Did you know that OnePlus, best known for its popular phones, also makes audio products? Like the OnePlus 6, the $69 Bullets Wireless Bluetooth earphones represent a decent value.
But while they boast solid battery life and a user-friendly design—including magnetic earpieces that automatically power down when snapped together—the earphones are less gym-friendly than much of the in-ear competition.
Furthermore, the audio experience is likely to appeal more to big bass lovers than those seeking an accurate balance between lows and highs.
But the price is right, and if extra bass is your thing, the affordable Bullets Wireless won't disappoint.
Design
Available in black, the Bullets Wireless are neckband-style earphones with a semi-rigid band behind the neck, and thin cabling leading from the band to the earpieces.
The aluminum alloy earpieces are lightweight, with a glossy contour and some red highlights.
Each earpiece utilizes both silicone eartips and earfins, providing a stable, secure in-ear fit (though the fins don't quite stabilize the overall fit as well as some competing models do).
You get three pairs of eartips, and three pairs of stabilizing fins, all in small, medium, and large sizes.
The band is weighted on both ends, and one of these weighted compartments houses the power/pairing button, as well as the micro USB port for the included charging cable.
Notably, the port has no cover to protect it from moisture.
OnePlus claims they're water resistant, but lists no IP rating, and warns against going swimming with them.
This tells us that the IP rating is below IP7 and the earpieces can't be submerged in water.
So, get them sweaty, wear them in light rain, rinse them off gently, but be wary of getting the Bullets Wireless too wet.
Near the left earpiece, there's an inline remote control and mic compartment with three buttons.
A central button controls playback, track navigation, voice assistance, and call management, while the outer plus/minus buttons control volume.
The built-in mic offers ideal intelligibility.
Using the Voice Memos app on an iPhone 6s, we could understand every word we recorded clearly, with very little in the way of fuzzy audio artifacts.
The earpieces clip together magnetically, which is nothing new, but doing this also automatically pauses playback on your music and powers down the earphones.
If all Bluetooth earphones had a feature like this, people would be getting much better battery life.
Speaking of battery life, OnePlus estimates roughly eight hours on a full charge, and claims that charging the earphones for merely 10 minutes will net you five hours of playback.
That's impressive, but also remember that all of these figures are estimates—your volume levels will have a greater say over your results than anything else.
Other than the charging cable and earpieces, the only accessory is a red silicone pouch that doesn't zip up—it has magnets that close it, but it doesn't create a fully protected seal of the pouch's contents.
However, it's of a fairly generous size, so it easily houses the earphones, cable, and eartips.
Performance
On tracks with intense sub-bass content, like The Knife's "Silent Shout," the Bullets Wireless deliver a thumping low frequency response that will appeal to bass lovers.
At top volumes, the bass doesn't distort, and at more moderate levels, the lows are still powerful.
In fact, the mix seems a little shifted toward the lows in terms of overall balance, with the high-mids and highs dulled slightly.
Bill Callahan's "Drover," a track with far less deep bass in the mix, gives us a better sense of the general sound signature.
The drums on this track pack some extra thunder, but aren't boosted to unnatural levels.
Callahan's baritone vocals receive a pleasant rich presence, but again, the high-mids and highs feel just slightly dialed back.
Things never sound muddy, but Callahan's voice lacks the treble edge it often gets from the high-mids, and the acoustic guitar strums lack some of the brightness and immediacy they have when there's a little more high-mid and high frequency presence.
It's not a poorly balanced sound signature—it's more or less a subtle lean toward the lows—but it is noticeable.
On Jay-Z and Kanye West's "No Church in the Wild," the kick drum loop doesn't receive as much high-mid presence as we typically hear, so its attack is less sharp and punchy.
The sustain of the loop gets some added low frequency thump, however, and the sub-bass synth hits that punctuate the beat are delivered with thunderous rumble.
The three vocal performances on this track are delivered cleanly and clearly, but because there's a little more emphasis on bass depth than higher frequency presence, they can at times sound as if they're doing battle with the mix's more powerful low frequency elements.
For orchestral tracks, like the opening scene from John Adams' The Gospel According to the Other Mary, the lower register instrumentation is given some extra bass presence, pushing it out of its supporting role and to the forefront of the mix.
The higher register brass, strings, and vocals still have plenty of crisp presence, but the high-mids are notably dialed back, so things are a little less bright and detailed than they typically are.
Conclusions
The OnePlus Bullets Wireless earphones provide a bass-forward experience that cannot be described as accurate.
But if big, deep bass is your thing, they won't disappoint.
If you're looking for a more exercise-friendly in-ear pair in this price range, consider the even more affordbale JBL Endurance Sprint, which is fully waterproof and also packs some solid bass depth.
We're also fans of the JBL Reflect Mini 2, the JLab Epic Sport Wireless, and the Jaybird X3, all of which are a little more exercise-focused.
At $70, however, the Bullets Wireless are a solid Bluetooth option with a substantial bass-forward approach.
Pros
Powerful, bass-forward audio performance.
Earpieces magnetically snap together and power down.
Solid mic intelligibility.
Affordable.
View More
The Bottom Line
For the price, the OnePlus Bullets Wireless earphones deliver a solid, bass-forward Bluetooth audio experience.
