“Pro” headphones at half price

Motorola has been trying to make an impact in the smartphone accessory market for a while now, but only now with the Moto Buds+ does it seem like a real strategy is starting to take shape behind it. These are not only the best performing true wireless headphones that Motorola is launching on the market, but they are also the first product resulting from its partnership with audio brand Bose, which raises the bar for sound quality.

Moto Buds+ offers everything you need and nothing more

The Moto Buds+ seem to be a combination of premium capabilities and an affordable price. Basically, Motorola is trying to offer all the advantages of a pair of over 200 euro true wireless headphones, at a price of just over 100 euro. And for the most part, it succeeds, even if small compromises have to be made for it.

The biggest compromise Motorola makes is when it comes to construction. The headphone box has a simple design and is made of matte textured plastic. In principle, there is nothing wrong with this, but I have seen similar material on cheaper pairs of headphones. Everything from the way the texture feels to the touch, the light weight, and the sound the lid makes when it closes is a class below what we see from pairs of headphones considered “premium”.

It is important to note, however, that there are few users who would pay extra for a more “premium” user experience without also getting something extra in terms of performance or features. The truth is that you don’t really get anything extra from more expensive headphones in terms of technology or autonomy compared to what the Moto Buds+ offers. When you look at its list of specs, they tick just about everything.

We are dealing with true wireless in-ear headphones with dual speakers in each earcup (tweeter and woofer), ambient noise cancellation, 3D spatial sound and wireless charging. I couldn’t find anything about water resistance in the specs list, just something called “water repellent design”. Without an official IPXX certification, it might not be a good idea to take these headphones to the gym or wear them in heavy rain.

The headphones themselves have a “standard” design for such products. They are similar to all headphones that still have “tails”, providing a tactile surface in this area. The headphones attach magnetically to the charging case and have charging contacts on the inside, not in the tail like we’ve seen on other models. The closest model I could compare them to would be the OnePlus Buds Pro, which come in a similar box and have a very close shape.

As for the accessories, I can only say that we only have what is strictly necessary: ​​silicone plugs of sizes S and L, the M ones being already installed on the headphones from the factory, along with a USB-C to USB-A cable. Most likely, the cable will not be used, as you can charge these headphones either with any USB-C cable, including the one from your phone, or by placing the case on any Qi wireless charger or on a smartphone that can charge wireless accessories.

The Moto Buds app is simple, but only available on Android

Setup is simple, as they are automatically detected on Android phones and Windows PCs. On phones you’re even automatically directed to download the Moto Buds app for setup. On iOS phones, on the other hand, the Moto Buds must be connected manually, from the Bluetooth menu, and configuring the headphones is impossible, as there is no app for this operating system.

Somehow, Motorola is trying to suggest that these headphones are dedicated to its phones, and secondarily to other Android models. Because it was clear that they would work well with Motorola phones, I chose to test them on the Galaxy S24 Ultra as well, and the pairing and setup process was extremely simple and intuitive. So if you have your eye on the Moto Buds+ and you have an Android phone but not a Motorola phone, they’ll work just as well without giving up some functionality. On the iPhone, instead, I’d recommend a pair of headphones that at least have an iOS app. It’s pretty much the same with AirPods on Android: it works, but you don’t get the full experience.

For example, the app allows you to upgrade the headset’s firmware. The update notification appeared as soon as I entered the application for the first time. Thus, certain software problems, identified after the release of the product, can be solved. You also have the ability to set up shortcuts to double-press, triple-press, or long-press on the outer earbud or audio profile, things that can only be found in the Moto Buds app.

Comfort, sound quality and autonomy: three categories where Moto Buds+ does not disappoint

There are three categories in which a pair of true wireless headphones must be above average in order to be easily recommended: comfort of use, sound quality and autonomy. If these three aspects are met, all other elements can be considered “bonus” from me. The good news is that the Moto Buds+ fail none of these ‘tests’.

