Oppo Enco Buds are the latest pair of truly wireless (TWS) earbuds from the smartphone maker.Oppo has launched mid-range TWS earbuds in the past, too, but theEnco Buds are an affordable version of the company’s premium offerings.- With there being plenty of TWS earbuds in the ₹2,000 price range, where do the Enco Buds stand? Find out in our review.
Oppo’s Enco line-up of audio accessories has been praised in the past for striking a good balance between price and performance and offering a quality alternative in the mid-range.
At the outset, the Oppo Enco Buds have a very unassuming appearance. The design is the usual fare, and the earbuds, too, look ordinary. After all, these earbuds cost ₹1,999, so the focus is rightly on the features and not the design. You’d be forgiven for ignoring them, but you will want to read the full review before you make a decision.
The Oppo Enco Buds are available at a price of ₹1,999 and come in white and blue colours. They are available for purchase from the Oppo online store and Flipkart at a discounted price of ₹1,799.
Oppo has opted for a simple, no-frills design with the Enco Buds. The charging case as well as the earbuds sport a glossy white colour profile. The oval charging case features a USB Type-C port and is easily pocketable thanks to its shape. It can be slightly large for some pockets, especially since there are many earbuds cases that are more compact. It has a magnetic lid that is sturdy and well-built, which is important given that many TWS cases can be creaky.
The case does not have a dedicated button for pairing, so you will have to pair the earbuds directly with the phone. This is not as big a deal as it seems to be – the pairing process was effortless and quick. It is also worth noting that you don’t need Oppo’s HeyMelody app to use the earbuds, so you can get going without any additional downloads.
Coming to the earbuds, they feature an in-canal design and are compact enough to integrate well enough without drawing too much attention. The top of the earbuds is touch sensitive, so you can manage calls, music playback and toggle low-latency gaming mode with taps.
The box also comes with three additional ear tips, so you can select the best fit based on your requirements.
The Oppo Enco Buds are powered by 8nm dynamic drivers, which is the same as the Enco W11. They support Bluetooth 5.2 along with AAC and SBC Bluetooth codecs. They are IP54 rated, which means you get dust and water resistance. This makes it easy to carry and use the earbuds even when you’re outdoors, without having to worry about the elements in the environment.
The Enco Buds do not support Google fast pairing mode, but in my experience, the connection was still fast enough, so it does not matter in this case.
As far as sound quality is concerned, the Enco Buds are tuned for bass. The sound is punchy in most cases, but the mids and highs won’t sweep you off your feet like more expensive counterparts. That said, the vocals and the melody were clean and detailed.
I played several tracks, including Gotye’s State Of The Art - the highs and lows were punchy. The mids and highs could have used more fine tuning, though, which was evident in Lorde’s Royals and Imagine Dragons’ Demons, where the vocals could have been better distinguished.
On the whole, though, the Enco Buds are loud and thumping, and do not distort sound. They are loud enough even at 60-70%, so you can extend the battery life by sticking to the mid-range when it comes to the sound level.
Since the Enco Buds are an entry-level TWS offering, they miss out on the features like active noise cancellation. However, thanks to the soft tips, passive noise cancellation is adequate in indoor situations.
Finally, call quality was surprisingly good for a pair of earbuds that cost less than ₹2,000. Most of the responses I received from the people I interacted with over the course of the review were positive, which is a major plus point in my book.
Each earbud is powered by a 40mAh battery, while the case has an additional 400mAh capacity. Oppo promises a battery life of 6 hours, with the case boosting it by an additional 24 hours, bringing the total to 30 hours.
In real life, with plenty of calls and some music throughout the day, the Enco Buds lasted me for a little over 5 hours on average. The charging case was able to boost the battery by nearly three times, bringing the total to nearly 20 hours. This should last you a week with average usage, just to give you a rough idea of what to expect from the Enco Buds.
There are plenty of TWS earbuds in the sub-₹2,000 price segment that promise to offer a proper TWS experience, but many fall short when it comes to performance and audio quality.
The Oppo Enco Buds, however, are easily recommendable for their price. The quality is very good, although the built-in magnets could have been stronger. With that said, the overall audio performance is good, the call quality is surprisingly impressive compared to similarly priced products, and the battery life is also adequate.
If you are in the market for a pair of affordable TWS earbuds that get the job done without any fuss, the Oppo Enco Buds are a good option.
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