OnePlus Buds Pro 2 Will Support Android 13's Spatial Audio

OnePlus will announce its newest pair of premium, truly wireless stereo (TWS) earbuds globally at the OnePlus 11 launch event on February 7. As with every previous launch, OnePlus is excitedly oversharing details about the devices and has announced key detail about the OnePlus Buds Pro 2. The upcoming noise-cancelling earbuds will support Android 13's spatial audio and head tracking features to mimic a 360° surround sound experience.

The OnePlus Buds Pro 2 earbuds will sense any physical movement and change the audio to simulate directional changes through an inertial measurement unit (IMU) chip, and a proprietary "spatial rendering algorithm." You may compare this to moving your head around in a physical space with the audio emitting from a fixed but distant source — except it is actually emulated with software, and the audio is radiated right inside your ears. The apparent direction of the audio changes as you move your head around, surrounding you with an aura of sounds.

As per the announcement, the upcoming OnePlus Buds Pro 2 will be one of the first pairs of wireless earbuds to support Android 13's spatial audio and head tracking feature. Brands such as Samsung and LG have already implemented their own versions of spatial audio functionality, letting users experience an ambient surround sound experience with easily distinguishable sources of sounds — just as you would experience in real life. Apple also allows you to use spatial audio with AirPods Pro (1st and 2nd Gen), AirPods Max, AirPods (3rd generation), or Beats Fit Pro.

Switching to spatial audio on Android 12 or older versions — with devices such as the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro — prevents you from listening to audio at the highest possible audio quality to avoid any signal latency. But with Android 13, Google added dedicated head tracking and spatial audio APIs, allowing enhancements very early on the audio signal chain. These APIs are also designed to ensure the improvements added to the audio do not result in any delays or latency in the audio transmission from the phone to the headphones.

These premium OnePlus earbuds will feature a "stereo up-mixing algorithm, creating multi-dimensional sound from mainstream audio and video apps." This means that OnePlus's proprietary algorithm will bypass limitations to Android 13's spatial audio feature that only works with apps or content marked explicitly for high-quality codecs — such as Dolby Audio or 5.1 surround sound. As a result, you should be able to enjoy spatial audio even from low-quality audio from sources like YouTube or TikTok.

In addition to spatial audio, the OnePlus Buds Pro 2 will also support Android's Fast Pair, which instantly lets you connect Bluetooth headphones to your Android phone. From their China-only launch earlier in January 2023, we know the OnePlus Buds Pro 2 feature dual 11mm and 6mm drivers — one for treble and another dedicatedly for bass. They support SBC, AAC, LC3, and LHDC 5.0 Bluetooth audio codes and a low-latency gaming mode. 

Besides fast wired charging, the earbuds also support wireless charging with Qi-compliant charging pads. The sound signature is tuned by Dynaudio, renowned for high-quality speakers. While we expect OnePlus to intentionally spill beans about other features ahead of the launch event, leaving only pricing to be announced on February 7.