- Motorola has just unveiled the Moto Buds 2 and Moto Buds 2 Plus at MWC
- Expect ‘Sound by Bose’, ANC, spatial sound and up to 48 hours of battery life
- Only £69.99 (which is around $94 / AU$132 where sold) for the Buds 2
Hey Moto! I love a set of earphones that offer flagship perks for budget money, and Motorola’s new offering – namely the all-new Moto Buds 2 and Moto Buds 2 Plus – does just that, at least on paper.
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen Bose offer its audio tuning championship for a fee. Skullcandy took Bose up on the offer with its Skullcandy Method 360 and more recently the flagship Method 540 with excellent results, sonically speaking.
But while these buds were cheaper than anything else with Bose’s own branding on the headset and box, they’re still positively expensive compared to what Motorola plans to charge.
TechRadar is on the show floor for this year’s MWC (Mobile World Congress) in Barcelona, Spain, and we’ll be covering the latest news from some of the biggest names in mobile, computing, fitness and more
Moto Buds 2 and Moto Buds 2 Plus: what you need to know
So will these little beauties be making their way into our best cheap earphones guide soon? Possibly, although it’s important to say that so far, Motorola hasn’t proposed a global rollout beyond the UK and Ireland.
First, both options offer dynamic Active Noise Cancellation (ANC), but it’s the Moto Buds 2 Plus (main image) that comes with ‘Sound by Bose’ technology built-in.
The Moto Buds 2 Plus also carry a Hi-Res Audio badge, thanks to Low-Latency High-Definition Audio Codec (LHDC) support and Spatial Audio, provided you’re using a Motorola handset and streaming source material presented in Dolby Atmos. You also get an 11 mm driver per earpiece, “complemented by Knowles’ balanced armatures,” according to Motorola.
For clearer calls, the Moto Buds 2 Plus have six microphones in total, which users can further fine-tune through the Moto Buds app, including the implementation of CrystalTalk AI (which apparently uses advanced AI noise reduction to clarify the wearer’s voice in loud environments).
The Moto Buds 2 Plus’ endurance claim is up to 9 hours of playtime on a single charge and up to 40 hours of total battery life with the charging case (ie, impressive). For added flexibility, connect to two devices simultaneously or turn on Audio Share when you’re with a friend and connect two sets of Moto Buds 2 Plus to one phone to enjoy the same music, movie or podcast. The Moto Buds 2 Plus also feature Wear Detection to automatically pause and resume playback depending on whether you’re wearing them, plus the ability to customize on-ear controls.
The company is really trying to get you to buy into the ecosystem here as well. On compatible Motorola devices, the company says that activating the Moto ai4 with a simple tap and hold deploys AI features, including ‘Catch me up’ for a summary of recent messages or ‘Pay attention’ to record, transcribe or summarize meetings.
Users can also, Moto says, access AI-powered translation through their buttons on select devices (read: a moto ai-capable phone) for the awkward “Help – which platform for Cadorna please?” moments on business trips.
The cheaper set actually provides better endurance – and new acoustic architecture
The Moto Buds 2 (above) are, the company says, “built for students, young professionals and music lovers alike,” but despite my advancing years (and the fact that I’m not a student), I like the sound of these buds a lot.
The Moto Buds 2 have 11mm dynamic drivers and 6mm “Micro Planar Magnetic” drivers, again with Hi-Res audio LHDC support and Spatial Audio as long as you have the Motorola source device and correct content.
Again, there’s dynamic ANC (claimed up to 55dB) and a Transparency mode, also with six microphones in total.
Battery life? It’s actually even better! The Moto Buds 2 can reportedly offer up to 11 hours of playback and a total of up to 48 hours of battery life with the charging case. And when time is limited, a quick 10-minute charge should provide up to 3 hours of playback.
Dual Connection, Bluetooth 6.0 (for stronger connectivity and improved speeds), a Gaming Mode to reduce latency and access to the Moto ai4 features on compatible Motorola devices are also here, which means the aforementioned Catch me up, Pay attention, and remember this (with a quick hold and press of the buttons) is also here.
So better battery life and an interesting driver array for less, just with sound not tuned by Bose? I mean, I’m not not interested…
The Moto Buds 2 Plus are priced at £129.99 / €149.99 (which is around $175 or AU$245, as a rough estimate) and will be available to buy in the UK and Ireland in the coming weeks in your choice of Pantone ‘Cool White’ or ‘Silhouette’.
The Moto Buds 2 cost just £69.99 / €79.99 (or around $94 / AU$132 where sold) and will be available to buy in the UK and Ireland in the coming weeks as well, but they’re available in Pantone shades ‘Carbon’, ‘Violet Ice’ or ‘Gray Mist’.
How good are they? We can’t say yet, but I’d love to grab the cheaper set – ideally in Violet – for a test ride…
The best wireless earphones for all budgets
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