OPPO Enco X review: Stepping up sound

The OPPO Enco X wireless earphones offer great sound and handy features like noise cancellation and an awareness mode. As OPPO’s high-end earphones, the Enco X earphones would complement any smartphone user well, thanks to a long battery life, a comfortably small case, and a design that isn’t overly aggressive against your ear shape.

That being said, some users might be disappointed with the Enco X’s controls, the $250 price tag, or the limited functionality on iOS devices. But for Android users, these are definitely Galaxy Buds contenders in terms of features and quality, and are well worth considering, writes Zachariah Kelly.

OPPO: Rising through the ranks

No phone manufacturer in the world since Apple and Samsung has seen recognition and wide-scale growth like OPPO. Manufacturing phones at price points from $299 to $1,700, OPPO’s broad phone catalogue and user-friendly operating system has been well received. Such success would feed into OPPO’s development of accessories, such as earphones and smartwatches, and today OPPO is producing accessories in direct competition with Apple’s AirPods and Samsung’s Galaxy Buds.

The OPPO Enco X wireless earbuds serve the same role for OPPO users that AirPods do for iPhone users, and Galaxy Buds do for Samsung users: offer a premium listening experience with a range of integrated features, best suited for OPPO’s ecosystem and Android devices.

Design and feel: Slick, small and strong

The OPPO Enco X earphones follow an unimposing, professional aesthetic. Available in Black and White, the buds are simple in design, composed of a small rod attached to a pebble-sized section, which sits in your ear with a comfortable rubber bit keeping the bud firmly placed. The buds are quite small, which some users might not like if they’re concerned about losing or destroying them, but overall I found the size to be fine. The quality of the buds is definitely well made too; The plastic feels premium on both the earphones and the case, which has a nice hinging magnetic design to it.

Unfortunately, I had some trouble with how the buds sat in my ear, which is something I’ve rarely had an issue with after using numerous earphones. When using the default buds, the hard plastic on the ‘pebble’ bit scraped against the side of my ear uncomfortably. However, using the bigger-sized buds that the earphones come with fixed this issue.

Another problem I had was with the playback settings on the sides of the buds. Although the buds are very responsive, sometimes in using them I’ve accidentally ended a call without meaning to (triggered by double-tapping the rod of either bud). Additionally, out of the box, there isn’t a pause button on the side of the buds either.

Fortunately, using the HeyMelody app on Android phones or the ‘OPPO Enco X – Earbud Functions’ section on OPPO devices allows you to rebind the buttons of the buds. For decreasing and increasing volume, you slide your finger down or up the rod, and for changing between noise cancellation or transparency, you hold your finger down on either bud for a second. These features can be quite slow at times, but overall the customisation and the quality of noise cancellation and transparency had me won over.

Performance: The best OPPO has to offer

Priced at $250, the OPPO Enco X earphones don’t make any compromises in terms of performance – these are absolutely the best buds OPPO has to offer right now, and are definitely some of the best I’ve used in a while. OPPO’s collaboration with DYNAUDIO to produce sound quality on these buds seems to have paid off, as the audio is incredibly crisp, loud when you want it to be, and has satisfying bass.

In using these buds extensively with noise cancellation on and the music all the way up, I was able to get a good four hours out of these buds without getting a low battery alert. The case produces a good four full charges for use at any time, so with the settings set to max, you can expect 16 hours of play time before requiring a charge. Having battery-intensive settings disabled will see 16 complete hours reach the 25 to 28 hours range. You can recharge the case with a USB-C cable or through wireless charging, and it should take about two hours for a full charge.

Although the noise cancellation mode won’t block out a bus at a bus stop (which, if you do want, you should be looking for noise-canceling headphones and not earphones) it was still great for blocking out ambient noise in the home like keypresses, and cars when walking down the street. The transparency mode had me especially won over, as I was able to hear anything with clarity with the buds still in my ears, more clearly than with other earphones I’ve tried. Admittedly, you can just take your earphones out of your ears to hear the environment around you, but this way you don’t need to sacrifice what you’re listening to do so.

Should I get the OPPO Enco X earphones?

I recommend the OPPO Enco X earphones to Android users, but for now I would say it’s not perfect for iOS users. While iOS users might not have a problem with how these earphones sound out of the box, the ability to customise your experience on Android devices is a nice perk.

Sitting at a $250 price point, the OPPO Enco X are in direct competition with the Google Pixel Buds ($279), the Sony WF-100XM3 wireless earphones ($249) and the Samsung Galaxy Buds Live ($250). iOS users should consider the Apple AirPods ($249) instead.

Buy the OPPO Enco X earphones if: You want a premium listening experience on Android.

Don’t buy the OPPO Enco X earphones if: You’re an iPhone user and want customisation.

Phone plans for music on the go

Although music streaming doesn’t use up too much data, you can always look around for a phone plan with a better data deal. Prices, plan inclusions and discounts are constantly changing, so it might work out well for you. You can find some postpaid and prepaid plans in the table below.

Read more:

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• Motorola launches new Edge 20 phone range

Product used for review/testing was a free sample provided by OPPO.