OnePlus launches Buds Pro 2 Lite, cheaper than the regular Pro, (mostly) with the same features

The OnePlus Nord 2V was announced today and has put the spotlight on it, but the company has also unveiled a new pair of TWS gems: the OnePlus Buds Pro 2 Lite.

These are currently up for pre-order in China at CNY 750 and will go up to CNY 800 when regular sales start on March 13 at 10am local time. It’s slightly cheaper than the original Buds Pro 2, which launched at CNY 900 this January.

So what’s “light” about these gems? Not the design, they look exactly the same as the original Pro. That said, the white color option is new, the green one is unavailable – you can only have the Lite in black or white. The buds are IP55 rated, so they will survive rain and sweat.

The buds have active noise cancellation and can shut out 48dB of outside noise, like regular pros. There are three microphones on each bud and they can be used for noise cancellation during calls as well.

The Buds Pro 2 Lite are rated for high-resolution wireless audio streaming and feature audio tuning by Dynaudio and the legendary Hans Zimmer. For gaming, the buds have a special 54ms low latency mode.

Battery life is also the same: the 60mAh inside each bud is enough for 9 hours of continuous playback, the 520mAh inside the carrying case brings the total listening time to 39 hours. Note that these numbers are with ANC disabled, if you want noise cancellation the continuous listening time drops to 6 hours and total to 25 hours.

OnePlus Buds Pro 2 Lite in black and white

Connectivity is basically the same as the originals – the Lite buds launch with support for LHDC 5.0, which can provide up to 1Mbps bandwidth. The original Pro is expected to receive LHDC 5.0 as an update (it launched with v4.0 ).

The only things missing are Qi wireless charging support and head tracking (however, spatial audio is still supported).

If you’re wondering if the OnePlus Buds 2 Pro will be available globally, we’re wondering the same thing (no word yet). Note that the original Pros have dropped in price since launch, so the CNY 100 difference is closer to zero.