With lockdown life adding a few undesirable kilos, our struggle to stay fit and healthy has never been more real.?And during my workouts, I often listen to music to cancel out the chaos outside, giving my activity some much needed rhythm.?
So I put a lot of focus on the kind of headphones or earbuds I use to satisfy my listening needs while jogging, running or performing general exercise.?
My go-to pair was OnePlus Buds Z Wireless that offered the freedom of a truly wireless set of buds along with decent audio fidelity that kept me pumped.?So when OnePlus announced its Buds Pro, I was super excited to try what new it had to offer, and more importantly how it would fare for someone who would use it for intense workout sessions.
The moment I opened the packaging, I was surprised to see the case was really tiny when compared to the BudsZ (which also was small, but the capsule design made it appear larger). This makes it perfect as you don't want anything bulky in your pockets while running or jogging.?
Donning an all matte-black trim it looked rather cool and a little relieved as the coating won¡¯t be susceptible to scratches.?
When I popped the lid open, I was greeted by the earphones, resting in the magnetic cradle. The matte black treatment was also seen on the buds however this contrasted with the glossy black tips. I love the way they look and due to their tiny size, they don¡¯t scream for attention.
Inserting them into my ear, the buds fit in just fine. The matte finish felt nice touching the external auditory canal of my ears and resulted in a snug fit that cancelled out unwanted noises with ease. Wiggling my head violently didn¡¯t budge the buds even a little bit, eliminating my hesitation for intense workouts fearing they¡¯d fall off.?
After running with these for like an hour, the buds soon got drenched in my sweat, but they still sat flush in my ears, causing no discomfort whatsoever -- something I can't say about most earbuds I¡¯ve used over the past year or so.?
Moreover, while resting my head on a pillow, these OnePlus headphones stayed flush within my ears, without popping out or dislodging. Sure, comfort is very subjective, but for someone with medium to large-sized ears like mine, they felt perfectly comfortable.
If you¡¯re someone who goes for regular walks, you know the importance of having music in the background at all times to help sustain the rhythm. However, I¡¯d often listen to music on lower volumes to be aware of the noises in my surroundings.
With the OnePlus Buds Pro, however, I didn't need to do that. They come with a Transparency Mode that allows outside noise to enter along with your music. While it took some time to get used to, the end result was fun yet alert jogging experience, where I could hear not just cars and buses honking, but also people passing by. Such a boon, this feature is.?
With monsoons in Mumbai right now, I don¡¯t often get time to step out for a jog, sometimes I¡¯m forced to workout indoors. And at gyms, they tend to play tracks that are poles apart compared to what¡¯s on my playlist.?
During these times, the SmartANC feature on the OnePlus Buds Pro are a godsend. Just a pinch on one of the stems of the earbuds enables ANC that cancels out all the unwanted music so that I can focus on listening to the music and playlist I want.?
The best thing, however, is that it understands the noise levels outside and adjusts the ANC level accordingly, so I don¡¯t need to fiddle around with my phone while maintaining my pace.?
The OnePlus Buds Pro offers a listening experience that would make any ear happy. But for people who listen to music while working out, this would truly make their hearts smile.?
The earbuds manage to create a rich sound that truly engulfs the listener in it. The bass is rather punchy which is really shocking coming from such tiny buds.?
But this bass by no means compromises on the highs and mids. For instance, listening to Jalebi Baby by Tesher and Jason Derulo, the bass-heavy kicks don¡¯t compromise Tesher¡¯s voice in any way.?
Truly wireless earbuds are often eclipsed with poor microphone reception due to its discrete nature and the fact that they¡¯re quite far from the mouth. However, OnePlus Earbuds Pro makes use of some neat tricks under its sleeve.?
It makes use of a wind noise-reducing mechanical design along with a noise reduction algorithm that smartly differentiates between voice and background noise and filters it in real-time.?
With this tech-sorcery, the earbuds managed to make my voice sound crystal clear to the person on the other side -- similar in quality to a phone¡¯s microphone. This even worked while taking calls on roads with lots of surrounding noise.?
While I love going for a walk, a few days a week I also take a time-out to calm my body and mind through yoga. And unlike other workout activities, yoga doesn't work well alongside peppy and bassy music. But with the OnePlus Buds Pro, I didn't really need any songs.
The Zen Mode had different scenarios to choose from -- a warm morning in a jungle, summer on the seashore or calm meditation music with echoing piano and guitar notes.?The ambient white noise transcended me into a blissful world where everything was at peace (even though the chaos in my home was nowhere as calm), resulting in a relaxing experience.
I mostly work out in the mornings and the last thing I want to experience is the low-battery sign on the earbuds. However, with OnePlus Buds Pro, that was never an issue. Not that the battery doesn¡¯t drain, but when it does, only a few minutes of charge gives me enough juice to last the whole workout session and some more. The company claims that just ten minutes of charge offers over 10 hours of playback and that was truly the case with these.?
Another boon was its truly wireless nature, which didn¡¯t force me to hunt for a cable to plug into -- I could simply rest it on the Qi wireless cradle and it would juice up at its pace.?
I couldn¡¯t have asked for a better audio companion for my workouts than the OnePlus Buds Pro. I feel they offer the right balance of sound, comfort and practicality of use that truly makes them indispensable once you try them out. Other earbuds in the competition are going to have a tough time coming close to these for sure.