iQOO TWS 5 VS OnePlus Buds 4

Both the iQOO TWS 5 and OnePlus Buds 4 share the same fundamental design philosophy: fully wireless, in-ear earbuds with no neckband, no wingtips, no RGB lighting, and no display. For users, this means a clean, minimal form factor on both sides with no gimmicks — the design competition comes down to the finer details.

The most meaningful differentiator here is water resistance. The OnePlus Buds 4 carries an IP55 rating versus the iQOO TWS 5's IP54. While both are protected against low-pressure water jets from any direction, the higher second digit on the OnePlus (5 vs. 4) means it adds resistance to water jets specifically, not just splashes — making it marginally more suitable for use in rain or high-sweat conditions. In practice, the iQOO TWS 5 is rated only as ″sweat resistant,″ while the OnePlus Buds 4 is classified as ″water resistant,″ a real-world distinction that matters for outdoor or gym use.

Weight is virtually identical — 9.6 g for the iQOO TWS 5 versus 9.46 g for the OnePlus Buds 4 — a difference too small to perceive during wear. Overall, the OnePlus Buds 4 holds a narrow but clear edge in design due to its superior IP55 water resistance rating, which offers slightly better protection in wet environments.

At the core, these two earbuds are remarkably well-matched: identical 11 mm driver sizes, active noise cancellation, passive noise reduction, and spatial audio support — all without Dolby Atmos, Dirac Virtuo, or a neodymium magnet. The shared foundation means neither has a structural hardware advantage in driver technology, and ANC is present on both, which is what most buyers care about first.

Where they diverge is in frequency range. The iQOO TWS 5 reaches up to 48,000 Hz, compared to the OnePlus Buds 4's ceiling of 40,000 Hz. While human hearing generally tops out around 20,000 Hz, a higher upper limit is relevant for hi-res audio formats and can contribute to perceived airiness and detail in the upper registers. On the low end, the OnePlus dips to 15 Hz versus the iQOO's 16 Hz — a technically deeper bass floor, but a 1 Hz difference that is essentially imperceptible in real-world listening.

On balance, the iQOO TWS 5 holds a narrow edge in this group. Its significantly wider high-frequency ceiling — 8,000 Hz more than the OnePlus Buds 4 — is the only meaningful differentiator here and gives it a slight advantage for users who listen to high-resolution audio or prioritize treble extension and detail retrieval.

Runtime is where the iQOO TWS 5 takes a clear lead. It delivers 12 hours of playback per charge versus the OnePlus Buds 4's 11 hours, and extends that advantage to total combined life — 36 hours with the case against 34 hours. Notably, this edge comes despite the iQOO housing a smaller earbud cell (56 mAh vs 62 mAh) and a slightly smaller case battery (513 mAh vs 530 mAh), which implies the iQOO TWS 5 is the more power-efficient of the two. When ANC is active, both earbuds land at the same 6 hours of runtime — a tie that matters for noise-cancellation-heavy users.

The OnePlus Buds 4 counters with a faster charge time: roughly 1 hour 20 minutes to full versus the iQOO's 2 hours. That 40-minute difference is meaningful for users who regularly find themselves topping up in a hurry. Neither earbud supports wireless charging, so both require a cable — a shared limitation at this price tier.

The verdict here depends on usage pattern. For outright longevity between charges, the iQOO TWS 5 wins on both earbud and total case runtime. But if fast turnaround matters more than maximum endurance, the OnePlus Buds 4's quicker charging gives it a practical advantage. On balance, the iQOO holds the broader power edge for most users.

The connectivity foundation is identical: both earbuds run Bluetooth 5.4, support AAC, use USB-C, and cap out at a 10 m wireless range. Neither supports aptX in any form, NFC pairing, or Bluetooth LE Audio — so the real differentiation comes down to two specific codec and usability choices each manufacturer made.

On audio codec support, the iQOO TWS 5 opts for LDAC, Sony's widely adopted hi-res wireless codec capable of transmitting up to 990 kbps — significantly higher than standard Bluetooth audio. This makes it a strong choice for Android users who want near-lossless audio quality, as LDAC enjoys broad device support. The OnePlus Buds 4 instead includes LDHC, a hi-res codec developed by Huawei that targets similar quality levels but has a considerably narrower ecosystem footprint. Unless your source device explicitly supports LDHC, you won't benefit from it — making LDAC the more universally practical choice.

The OnePlus Buds 4 does reclaim ground with fast pairing, a convenience feature the iQOO TWS 5 lacks entirely. Fast pairing streamlines the initial Bluetooth setup experience, which is a small but welcome quality-of-life advantage. Still, codec compatibility tends to have a greater ongoing impact than one-time pairing convenience. On balance, the iQOO TWS 5 holds the connectivity edge for most users thanks to its broader, more ecosystem-friendly hi-res audio support via LDAC.

Much of the feature set here is shared: ambient sound mode, fast charging, mute, headset capability, on-device controls, voice prompts, and a travel bag are all present on both. That common ground sets a solid baseline, but the OnePlus Buds 4 pulls noticeably ahead with three exclusive additions that meaningfully expand day-to-day utility.

The most impactful of those additions is in/on-ear detection, which automatically pauses playback when an earbud is removed — a small convenience that becomes second nature once you have it. Equally useful is the find device feature, which helps locate misplaced earbuds; its absence on the iQOO TWS 5 is a genuine gap for anyone prone to losing small accessories. The third exclusive, a built-in translator, is a more niche capability — useful for travelers or multilingual environments — but still represents added functionality the iQOO simply does not offer.

The OnePlus Buds 4 wins this category clearly and without ambiguity. It matches the iQOO TWS 5 on every shared feature while adding three practical extras — ear detection, device finding, and live translation — that together represent a meaningfully richer feature package for everyday use.

Microphone quantity is where these two earbuds diverge most starkly. The OnePlus Buds 4 specifies 6 microphones, a configuration that enables sophisticated beamforming and multi-point noise isolation — using multiple mics in tandem to isolate the user's voice while aggressively filtering out surrounding noise. More microphones generally translate directly to better call clarity in wind, crowds, and other challenging acoustic environments.

The iQOO TWS 5 presents an unusual data point: its microphone count is listed as 0, yet it is also listed as having a noise-canceling microphone. Based strictly on the provided specifications, no concrete microphone quantity can be attributed to the iQOO TWS 5, which limits any direct quantitative comparison on that dimension.

Working from the data as given, the OnePlus Buds 4 holds a clear and significant advantage in this category. Its 6-microphone array is a well-established hardware advantage for call quality and ANC performance, and no equivalent quantified specification exists for the iQOO TWS 5 to counter it.