REVIEW: Moto Buds+ with Bose is one of the best headphones today

Launched in Brazil at the beginning of May 2024, the Moto Buds+, with good quality sound certification from Bose, promises to be a competitor to the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro and AirPods 2 Pro. Check out our full review and consider purchasing (or not).

Design

With a case that has the official weight of 43 grams, the Moto Buds+ It was launched in just two colors: a shade of black and another shade of light brown, which was the one we received for testing. The case is IPX2 certified, which guarantees problem-free use in the event of water splashes.

Inside the box, there is the UBS-C charger, four additional silicone rubbers and an instruction manual. It is worth remembering that there is support for IP54 certification, which makes the device resistant to water splashes and dust.

Using the model on a daily basis is very simple: immediately after removing the sticker from the usage sensors, the headphones are ready. The fit in the ear was very assertive and, if you think the devices are poorly fitted, there is an assistant in the app Moto Buds that helps resolve this.

The carrying case follows the pattern of devices like this: it fits in the palm of your hand, in your pants pocket and can be thrown at the end of your backpack. It has a USB-C input that allows you to charge the battery. You can use your smartphone's charger to also recharge the Moto Buds+.

One thing I really liked is its everyday use, but there are caveats. It has a sensor that automatically detects use and, in theory, it would have to stop the music when one of the headphones is removed from the ear. My experience with this was mixed: sometimes the music stopped assertively, but there were also times when it didn't.

I don't know if this can be fixed in a future update, but if this is the result, there's no point in even installing a usage sensor that doesn't detect usage assertively.

But not everything went wrong: I really liked the possibility of pausing, skipping and rewinding the songs we are listening to with just a few taps. This can be customized in the app to work with Motorola headphones and prevents you from taking your phone out of your pocket. It's possible:

• Skip forward a song
• Play/pause a song
• Back a song
• Volume up
• Turn down the volume
• Activate your cell phone's personal assistant by touching and holding

One factor that made me curious was not being able to just tap the headset to give a command. Keeping an eye on the user experience, I also believe that swiping your finger up or down would be the best option to change the music volume, something that happens in the TCL MOVEAUDIO S600.

The gesture usage experience is not bad, although the usage sensor could be better when you think that the headset was allocated to the premium category. Everything, including the user experience, should be perfect, right? These are small errors that will be noticed by more demanding people.

Audio quality

As a person who listens to music in practically every part of their day, there is a lot to comment about the audio quality of the Moto Buds+. Speaking of bass, the headset manages to perform well and delivers immersive beats, due to high-quality audio transmission.

Upon hearing “funk rave", from Anitta, I really liked the way the sound of the beats was emitted with quality and good immersion, even when noise cancellation was deactivated. Going to songs with more treble, like “Praying", from Kesha, I felt a certain imbalance between the guitar and the sound of the singer's voice.

What I felt is that it has a sound that matches the Galaxy Buds FE, but without so much treble balance made by the headphone Samsung. There is a game mode that focuses on latency to make your games more immersive, which also works well, but I would say that this is a headset that should be used more for music and calls than for games.

Support for Dolby Atmos It is interesting to have here and if you are a subscriber to Apple Music or Tidal, you will notice the good quality of the music from these services. As a user of Spotify, which doesn't have as much quality sound compared to its competitors, I can say that I had a good sound experience in general.

You can hear Bose's sound work in the speakers, but there is a lack of good balance in songs with more treble when the processor is transmitting the sound. Is bad? No, but it's not high quality either. We are somewhere in the middle.

Noise cancellation

Moto Buds+ has three noise cancellation modes:

• Transparency: through the three microphones, the headset detects external sound and performs a small amount of noise cancellation that allows you to listen to music while you are on the street. It's an ideal way to bring more security and be aware of what's around you, but be aware that your music can be “interrupted” by external sounds.
• Adaptation: This is the most assertive of all. The Motorola headset analyzes the noise in the place you are and decides whether partial or complete isolation will be done. Not having to worry about switching in the app is great.
• Complete noise cancellation: as the name suggests, there is a kind of vacuum that prevents external sounds from impacting your call. But, in noisier places, like avenues and buildings, I heard external sound. This does not characterize it as bad, but be aware that, if you are in an extremely noisy place, you will hear some noise here and there.

I end this topic by mentioning that the idea is good and well executed 90% of the time, but it lacks that final touch to characterize it as perfect.

personal assistants

Moto Buds+ hits the market with support for you to activate your cell phone's personal assistant by tapping on the headset, also allowing you to give voice commands through the microphones. So, this is more of an extension of the smartphone than a standalone function.

Such an action is not considered bad, but when my cell phone was in my pocket, the “Ok Google” and “Hey Google” commands did not activate the personal assistant as I wanted. The manufacturer also highlights that Siri, Apple's assistant, will work fully with its Moto Buds+.

