods	5 hours and 24 hours	N/a
AirPods Pro	4.5 hours and 24 hours	N/a
Jabra Aristocracy Active 75T	7.5 hours and 24 hours	N/a
Sony WF-1000XM4	8 hours and 24 hours	12 hours and 36 hours

* these figures are not specified with or without ANC enabled, but have been assumed to exist with ANC off due to similarities with other rival earbuds' figures.

Some other impressive feature would be the rumored IP55 water/dust resistance. This is the same equally the original OnePlus Buds Z, which is not only better than the IPX4 AirPods, simply arguably beats the majority of other earbuds simply by offer dust resistance. That should hopefully give the earbuds a long life past keeping the sensitive internals safe.

Every bit for colors, Jambor says you have the simple selection of either blackness or white 'buds. The buds apparently too come armed with Bluetooth 5.2, which isn't the latest version of the wireless comms standard merely is likely still skillful enough, if the price is as low as the leak claims.

There's nothing virtually the design mentioned in this latest leak. All the same we tin become by an before leak which came complete with unofficial renders (come across higher up), which seem to prove OnePlus sticking with the silicone tips and long stems from the original Buds Z.

Nonetheless, the angle of the tips announced to have inverse, and new cutouts on the caput have appeared. These arguably back up Jambor'due south merits of ANC being introduced, because a different angle could help make a tighter in-ear fit, while the cutouts could hide the actress microphones required to make ANC work.

There's no mention of a release appointment for these new buds from Jambor. However, the previous leak mentioned information technology would make it pretty much a twelvemonth after the Buds Z launched, which was in November 2020.

With the OnePlus 9T officially canceled, it seems possible that the Buds Z2 will debut aslope a new batch of OnePlus Nord handsets, given that some of the previous-gen devices similar the OnePlus Nord N10 and OnePlus Nord N100 also launched terminal November.

Of course, we can't say for certain that the leak is genuine, merely nosotros certainly hope that it is. If these specs plough out to exist accurate, we could easily take a contender for our all-time inexpensive wireless earbuds guide.

More than: Apple Watch 7 leaker says release date is mid-October

Richard is a Tom'south Guide staff writer based in London, covering news, reviews and how-tos for phones, gaming, audio and whatever else people need communication on. Following on from his MA in Magazine Journalism at the University of Sheffield, he's likewise written for WIRED U.K., The Register and Creative Bloq. When not at work, he's likely thinking nearly how to brew the perfect cup of specialty coffee.