Great Mid-Range Earbuds with Proper ANC

Most mid-range earbuds that offer noise cancellation are likely to disappoint. However, the OnePlus Buds 4 prove that you don’t need to spend more money to enjoy this highly sought-after feature. These earbuds also impressed me with a bevy of other features and their comfortable, lightweight build.

Price and Availability

The OnePlus Buds 4 earbuds are available now from retailers like OnePlus and Amazon for $129.99. I’ve seen them discounted by up to 23% off, with the price dropping to $99.99. In addition to gray (Storm Gray), they are available in a light green option (Zen Green).

An Extremely Comfortable, Lightweight Design

Sleek, simple, and minimalistic, the OnePlus Buds 4 are nicely understated. These earbuds feature an AirPods-like body and a matte, metallic finish. I received the Storm Gray color (though these also come in a more trendy light green) with a matching wireless charging case. The charging case fits perfectly in my palm or pocket, and it isn’t too bulky to shove inside your jeans. Both the earbuds and the case have an easy-to-clean plastic build. The buds themselves have an IP55 waterproof rating.

When I took them out of the box, my first impression was that the earbuds were impressively lightweight. After wearing them for countless hours, I can attest that my first impression was correct.

The OnePlus Buds 4 are some of the most comfortable earbuds I’ve worn in a while, which I didn’t expect, given that I don’t always prefer buds with protruding tips.

The standard ear tips fit me perfectly, although the buds also come with a pair of smaller and larger tips. Their weight, a mere 0.16 ounces, is so light that I sometimes forget I’m wearing them. The buds sit lightly in my ears without feeling too bulky or weighty.

The buds have an ergonomic shape that hugs the ear and stays secure (as long as you have the correct size ear tips on them). When I worked out, cleaned the house, or went about my day wearing the OnePlus Buds 4 earbuds, they stayed secure and didn’t slip out (even when I bent over or ran on a treadmill). What I really loved about the buds was that they fit my ears like a glove and didn’t apply uncomfortable pressure, unlike some other earbuds. (Previous iterations of Galaxy Buds, I’m talking about you.)

The Companion App and OnePlus Ecosystem

The companion app to the OnePlus Buds 4 is called HeyMelody (available on Android and iOS), which is somewhat unusual considering one might expect OnePlus to brand it with their company name. I digress.

If you pair the OnePlus Buds 4 with a OnePlus phone, you don’t need the app, as the audio features are integrated into the phone natively via Bluetooth settings. I should note here, too, that while the OnePlus Buds 4 pair really well with OnePlus devices (offering exclusive features like AI Translate and LHDC), these earbuds are still a great option outside that ecosystem.

The HeyMelody app offers plenty of customization without being too cluttered. Inside the app, I can customize some of the touch controls, switch between Noise Cancellation, Adaptive, Transparency, and Off (standard) listening modes, and apply some audio effects.

The earbuds have three preset EQ settings (Balanced, Serenade, and Bass), a BassWave dynamic bass booster mode, and customizable EQ profiles. For the most part, I preferred listening in Balanced mode or one of my custom EQ settings.

After listening to media with the default settings, I set up a “Golden Sound” listening profile through the app. This setting customizes sound based on an individual’s hearing experience. It was simple to set up—all it took was a quick listening test for both ears—and I noticed a significant improvement in the audio after applying this profile.

The app’s easy-to-navigate interface is welcome, as many audio apps can become convoluted with too many tabs and menu options buried behind a few taps.

Each time I connected the earbuds, changing settings was seamless, and customizing gestures—like double-tapping for skipping tracks or swiping the left earbud for volume control—was straightforward. That said, multipairing in the app sometimes failed, and I had to disconnect and reconnect. Additionally, the tap gestures on the earbuds themselves were finicky. Most of the time, my gestures worked, but an occasional miss was frustrating, especially when I was working out at the gym or needed to pause the audio because someone was talking to me.

Truly Impressive Performance and Noise-Cancellation

The OnePlus Buds 4 impressed me with their quality overall. Automatic pause when removing an earbud worked reliably (and this was a great feature for me if I didn’t want to tap the bud or needed a quick chat with someone). The active noise cancellation was surprisingly strong for the price point—it reduced the constant drone of my bathroom fan to a mere whisper, something other buds (like Skullcandy Push ANC Active) have never achieved. While I’m fairly certain that these wouldn’t rival the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds’ acclaimed noise-cancellation (the QuietComfort Ultra is on our best wireless earbuds list), I do think the OnePlus Buds 4 have some of the best ANC I’ve ever experienced at this price point.

