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Excerpt: Sound by Bose - need we say more? read more
 "TWS earbuds under Rs 10,000 blessed by Bose")
Image Credit: Firstpost | Ameya Dalvi
Pros:
- Impressive sound quality courtesy of Bose
- Configurable sound and controls through the companion app
- Comfortable in-ear fit, wear detection sensors
- IP54 ingress protection for the buds, IPX4 for the case
- Good call quality, dual pairing support
- Good battery backup with ANC off
- Supports wireless charging and fast charging
Cons:
- Minor bugs that also include a moody Transparency mode
- Still no LHDC codec support on most phones
- Battery backup with ANC switched on needs to improve
Price: Rs 9,999
Rating: 4/5
I had never reviewed any Motorola earphones before this. So when given an option to review the Moto Buds+, I was curious enough to give it a try. But three words on the packaging took my curiosity to a different level - Sound by Bose. Collaborations are not new in these times where phone companies flaunt cameras from legendary brands like Hasselblad or Leica, but audio and Bose add up even better.
We have also learnt from prior experience not to take such branding exercises at face value. So before we get too excited, let’s dive deeper into these Motorola TWS (true wireless) earbuds, see how they perform and if they truly sound and perform like a Bose product at a significantly lower price point.
Moto Buds+: Design and Comfort (7.5/10)
At first glance, the design seems inspired by OnePlus, especially the charging case from inside and outside. The buds are a little different though and so is the finish. The Beach Sand variant of the product we got for review has a unique off-white shade (well, the colour of sand) with silver accents and a slightly grainy matte finish signifying sandstone; it looks neat. The buds are quite compact with touch zones at the back.
The earbuds offer a snug fit courtesy of the silicone tips and are comfortable to wear for long hours. The right-sized silicone tips from the three bundled pairs provide good passive noise isolation. Choosing the right tips aids in improving sound quality as well as active noise cancellation (ANC). The buds weigh less than 4 grams each and stay below 43 grams in total along with the charging case.
Speaking of the case, it is fairly compact, well-built, pocketable and sports the same finish as the buds with Motorola and Bose branding on top. It has a tiny multicoloured LED at the front to indicate the level of remaining charge, a USB-C charging port at the back and a Bluetooth pairing/reset button inside.
Moto Buds+: Features and Specifications (8.5/10)
The Moto Buds+ has an impressive list of features that includes Dolby Head Tracking, Hi-Res Audio certification and Wireless charging. These Bluetooth 5.3 compliant earphones support LHDC, AAC and SBC codecs, however, the support for LHDC is limited to very few phones. I tried them with phones from three different brands that are known to be LHDC compliant but the buds didn’t comply and were stuck on AAC codecs. We even waited for a couple of firmware updates till version 0061 but things didn’t change.
Each earbud is fitted with dual dynamic drivers and three microphones for calling, ENC and ANC. Motorola has opted for an 11 mm driver for bass and a 6 mm Micro Planar tweeter for highs and mids in each of the earbuds - a popular combination among several earphone brands that use dual drivers. The buds have an IP54 rating for dust and splash resistance. So you can wear them to the gym or for a jog without worrying about sweat damage. The case also has an IPX4 rating to keep moisture at bay.
The back of the buds are touch-enabled and the touch sensitivity is quite good. In fact, I haven’t seen many buds get the triple tap gesture so consistently right as the Moto Buds+. You can assign different functions to double tap, triple tap and long tap gestures through the Moto Buds app available on Android. While the buds work with Apple iPhones, you cannot customise them as the companion app isn’t available on iOS yet.
The buds also have wear detection sensors to pause the audio when you remove a bud from the ear and resume when you put it back in. It generally works well but at times it did not pause the audio even after taking a bud off the ear, but that may be specific to my unit. Dual pairing support is also available here and these earbuds can be paired with two devices simultaneously. Last but not the least, the Moto Buds+ support ANC and the buds can cancel up to 46 db of ambient noise across a 3.3 KHz wide band.
Moto Buds+: Performance (8/10)
The wireless range is perfectly fine with a strong connection at 10 metres with no obstruction between the source and the listener. Though the figures aren’t specified, the latency on these earbuds is fairly low when watching videos, and there was no perceptible lag between audio and video. In Gaming Mode, it can supposedly go lower. These earbuds sound perfectly loud in the 60-70% volume range and you can customise the sound and controls using the Moto Buds app.
The app is easy to use with a clean layout and simple UI. You get four audio presets and a 10-band equaliser (EQ) to create your own ‘Manual’ sound profile. However, the frequency band for each EQ bar hasn’t been stated and left to your imagination and expertise, as you can see from the app screenshot. Another weird issue here is the Hi-res mode toggle sporadically appears and vanishes in the app. Switching it on did not enable LHDC codecs either when using these buds with a OnePlus 11 or a Google Pixel 8 Pro.
