The traditional neckband style feels a little out-of-date and oppressive in the era of genuine wireless headphones. Nevertheless, the form factor has a number of benefits, the most significant of which being affordable pricing for the features and performance provided. With its most recent neckband-style wireless headphones, OnePlus is taking a tried-and-true design one step further in its promotion of this form factor.
Exactly as its name implies, the OnePlus Bullets Wireless Z2 ANC is the Bullets Wireless Z2 with active noise cancelling as an extra function.
First impressions of the OnePlus Bullets Wireless Z2 ANC: Familiar design
The OnePlus Bullets Wireless Z2 ANC and its non-ANC predecessor are virtually identical in terms of appearance and feel. The adjustable neckband, buttons, USB Type-C charging connector, and magnetic power control are all included in this. As before, connecting the two magnetic earpieces together turns off the headset, while separating them turns it on.
You can switch between ANC and transparency modes, access equalizer presets (including the option to create a fully customized preset for yourself), and, interestingly, a very minimal amount of customization for the physical buttons on the neckband if you pair it with a compatible OnePlus smartphone (within the Bluetooth settings). It will take some time to develop muscle memory, but once you do, the controls are manageable.
Although having the earpieces connected via cables feels a little strange to me in 2023, it’s difficult to ignore the benefits of a neckband-style headset. This form type typically benefits things like cost and value for money, as well as battery life, fast charging, tuning, and ANC performance. In my review, I’ll go over all of this in greater detail.
First impressions of the OnePlus Bullets Wireless Z2 ANC: decent active noise cancelling
The biggest difference is the inclusion of active noise cancellation, although the sound and audio performance of the OnePlus Bullets Wireless Z2 ANC mostly stay the same as predicted. If you listen to a lot of bass-driven music, you can anticipate the sound to be punchy, bass-driven, loud, and oftentimes exhausting.
Naturally, the essential component of active noise reduction is what makes the biggest difference in this case. The OnePlus Bullets Wireless Z2 ANC offers good active noise cancelling for about Rs. 300 more than the normal Bullets Wireless Z2. In my early listening impressions, it’s not amazing nor equivalent to premium-grade ANC, but it’s unquestionably superior to the kind of basic active noise cancelling you’d get on comparably priced true wireless earphones.
I’ll go into more detail about battery life in my complete review, but I did get a chance to test out the rapid charging, which is comparable to the OnePlus Bullets Wireless Z2’s pretty outstanding 20-minute charging time.
As previously indicated, I’ll be doing a thorough review on the OnePlus Bullets Wireless Z2 ANC in the near future, but it’s safe to say that such goods are becoming increasingly rare. The Bullets Wireless Z2 ANC, which retails for about Rs. 2,500 and has active noise cancellation, is undoubtedly the greatest wireless earphone you can buy. The neckband form factor for wireless earphones still has major price advantages.
