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OnePlus Nord Buds 4 Pro Review: Budget Buds, Flagship Silence

OnePlus Nord Buds 4 Pro Review: Budget Buds, Flagship Silence

Name: OnePlus Nord Buds 4 Pro Review: Budget Buds, Flagship Silence
Item: OnePlus Nord Buds 4 Pro True Wireless Stereo (TWS) Earphones

OnePlus Nord Buds 4 Pro are the company’s latest entrant in the sub-Rs. 4,000 price segment. Here’s our review to help you make up your mind.

Written by Dhruv Raghav, Edited by Ketan Pratap | Updated: 14 April 2026 08:00 IST

OnePlus Nord Buds 4 Pro Review: Budget Buds, Flagship Silence

Here's Our Review of the new OnePlus Nord Buds 4 Pro

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Highlights

OnePlus Nord Buds 4 Pro are offered in two colourways
OnePlus Nord Buds 4 Pro’s ANC works quite well
OnePlus Nord Buds 4 Pro tap gestures could be better

OnePlus has launched multiple new products in the last few months, and most have been well-received by users. While the company has been able to shake off the “mid-range first” tag, with its flagship phone now retailing at over Rs. 80,000, OnePlus has certainly not deviated from one of its core ideologies, which is being “value-first”. This is where the OnePlus Nord umbrella comes in, which was seemingly introduced with similar intentions, especially when devices have seen an unprecedented rise in pricing.

I got to use one such product from the company, the OnePlus Nord Buds 4 Pro true wireless stereo (TWS), and the recently launched earbuds surprised me on multiple fronts, while rarely disappointing. It competes in a crowded space, dominated by its sister brands Oppo and Realme. Currently selling in India for Rs. 3,999, is OnePlus' new TWS worthy of the Pro branding?

OnePlus Nord Buds 4 Pro Design: Looks Stylish, But There's a Problem

Weight: 4.4g (Each Bud) and 43g (Charging Case)
Form factor: In-ear
Water and dust resistance - IP55
Colourways - Radiant Grey and Raven Black

The OnePlus Nord Buds 4 Pro truly stands out in terms of look. Its small, pebble-like charging case would remind you of the tiny coin purses our grandmothers used to carry. Or, to give you a more recent reference, it resembles the compact mint boxes made of tin. The engraved OnePlus branding on the front of the case looks good in silver, never appearing tacky. Under the company branding, the LED indicator is placed, which, in my opinion, is the ideal location. While the charging case is made of hard plastic, it never feels cheap to the touch.

However, there is also a major issue with it. The case can easily get scratched, and it's also extremely slippery in the hand. Even with dry palms, the charging case slips out of your hand if you loosen your grip a bit. Hence, you should either get a “case” for the charging case or avoid keeping it in the same pocket as your keys.

OnePlus Nord Buds 4 Pro features a plastic body

At the bottom, a USB Type-C port and a flush Bluetooth pairing button are located. However, I am personally not a big fan of flush buttons, as one, they are hard to find, and two, they are hard to press. While the first problem remains on the OnePlus Nord Buds 4 Pro, the second did not bother me much, thanks to the tactile nature of the pairing button.

The hinge quality is also impressive, and it can be operated easily with one hand. The charging case itself is quite light, weighing just 43 grams without the earbuds inside. Coming to the earbuds, they are well-designed and look similar to the earbuds offered by other Chinese OEMs in this price range. It comes with interchangeable silicone tips of three sizes. However, I kept the ones already fitted on the earbuds.

OnePlus' Nord series earbuds are surprisingly comfortable to wear for long hours. With each earbud weighing 4.4g, it does not usually tire your ears, even after extended wear. The short stem and in-ear design help the TWS offer a snug fit. The earbuds would rarely fall out of your ears while you are headbanging to your favourite song or during workouts. Its IP55-rated build ensures that you can wear the OnePlus Nord Buds 4 Pro to the gym without breaking a sweat, pun not intended.

OnePlus Nord Buds 4 Pro has a sturdy hinge

The OnePlus Nord Buds 4 Pro comes in two colour options: Radiant Grey and Raven Black. I received the Radiant Grey shade, which looks more premium of the two. Its overall design really helps it look more expensive than it actually costs, and the pocketable form factor and light weight are the two cherries on top.

OnePlus Nord Buds 4 Pro Sound Quality and Specifications: Breaks the Norm for Good

Driver - 12mm Drivers
Codec Support - LHDC 5.0, AAC, and SBC
Gesture controls - Yes (tap)
Companion app - HeyMelody
Connectivity - Bluetooth 6.0
Range - 10m
Other features - Active Noise Cancellation and Transparency Mode

Now, let us talk about the most important aspect, the performance. First, let's get the technical details out of the way. The OnePlus Nord Buds 4 Pro is equipped with two 12mm drivers, one for each bud, which are slightly larger than the 11mm and 10mm drivers found on TWS from OnePlus' competitors, including Realme. It supports LHDC 5.0, AAC, and SBC audio codecs, which enable higher audio fidelity.

In terms of audio quality, the OnePlus Nord Buds 4 Pro takes a different route than others in the segment. It aims to offer a much more balanced sound, keeping both high-end trebles and low-end bass on par with each other. On the other hand, similarly priced TWS from other brands often lean towards bass-heavy, boomy sounds, which is fair given Indian buyers' preferences.

But, there's a catch here. While a balanced audio profile is a big plus in my opinion, the lack of clarity at the lower end, with bassy sounds often losing that extra thump, could be a point of annoyance for some. For its price, this is not a significant trade-off. Especially considering that the mids and highs are crystal clear, with each instrument being well-defined.

