New details about the upcoming OnePlus Nord Buds 2 have been revealed – and so far the differences with their predecessors appear to be only skin-deep.
The original OnePlus Nord Buds can’t compete with the very best wireless earbuds out there, but then they’re not designed to. Instead, they're designed to offer great value for money – and they deliver, offering solid sound and impressive battery life for a relatively low price of $39 / £49 (about AU$55), which is why we gave them a four-and-a-half-star score in our review.
So, even though they aren't sonically on a par with the likes of Sony’s WF-1000XM4 earbuds, we’re nevertheless excited to hear that OnePlus has plans to release the follow-up OnePlus Nord Buds 2. However, details revealed in a regulatory filing in the US suggest they won’t be much of an upgrade – at least where the battery is concerned.
Documents filed with the Federal Communications Commission (opens in new tab) (FCC) reveal that the OnePlus Nord Buds 2 will boast a 41mAh battery capacity, and their case will use a 480mAh cell, both of which are the same size as in the original Nord Buds. This certainly isn't the end of the world – the battery life of OnePlus’s first Nord Buds was one of their best qualities – but we always like to see follow-up products offer an improvement over what came before.
Another minor gripe we have is that the case used by the Nord Buds 2 looks set to be just as annoyingly bulky as the original case. We'd have loved to see the new Nord Buds get a sleeker case that can be more easily slipped into a pocket, but it looks like we'll be disappointed, as the case shown in the filing looks similar to the Nord Buds case, although it does appear to be a little more rounded.
The only change the filing does reveal is that the Nord Buds 2 will have a slightly different design. Based on the images, unlike the original Nord Buds the Buds 2 don't have a stem – they have a circular nub at the bottom instead.
With this filing having been submitted, it likely won’t be too long before we find out more about the Nord Buds 2; however, and design aside, if the price and audio quality don’t see any improvements over what’s come before, you can expect us to keep recommending the originals – especially if they get a price drop when the new buds launch.
