OnePlus Nord Buds 4 Review: Flagship ANC at ₹3,299 — Is This the Best Budget TWS of 2026?
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OnePlus Nord Buds 4 Review: Flagship ANC at ₹3,299 — Is This the Best Budget TWS of 2026?
At ₹3,299, the OnePlus Nord Buds 4 arrive with specs that would have cost you twice as much just two years ago. We are talking about 52dB real-time ANC, 54 hours of total battery life, 12mm titanium-coated drivers, Bluetooth 6.1, dual-device connection, and an IP55 rating — all in a pair of earbuds that costs less than a decent dinner for two in most Indian cities.
OnePlus has been quietly building one of the most competitive audio lineups in India, and the Nord Buds 4 might be the clearest proof of that yet. But is it actually as good in practice as it looks on paper? We spent time with the Nord Buds 4 across commutes, work calls, gaming sessions, and long listening hours to find out.
Design and Build Quality
The Nord Buds 4 show up with a fresh look compared to their predecessor. The charging case has a curved, lozenge-like shape with a smooth matte finish that resists fingerprints and slides in and out of your pocket cleanly. The lid has decent magnetic strength — enough to survive the occasional drop from knee height without popping open.
The earbuds themselves are lightweight and sit comfortably in most ear shapes. Available in Stellar Black and Astral Teal, the design leans minimal and clean. The IP55 rating covers both dust and water jets from any direction, which means these hold up to sweaty commutes, morning jogs, and the occasional rain dash.
One small gripe: fit can vary person to person, and some users have noted the right bud sitting slightly differently than the left. Try the different eartip sizes included in the box before writing it off.
Sound Quality
The 12mm titanium-coated dynamic drivers are tuned for a bass-forward sound signature — punchy, energetic, and immediately crowd-pleasing. Bollywood, hip-hop, pop, and EDM all sound full and engaging right out of the box. The bass is prominent without being sloppy, and vocals remain clear enough to follow through most tracks.
If you prefer a flatter sound, the HeyMelody companion app has a full equaliser to shape the audio to your taste. This matters — it means the Nord Buds 4 work for both casual listeners and people who like to tweak.
Codec support is limited to SBC and AAC. No LHDC here — that is reserved for the Nord Buds 4 Pro at ₹3,999. For most users at this price, AAC is more than adequate. 3D Spatial Audio is supported, and is available for select games like BGMI and Call of Duty through the HeyMelody app for all users.
Active Noise Cancellation
This is where the Nord Buds 4 make their biggest statement. 52dB of real-time ANC at ₹3,299 is a genuine standout — the previous Nord Buds 3 offered 32dB, so this is not a marginal upgrade.
In practice, the ANC handles everyday noise effectively: metro and bus engine rumble, AC hum, café chatter, and office noise. Keep it on the High setting for the best results — the Auto mode works, but High gives you the full benefit of the hardware.
Honest caveat: do not expect this to compete with flagship ANC from Sony or Bose at ten times the price. High-frequency sounds and sudden loud noises can still slip through. But for daily commuting and focused work sessions, it does exactly what you need.
Transparency Mode works well too — it lets ambient sound in cleanly when you need to hear your surroundings without pulling the earbuds out.
Battery Life
54 hours of total playback with the case. That number holds up in real-world use — with ANC off, users report charging the case only once over 10 days. Even with ANC running all day, the buds comfortably cover a full working day on a single charge.
The one genuine complaint: the 90-minute charging time for the case feels slow in 2026, when several competitors offer 30–45 minute full charges. Not a daily inconvenience, but worth knowing if you often forget to charge until the last minute.
Call Quality
The six-microphone array (three per bud) combined with AI-based noise reduction delivers clear voice pickup in quiet to moderate environments. In a café or indoors, call recipients report clean, natural-sounding audio.
The weakness shows outdoors in heavy traffic or wind — voice can sound slightly processed in these conditions, and background noise bleeds through to callers more than you'd like. For work-from-home users, café workers, and commuters taking calls in transit, it works well. For frequent outdoor callers in noisy environments, this is something to factor in.
Gaming and Latency
The 47ms low-latency mode is solid for casual to regular mobile gaming. BGMI, Call of Duty, and similar titles play without frustrating audio lag. The bass-forward tuning also works in favour of gaming — explosions and sound effects come through with real impact.
Connectivity
Bluetooth 6.1 delivers a strong, stable connection. Dual-device connection (multi-point) lets you stay connected to your phone and laptop simultaneously and switch between them without manually reconnecting — a genuinely useful feature that many earbuds at twice this price still skip.
Google Fast Pair and Microsoft Swift Pair are both supported, so initial pairing on Android and Windows is fast and seamless. Connectivity range is rated up to 250 metres.
Nord Buds 4 vs Nord Buds 4 Pro — What You Give Up
The Nord Buds 4 Pro costs ₹700 more and adds:
- LHDC 5.0 codec for higher quality wireless audio
- 55dB ANC vs 52dB here
- Swipe-to-adjust volume on stems
- Slightly better microphone performance outdoors
If those specific features matter to you, the ₹700 difference is justified. But for the majority of users — music, commuting, casual calls, gaming — everything that actually matters is in the standard Nord Buds 4 at ₹3,299.
Verdict
The OnePlus Nord Buds 4 are the easiest budget TWS recommendation of 2026 so far. For ₹3,299, you get 52dB ANC that genuinely works for daily commuting, a 54-hour battery you will almost never run out of, stable Bluetooth 6.1 with dual-device connection, and sound quality that punches well above its price class.
The compromises are real but minor: outdoor call quality in heavy noise is mediocre, there is no LHDC, and the case charges slowly. None of these are reasons to skip them — they are just reasons to know what you are buying.
If you are hunting for the best ANC earbuds under ₹4,000 in India, the OnePlus Nord Buds 4 are where your search ends.
Rating: 4.3 / 5
Quick Specs
| Spec | Detail |
|---|---|
| Price | ₹3,299 |
| Driver | 12mm Titanium-Coated Dynamic |
| ANC | 52dB Real-Time |
| Battery | Up to 10 hrs / 54 hrs with case |
| Bluetooth | 6.1 |
| Codecs | SBC, AAC |
| Latency | 47ms (Gaming Mode) |
| Water Resistance | IP55 |
| Multipoint | Yes (2 devices) |
| App | HeyMelody |
| Colors | Stellar Black, Astral Teal |
OnePlus Nord Buds 4 is available on nuyme.com at ₹3,299.