For a while, it was rumored that popular phone company OnePlus could scale back its operations, but this seemed unlikely — all the way to its actual occurrence. Now it seems the company will stop selling its devices in the US, UK, and Europe.
This is terrible news for mobile buyers, with OnePlus a stalwart favorite among phone fans for its great-value flagship-killers like the OnePlus 15 and OnePlus Nord 5. Its departure makes Samsung and Google worse off for the lack of competition.
But there’s another side to OnePlus’ retreat that phone fans haven’t been talking about as much, yet deserves equal attention. The brand wasn’t just good at making phones.
I’ve tested other kinds of gadgets from the brand, like tablets and smartwatches. Not all of these hit the heights of the phones, but there were some great options.
But another sad casualty of the brand’s scale-back, which hurts more, is the loss of its hearables.
I’ll only accept a OnePlus exit on one condition, and it’s a shake-up that makes sense
If there’s only space for one brand, Oppo is the one I want in 2026
Bye-bye, OnePlus Buds
Not just a purchase gift
Many Android brands put out cheap noise-canceling earbuds, likely intended as an extra they can offer with pre-orders or a gift if you buy their phones. I’ve tested loads from various brands, and rarely are they worth talking about.
However, OnePlus’ earbuds are different. I’ve used several generations of its earbuds, and I’ve always been impressed by how they compare.
I’m not talking about OnePlus Nord Buds, which also existed. I’ve never used those, and from how little I’ve heard about them, few testers actually did.
No. The main-series OnePlus Buds are among the best earbuds made by a phone brand, and it’s gutting that means further models won’t be put on sale.
Case in point: the OnePlus Buds 4
Exemplifies the point
The most recent pair of earbuds from the company is the OnePlus Buds 4, released in mid-2025, alongside a few Nord phones.
These had, to my ears, some of the best noise-canceling I’ve heard in mid-range earbuds. It performed incredibly well in my various test cases, including at my gym and while walking along a busy road I live near.
The Buds 4 offered similar ANC to many top-end options I’ve reviewed — better than some others — and was far, far more advanced than any other rival bud I’ve used.
Another surprising spec is that the Buds 4 had two drivers per earbud: an 11mm woofer and a 6mm tweeter. The vast majority of earbuds I’ve tested generally only have a single driver.
A woofer is used for lower-end sounds, while a tweeter is used for mids and higher sounds. An earbud with a driver for each can let each specialize in that particular area, rather than having a single driver act as a “jack of all trades.”
OnePlus went even further by using a dual DAC solution in each ear (to avoid getting too far into jargon, it’s like the audio equivalent of a four-wheel drive: each driver gets its own engine), similar to what the Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro offered. This isn’t common in earbuds either.
As a result, the OnePlus Buds 4 sounded well-defined and nuanced. Admittedly, OnePlus squandered this a bit, with a default audio mix that leans so far on bass that you’d think it was just a driver, but with an equalizer, you could get something great going.
7.5/10
- Wired/wireless
-
Wireless
- Battery Life
-
Up to 45 hours with case/ ANC off
- Noise Cancellation
-
Yes
- Bluetooth
-
Bluetooth 5.4 with Steady Connect
Farewell, OnePlus Buds 5
Or, hello from afar?
As you can tell, I’ve been impressed by the audio treats OnePlus has offered its fans. Although, it seems the larger consumer base didn’t exactly jump on the earbuds.
With OnePlus’ withdrawal from Western markets, it seems all but guaranteed that future earbuds won’t be released anywhere that we can buy them. Farewell, OnePlus Buds 5, we never knew you.
It’s possible these earbuds will release in Asia and be importable to the West, but I’m always reticent to recommend this as a way to obtain tech. It usually means you have no warranty or guarantee, and getting a repair can be challenging or impossible.
With OnePlus’ reshuffle, it’s possible that it’ll stop making earbuds entirely. Otherwise, it could let parent company Oppo, which still operates in many of the regions OnePlus left (except the US), take the reins.
Either way, the disappearance of OnePlus from Western shores means one thing: no more great-value, lovely-sounding, super-ANC earbuds from the brand.
If you want alternatives, I’d recommend looking at traditional audio brands, though you might join the crowd that’s officially done with wireless earbuds.