OnePlus Nord Buds 4 Pro has impressive sound quality

I binged two seasons of ‘Fresh Off the Boat', a show known for featuring on-screen hip-hop tracks (OSTs) with boomy sounds and bass-heavy beats, and the OnePlus Nord Buds 4 Pro never gave the impression that it was out of its depth. It was able to separate the dialogue and the background music well.

To see how it handles various genres of music, I also listened to ‘One More Chance' by The Notorious B.I.G., ‘Jaiye Sajana' from Dhurandhar, ‘Purple Rain' by Prince, ‘Bairan' by Banjaare, and ‘Raina' by Arijit Singh, covering hip-hop, mainstream Bollywood, rock, and indie categories. Surprisingly, it managed to offer impressive performance while playing most of these tracks. However, they perform best in the 30 percent to 65 percent volume range before turning melody into noise.

However, those who like bass will not be disappointed either. A simple equaliser adjustment in the Hey Melody companion app will turn the OnePlus Nord Buds 4 Pro into a bassy beast while making small compromises at the high end. The intuitive app UI allows users to choose from Balance (default), Serenade, and Bass presets. You can even adjust the low-end clarity and fidelity via “BassWave”. You can also create up to three custom presets, one each for your preferred genre of music.

The Hey Melody app is also where you switch between active noise cancellation (ANC), transparency mode, and the default mode. There are four levels of ANC - High, Moderate, Low, and Auto. While I was unable to tell the difference between the four, since they offer similar environmental noise blocking, I am happy to report that the ANC works quite well on the OnePlus Nord Buds 4 Pro.

OnePlus Nord Buds 4 Pro offer great in-ear fit

However, I was left disappointed with the transparency mode, as I would have liked stronger sound penetration. I often found myself taking the earbuds out when someone wanted to talk to me or when I needed to listen to the public announcements in the metro. While it is a good-to-have feature, I would have rather appreciated better implementation. Another letdown is the erratic touch response for play, pause, and changing the soundtrack. It works well when it does, but goes completely missing when it decides not to. Similarly, while wear detection works almost perfectly, when you have to take the earbuds off, the OnePlus Nord Buds 4 Pro completely forgets to pause the song, as if they are still sitting in my ears, a major point of annoyance.

Overall, the OnePlus Nord Buds 4 Pro is a great audio device, but the erratic quality-of-life features could ruin the experience.

OnePlus Nord Buds 4 Pro Battery Life: True Wireless and True Worry-Free

Battery - 62mAh (Earbuds); 530mAh (Charging Case)

Another area in which the OnePlus Nord Buds 4 Pro shines is battery life and charging speed. The company claims up to 54 hours of total playback with the AAC codec, ANC off, and at 50 percent volume. Surprisingly, the claims are not that far from the real work performance. I could easily go four days without charging the earbuds, getting almost 6 hours of battery life on a single charge with ANC on at about 65 percent volume.

OnePlus Nord Buds 4 Pro offer long battery life

However, I was still unable to fully discharge the OnePlus Nord Buds 4 Pro fully. I was able to leave the Type-C charging cable included in the box at home, without ever worrying that it might run out of juice. And when I finally got the charging case and the earbuds to discharge completely, the TWS came back to life in a couple of minutes, reaching 100 percent charge in just over an hour.

OnePlus Nord Buds 4 Pro Verdict

So, are the OnePlus Nord Buds 4 Pro worthy of the Nord branding, and more importantly, worth the Rs. 3,999 price tag? Short answer, yes. The Nord Buds 4 Pro is better than most other TWS in this price range. It competes directly with the Realme Buds Air 8, which costs a mere Rs. 200 less but has smaller drivers and lacks the wide range of sound profiles one seeks.

While Realme's offering focuses more on features that seldom come in handy, OnePlus stays in its lane, offering a no-nonsense product at a great price with impressive sound quality, making it a value-for-money device. While there are a few issues, most can be ignored, especially compared to offerings from other popular brands in this range, such as Boat, JBL, Realme, and Oppo.

OnePlus Nord Buds 4 Pro True Wireless Stereo (TWS) Earphones

REVIEW
KEY SPECS
NEWS

Design / Comfort
Audio Quality
Battery Life
Value For Money

Good
Value for money
Sounds better than the competition
Comfortable to wear for long hours
Long battery life
Fast charging

Bad
Slips out of hands easily
Lacks low-end clarity
Loses connection even when less than 10m away from the phone

Read detailed OnePlus Nord Buds 4 Pro True Wireless Stereo (TWS) Earphones review

Colour Grey

Headphone Type In-Ear

Microphone Yes

Connectivity True Wireless Stereo (TWS)

Type Earphones

More OnePlus Headphones & Headset

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Further reading: OnePlus, OnePlus Nord Buds 4 Pro Review, OnePlus Nord Buds 4 Pro, OnePlus Nord Buds 4 Pro Price in India, OnePlus Nord Buds 4 Pro Specifications, OnePlus Nord Buds 4 Pro India Launch

Dhruv Raghav

Email Dhruv Raghav

Dhruv Raghav is currently working as a Senior Sub Editor at Gadgets360. He has previously covered the North American financial markets as a Headline News Correspondent for a major news agency. After taking a sabbatical to prepare for the Civil Services examination, he returned to journalism to cover tech policy, with a special focus on AI laws and online gaming regulation. Now, he is back in Gadgets360 to write features and edit stories. To unwind, he likes to spend time with his PS5, listening ...More