Did you know that OnePlus, best known for its popular phones, also makes audio products? Like the OnePlus 6, the $69 Bullets Wireless Bluetooth earphones represent a decent value.
But while they boast solid battery life and a user-friendly design—including magnetic earpieces that automatically power down when snapped together—the earphones are less gym-friendly than much of the in-ear competition.
Furthermore, the audio experience is likely to appeal more to big bass lovers than those seeking an accurate balance between lows and highs.
But the price is right, and if extra bass is your thing, the affordable Bullets Wireless won't disappoint.
Design
Available in black, the Bullets Wireless are neckband-style earphones with a semi-rigid band behind the neck, and thin cabling leading from the band to the earpieces.
The aluminum alloy earpieces are lightweight, with a glossy contour and some red highlights.
Each earpiece utilizes both silicone eartips and earfins, providing a stable, secure in-ear fit (though the fins don't quite stabilize the overall fit as well as some competing models do).
You get three pairs of eartips, and three pairs of stabilizing fins, all in small, medium, and large sizes.
The band is weighted on both ends, and one of these weighted compartments houses the power/pairing button, as well as the micro USB port for the included charging cable.
Notably, the port has no cover to protect it from moisture.
OnePlus claims they're water resistant, but lists no IP rating, and warns against going swimming with them.
This tells us that the IP rating is below IP7 and the earpieces can't be submerged in water.
So, get them sweaty, wear them in light rain, rinse them off gently, but be wary of getting the Bullets Wireless too wet.
Near the left earpiece, there's an inline remote control and mic compartment with three buttons.
A central button controls playback, track navigation, voice assistance, and call management, while the outer plus/minus buttons control volume.
The built-in mic offers ideal intelligibility.
Using the Voice Memos app on an iPhone 6s, we could understand every word we recorded clearly, with very little in the way of fuzzy audio artifacts.
The earpieces clip together magnetically, which is nothing new, but doing this also automatically pauses playback on your music and powers down the earphones.
If all Bluetooth earphones had a feature like this, people would be getting much better battery life.
Speaking of battery life, OnePlus estimates roughly eight hours on a full charge, and claims that charging the earphones for merely 10 minutes will net you five hours of playback.
That's impressive, but also remember that all of these figures are estimates—your volume levels will have a greater say over your results than anything else.
Other than the charging cable and earpieces, the only accessory is a red silicone pouch that doesn't zip up—it has magnets that close it, but it doesn't create a fully protected seal of the pouch's contents.
However, it's of a fairly generous size, so it easily houses the earphones, cable, and eartips.
Performance
On tracks with intense sub-bass content, like The Knife's "Silent Shout," the Bullets Wireless deliver a thumping low frequency response that will appeal to bass lovers.
At top volumes, the bass doesn't distort, and at more moderate levels, the lows are still powerful.
In fact, the mix seems a little shifted toward the lows in terms of overall balance, with the high-mids and highs dulled slightly.
Bill Callahan's "Drover," a track with far less deep bass in the mix, gives us a better sense of the general sound signature.
The drums on this track pack some extra thunder, but aren't boosted to unnatural levels.
Callahan's baritone vocals receive a pleasant rich presence, but again, the high-mids and highs feel just slightly dialed back.
Things never sound muddy, but Callahan's voice lacks the treble edge it often gets from the high-mids, and the acoustic guitar strums lack some of the brightness and immediacy they have when there's a little more high-mid and high frequency presence.
It's not a poorly balanced sound signature—it's more or less a subtle lean toward the lows—but it is noticeable.
On Jay-Z and Kanye West's "No Church in the Wild," the kick drum loop doesn't receive as much high-mid presence as we typically hear, so its attack is less sharp and punchy.
The sustain of the loop gets some added low frequency thump, however, and the sub-bass synth hits that punctuate the beat are delivered with thunderous rumble.
The three vocal performances on this track are delivered cleanly and clearly, but because there's a little more emphasis on bass depth than higher frequency presence, they can at times sound as if they're doing battle with the mix's more powerful low frequency elements.
For orchestral tracks, like the opening scene from John Adams' The Gospel According to the Other Mary, the lower register instrumentation is given some extra bass presence, pushing it out of its supporting role and to the forefront of the mix.
The higher register brass, strings, and vocals still have plenty of crisp presence, but the high-mids are notably dialed back, so things are a little less bright and detailed than they typically are.
Conclusions
The OnePlus Bullets Wireless earphones provide a bass-forward experience that cannot be described as accurate.
But if big, deep bass is your thing, they won't disappoint.
If you're looking for a more exercise-friendly in-ear pair in this price range, consider the even more affordbale JBL Endurance Sprint, which is fully waterproof and also packs some solid bass depth.
We're also fans of the JBL Reflect Mini 2, the JLab Epic Sport Wireless, and the Jaybird X3, all of which are a little more exercise-focused.
At $70, however, the Bullets Wireless are a solid Bluetooth option with a substantial bass-forward approach.
Pros
Powerful, bass-forward audio performance.
Earpieces magnetically snap together and power down.
Solid mic intelligibility.
Affordable.
View More
The Bottom Line
For the price, the OnePlus Bullets Wireless earphones deliver a solid, bass-forward Bluetooth audio experience.