I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised by the comfort level of the Moto Buds+, especially when other significantly more expensive pairs of headphones made me stop wearing them after a few listening sessions. Making headphones that fit as many ears as possible is tricky, but the Moto Buds+ have a shape that sits comfortably without putting pressure on the cartilage. I listened to music for several hours straight and I almost didn’t feel them in my ears.

I have to admit I don’t really understand what the association with Bose is. I mean, sure, the headphones have very good sound quality, and the standard profile that comes configured, i.e. the “flat” one, sounds pretty decent, without certain frequencies coming in over the others. But I can’t say that I noticed any special characteristic of the sound. I think the partnership lies in the dual-speaker construction rather than a special sound profile to mimic Bose over-ear headphones.

If you like to listen to music with a lot of bass, these headphones will initially seem quite “good”. There are profiles for stronger bass, amplified vocals, or just high frequencies in general, and the difference is felt, but not huge. You won’t feel the bass as powerfully as on Sony’s ULT headphones, which are made specifically for this, for example.

But what I liked about the Moto Buds+ is that you have the option to configure a custom profile thanks to an equalizer, so if you don’t find the perfect sound profile among the pre-configured ones, you have the freedom to create your own. For the music I listen to, the one with extra bass was perfect. Another thing I liked is the volume. Recently, I rarely come across in-ear headphones with ANC that provide a strong volume at 100% volume. Most include more aggressive ear protection technologies, but these performed admirably. By the way, I don’t recommend using it 100%, I found an ok balance around 80% between strong sound and correct coverage of all frequencies and 90% for the times when I wanted to listen to “loud” music.

When it comes to battery life, Motorola promises 8 hours of listening time on a single charge, but it’s hard to believe that anyone will keep these headphones in their ears all day. It’s probably neither healthy for the ears nor hygienic to do this, so for 2-3 hour sessions, about the time it would take to fly across Europe, or train across the country, their range should be sufficient . After about an hour of listening at about 80-90% volume, I noticed that the battery life only dropped to about 85% with ANC on. The charging box also offers another 30 hours of listening time. Charging the headphones is done like this every 1-2 weeks. If you’re used to charging them for a few minutes on the back of your phone or quickly on the cable, you’ll probably never get to use them up completely.

In the “bonuses” section, I would mention the ANC, which is decent, but which I didn’t have the opportunity to use in an environment that would put it to serious work. I don’t recommend using ANC on the street with cars passing by, but luckily there is “transparency” mode, which allows sounds to penetrate the headphones. For a somewhat noisy office, these headphones do a good job of eliminating the background noise of computer fans and air conditioning. I would have liked to take them on a flight to see how well they cut out ambient noise in those conditions, but no ride came up during testing.

I will not talk about the “spatial” sound function, since on Spotify, YouTube and the platforms where I usually consume multimedia content there is no optimization for such capabilities, which would lead to a “virtual” rendering of the 3D effect. Both Apple and various other manufacturers have been trying for several years to sell such features as a great benefit to customers, but the truth is that without support from the platforms that play the content, such technologies will not enjoy widespread adoption big. Besides, there isn’t much of an advantage for the sound you hear in your headphones to be closely related to the position of the device you’re playing the content on. I would prefer that such features were not included if their absence would lead to a more affordable price. I would also mention that the Dolby Head Tracking feature on the Moto Buds+ only works on Motorola devices, so only a fraction of users would be able to use it anyway even if there was more content made specifically for it.

Pairing it with Bose ensures quality sound, but nothing that stands out

The Moto Buds+ are a pair of headphones that I can’t really fault, but they’re not a pair of headphones for everyone either. For example, it is not for iPhone users. At the same time, it is not for those who want powerful bass, or for those who are bothered by the design of “tail” headphones and want a simpler design. No product can please everyone, but the Moto Buds+ headphones could be appreciated by most of those looking for a pair of performing headphones with a budget of about 700 lei.