- Motorola just revealed the Moto Buds 2 and Moto Buds 2 Plus at MWC
- Expect “Sound by Bose,” ANC, spatial audio, and up to 48 hours of battery life
- Just £69.99 (or around $94 / AU$132, where sold) for the Buds 2
Hello Moto! I love a set of earbuds that deliver flagship benefits for the budget, and Motorola’s new offerings – that is, the all-new Moto Buds 2 and Moto Buds 2 Plus – do just that, at least on paper.
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen Bose offer its mastery of audio tuning for a fee. Skullcandy accepted Bose’s offer for its Skullcandy Method 360 and, more recently, the flagship Method 540 with excellent sonic results.
But even if these headphones were cheaper than anything with the Bose branding on the headphones and box, they’re still very expensive compared to what Motorola plans to charge.
TechRadar is present at the show this year CMM (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 feature in our guide to the best cheap headphones soon? Perhaps, although it’s important to say that so far Motorola hasn’t suggested a global rollout beyond the UK and Ireland.
First of all, both options offer dynamic active noise cancellation (ANC), but it’s the Moto Buds 2 Plus (main image) that feature “Sound by Bose” technology.
The Moto Buds 2 Plus also sport a Hi-Res Audio badge, thanks to support for the Low Latency High Definition Audio Codec (LHDC) and Spatial Audio, provided you’re using a Motorola handset and streaming source material presented in Dolby Atmos. You also get an 11mm driver per earpiece, “complemented by Knowles balanced armatures,” according to Motorola.
For clearer calls, the Moto Buds 2 Plus are equipped with six mics in total, which users can further modify via the Moto Buds app, including the deployment of CrystalTalk AI (which apparently uses advanced AI noise reduction to clarify the wearer’s voice in noisy environments).
The Moto Buds 2 Plus’s endurance claim is up to 9 hours of gaming time on a single charge and up to 40 hours of total battery life with the charging case (which is to say impressive). For added flexibility, you can connect to two devices simultaneously, or use audio sharing when you’re with a friend and connect two sets of Moto Buds 2 Plus to a single 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 or not, as well as the ability to customize the 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 activating the Moto ai4 with a single tap and hold deploys AI features, including “Catch Me,” for a summary of recent notifications, or “Pay Attention” to record, transcribe, or summarize meetings.
Users can also, Moto says, access AI-based translation. via their headphones on some devices (read: a moto ai compatible phone) for those who are clumsy “Help – what platform for Cadorna please?” moments during business trips.
The cheaper set actually offers better endurance and new acoustic architecture
The Moto Buds 2 (above) are, according to the company, “designed for students, young professionals, and music lovers,” but despite my advanced age (and the fact that I’m not a student), I really like the sound of these headphones.
The Moto Buds 2 feature 11mm dynamic drivers and 6mm “Micro Planar Magnetic” drivers, again with LHDC and Spatial Audio high-resolution audio support, provided you have the Motorola source device and the correct content.
Again, there’s dynamic ANC (claimed up to 55dB) and a Transparency mode, also with six microphones in total.
Battery life? In fact, it’s even better! The Moto Buds 2 could offer up to 11 hours of playback and a total of 48 hours of battery life with the charging case. And when time is limited, a 10-minute quick charge should provide up to 3 hours of reading.
Dual tethering, Bluetooth 6.0 (for stronger connectivity and improved speeds), a gaming mode to reduce latency, and access to Moto ai4 features on compatible Motorola devices are also there, meaning the aforementioned Catch Me, Pay Attention, and Remember This (along with a quick grab and press of the buttons) are also there.
So, better battery life and a nice driver lineup at a lower cost, just with audio not tuned by Bose? I mean, I’m not not interested…
The Moto Buds 2 Plus are priced at £129.99 / €149.99 (that’s around $175 or AU$245, as rough estimates) 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 will cost just £69.99 / €79.99 (or around $94 / AU$132, where sold) and will be available to buy in the UK and Ireland, also in the coming weeks, but they are available in Pantone shades ‘Carbon’, ‘Violet Ice’ or ‘Grey Mist’.
How good are they? We can’t say yet, but I for one would love to get the cheaper set – ideally in Purple – for a test drive…
The best wireless headphones for every budget
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