Now, let’s talk about the sound quality of this product. Motorola claims these are the segment’s only earbuds with Sound by Bose. While we do not know the exact extent of Bose’s involvement in the development of this product, what we can tell you is that the concerned teams involved on either side have done a very good job with the Moto Buds+, especially the sound quality when using the Flat audio preset.
Though the sound is a little on the warmer side, it exhibits good balance and detail. The bass is tight and has a good punch, mids are reproduced quite well with sharp vocals and more than decent instrument separation. The highs are tempered just right with a good amount of sparkle without being sibilant. The sound stage though not expansive is decently broad and the Moto Buds+ is enjoyable across various genres of music. Those who need extra bass can use the Bass Boost preset that does what the name suggests without going overboard.
Vocal Boost preset comes in handy when listening to podcasts and other voice-heavy content. Brilliant Treble preset makes things a tad too bright and is best avoided. The 10-band EQ can most certainly be tinkered with to finetune the output to your liking. While these TWS earbuds undoubtedly sound good, I wouldn’t term them as the best-sounding earphones around Rs 10,000 in India. The Oppo Enco X2 and Nothing Ear sound better in this price bracket.
Moving on to ANC, it is quite effective in blocking low-frequency sounds like the whirr of a fan or the buzz of an AC indoors or the sound of car engines when outdoors. It isn’t as effective with midrange sounds like human voices, though it does dampen them to a point. While the ANC is not bad at all, I expected better at this price point and with Bose’s involvement, given the quality of noise cancellation seen (or heard) on their own products. The transparency mode here is an interesting case.
When it works as expected, it is arguably the best in the segment with natural sounds and great clarity. Unfortunately, it is moody and seems to have a mind of its own. When left on for half a minute without any audio playing, it tends to switch off for sometime and then comes back on again, at times just in one ear. Probably, the buds try to save battery after a period of inactivity but 30 seconds is too short a period for that. It would be best if Motorola could fix this with a firmware update and leave the control in the user’s hand.
Moto Buds+: Call quality (8.5/10)
The call quality is very good on these earbuds, and it would be a solid option for those seeking a pair of TWS earbuds for calling. People on the call were perfectly audible to each other with excellent voice clarity indoors and pretty good outdoors too. When outdoors, the microphone array helps in keeping the wind noise and other ambient noise in check. The noise suppression does impact the voice clarity a little bit but you are still clearly audible to the person on the line even in noisy areas.
Moto Buds+: Battery life (7.5/10)
Each earbud is fitted with a 42 mAh battery and the charging case can hold 510 mAh charge. The company promises 7 hours of playback for the buds on AAC codec with ANC off and volume at 50%. And the case promises to charge the buds at least four more times, delivering an overall battery backup of 38 hours - buds and case combined. The figures with ANC on or with LHDC codecs aren’t stated, but since we couldn’t get the latter to work, we stuck with AAC codecs throughout the course of testing.
Without ANC switched on and volume around 65 per cent, the buds managed to last close to 6 hours and 15 minutes. With ANC on, the figure dropped to 4 hours and that too on AAC codecs; it would be even lower with LHDC, if you have a compliant device. With the charging case, we managed to get a battery backup in the range of 22 to 34 hours depending on the ANC usage. While the figures without ANC are quite good, the power consumption needs to be a bit more efficient with ANC turned on.
You also get handy fast charging here with close to three hours of playtime with ANC off after 10 minutes of wired charging. It takes about an hour to charge the product fully from close to zero using a wired charger. The Moto Buds+ also supports wireless charging with Qi certified chargers, with the company stating 110 minutes for a full charge using one. The battery level of each earbud and the charging case can be seen in the companion app.
Moto Buds+: Price, verdict, alternatives
The Moto Buds+ can be purchased for Rs 9,999 in India with a one year warranty. This product launched with an introductory price of Rs 7,999, and even now, one can get a Rs 2,000 discount using several credit cards, bringing the price down to that level. The reason I emphasised this point is because a price tag of less than 8K would be apt for this product rather than something closer to 10K where the competition gets a bit too hot to handle.
Probably, broader LHDC compatibility and the extra bandwidth provided by that codec could have taken its sound quality closer to the likes of the Oppo Enco X2 or the Nothing Ear. But it cannot get there using AAC codecs at the moment, and we have to judge it on the basis of what it is today. Having said that, the Moto Buds+ is a highly enjoyable pair of TWS earbuds with an impressive feature list and sound quality, very good call quality, competent battery backup and some useful sound tweaks through the app.
Let’s not forget the ‘Sound by Bose’ branding that one can flaunt at a fraction of the cost of most Bose TWS earbuds. It does have a few minor bugs, most of which Motorola can fix through software updates. If the company actually cares to do that in the near future, the Moto Buds+ can be one the best sounding and most well-rounded pair of TWS earbuds under Rs 10,000 in India.
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