Spoken word audio and YouTube videos also sounded crisp. I listened to at least three audiobooks during my review period, including The Strange Case of Jane O. by Karen Thompson Walker. The OnePlus Buds 4 handled it without introducing grating sibilance (no matter which EQ I selected), making it comfortable to listen to audio for hours at a time.

While I appreciated the 3D audio setting (aka spatial audio), it didn’t always deliver the wide, immersive soundstage I was hoping for in music or more complex recordings. Still, if I wasn’t aware that spatial audio could be better, this one performs moderately well enough to enjoy it.

When it came to music, though, these earbuds really impressed me. On Hands Like Houses’ Black, the Bass EQ mode paired with BassWave at level 3 created a punchy, powerful low end that didn’t muddy the mids or highs. I think my jaw dropped when I heard the bass that these earbuds produce, as that’s usually the weakest link in most earbuds that aren’t more than $150. Boosting the bass, thankfully, didn’t seem to compress the audio in highs and mids (another frequent pain point with bass booster EQs).

When I listened to Makari’s Eternity Leave, both the Balanced and Serenade modes highlighted detail, with Serenade pushing vocals to the front without overwhelming the rest of the mix. High tones, such as cymbal hits, came through clean and distinct with no harsh sibilance. In none of the EQ settings did I notice any weird grating sibilance or unbalanced highs, which is usually what I encounter in specific preset EQ modes on other, comparable earbuds.

Acoustic tracks, like Landon Tewers’ Don’t You, also sounded great on these. While this sort of track might sound a bit muddy on lesser-quality earbuds, I was again shocked at how well the OnePlus Buds 4 balanced the sound, allowing me to individually pick out snaps, guitar movements, and reverb-rich, raw vocals.

Altogether, the OnePlus Buds 4 so impressed me with their performance that I found myself reaching for them every day to immerse myself in a book or put on some tunes. This performance was strong across genres and various media, so no matter what I listened to, I was engaged and satisfied.

Decent Call Quality and Microphones

The call quality on the OnePlus Buds 4 is reliable for everyday use, but it won’t blow you away. The six built-in microphones and AI noise reduction do a good job of keeping your voice front and center, even in noisy spaces. However, during my testing, I could still hear distracting noises coming through (such as music or sirens in the background). Still, callers usually told me I sounded clear enough. And in my own recordings, I could still hear myself above the din of background noises.

When it was noise-free, my voice came through with clarity. That said, these microphones have a rather boxy, compressed quality and a slightly more muffled tone when there is some background noise.

Microphone Test on the OnePlus Buds 4 in a Quiet Environment

Microphone Test on the OnePlus Buds 4 in a Noisy Environment

Underwhelming Battery Life

OnePlus lists the OnePlus Buds 4 battery life as fairly high in the benchmarks. With ANC off, at 50% volume, using AAC, the company claims you can get up to 11 hours of charge out of the earbuds (45 total with the charging case at full juice). I regularly used the buds at 50 to 60% while listening to music or audiobooks, and let me tell you, I never managed to get 45 hours from the case and buds.

I probably eked out around eight to nine hours on average with the buds when I wasn’t using Transparency, Adaptive, or Noise-Cancelling modes. Once you start using other listening modes, increasing the volume levels, or exploring other codecs (if supported on your device), your battery life will likely drop to five or six hours.

I experienced multiple instances of listening where I tried to marathon a 10-hour audiobook and had to charge the earbuds after six hours. For most of these sessions, I listened with either Noise-Cancelling or Transparency mode enabled, at a volume of 50% or less.

The good news is that a quick 10-minute charge provided me with at least an additional hour of listening. To fully charge the case and the earbuds was around the same as the benchmark—80 minutes. As an aside, it’s a bummer OnePlus didn’t include a wireless charging option, since it seems like this is a much more common feature these days, even on mid-range buds.

Should You Buy the OnePlus Buds 4 Earbuds?

If you’re after mid-range earbuds with strong performance and excellent ANC, the OnePlus Buds 4 should certainly be a contender on your list. They deliver surprisingly good noise-cancellation, boomy bass, and a comfortable design. Their other strengths, like a good Transparency mode, in-ear detection, and customizable EQ and sound modes, add to their appeal. Although the touch controls are a little unusual and the battery life isn’t as good as it could be, I’d buy the OnePlus Buds 4 for their noise-canceling power alone.