My only complaint is that, despite being part of the premium category, Motorola still does not deliver a headset with a built-in personal assistant, which makes this functionality more of a mirror than something autonomous. Despite this, I had no errors when giving voice commands due to the microphones, even though I was outdoors.

Connectivity

Equipped with an antenna that follows the Bluetooth 5.3 standard, the Moto Buds+ arrives on the market with the possibility of connecting with up to 2 devices at the same time, in addition to having a sufficient range for me to move around the house without forgetting to listen to music.

A small error that I noticed in connectivity is that the left earphone disconnected from the case, often even citing that it was out of battery. In fact, it is an error that was corrected when I put this phone back in its case. But it took almost a week for me to discover this solution.

The case can also be easily found by your smartphone due to the support for Google Fast Pair Service. The first use is very quick to do and, the next time you use the Motorola headset, the connection will happen automatically.

Until I had a good connectivity experience with the Moto Buds+. Of course, bugs are not present all the time, but when they happen, they give us that break in expectations that should be non-existent, since we use a device in the most expensive category on the market.

Moto Buds app

Support for configuring Motorola's TWS headphones is called Moto Buds. It, in itself, is very simple and useful in everyday life. In addition to allowing you to control the equalizer, you can also switch between noise cancellation modes, activate game mode and change gesture controls.

Operating system updates and ergonomics testing can also be done using the same application. There's not much to say about the Moto Buds app: it delivers exactly what it sets out to do.

A function that may be interesting for the most inattentive is the function of finding the headphones through a loud beep. I missed support for Find My Device or any location service to help with location outside the home or when the headphones are very far away, something seen in Samsung Galaxy Buds FE, for example.

Battery

When using noise cancellation activated, I managed to reach 02:30 am, a time a little lower than my daily training at the gym. By deactivating the noise cancellation mode, the usage time on a full charge increased to 05 hours, more than enough for me to train at the gym, return home and still listen to music before going to sleep. With transparency mode activated, I reached 4 hours of use.

A Motorola promised usage of up to 30 hours with the support of the charging case. For this, there is a 545 mAh battery: 500 mAh in the case and the rest in the headphones. I managed to make 7 full charges of the phone, with each of them reaching 100%. Totaling a total of 26h30 of use.

I would say that, despite not reaching what the company cites in its marketing material, whenever necessary, I was able to use the headphones for at least 03 hours on a single charge. I preferred to use it with the noise cancellation disabled to achieve a longer usage time, which still delivered good sound, no matter how much I “sacrifice” the isolation.

Charging the case, done via USB-C connection, takes about an hour to complete. You can also use wireless charging to recover some energy, but it's worth remembering that charging time will increase. That said, my tip is: after a full day of use: put the headphones and the case to recharge overnight so you have a full day of battery life.

Price

The Moto Buds+ has a suggested price of R$999 (but it can now be found for BRL 899 at Magazine Luiza via Pix), too high for what it delivers (even though it is the direct competitor of the Galaxy Buds2). The price of around R$700 is ideal, so I would say that, at the moment we close this text, it is not yet time to buy the Moto Buds+.

Compared to competitors, the AirPods 2 Pro, released in September 2022, can be found for R$ 1.979 via Pix at Magazine Luiza. The Galaxy Buds2 Pro, Samsung's competitor, can be found by R$ 749,00 via Pix, lower value than Motorola and with more assertive sound.

Another competitor is Sony WF-1000XM5, known for delivering good noise cancellation. This model can be found for R$1.625 on Amazon. In fact, Motorola's option is in the middle, but its current market price still doesn't match the experience it delivers.

Conclusion

The Moto Buds+, with Sound by Bose, places Motorola as a good brand of wireless headphones. It has a battery that attracts attention and, despite not having the best treble balance I've seen in devices like this, it has a sound that really attracts attention.

Its biggest Achilles heel at the time of launch is precisely its price, which I consider too high for what it delivers. The price of around R$700 is ideal, so I would say that, at the moment we close this text, it is not yet time to buy the Moto Buds+.

But it comes across as a premium option that manages to deliver good battery life, quality sound and a connected experience that attract attention. That said, I characterize the model as a good option and it will be even better when it doesn't have the starting price suggested by its manufacturer.

Technical Specifications

Mark	Motorola
Model	Moto Buds+
Dimensions and Weight	Charging case: 59,87mm x 48,97mm x 24,84mm  42,8 grams (headphones+ case)
Speaker	unidirectional
Microphone	3 microphones (2 external + 1 internal)
Battery Capacity	Headphones: 45 mAh Charging case: 500 mAh
Battery	Up to 7h with ANC deactivated Battery life of up to 30h
Connectivity	Bluetooth 5.3, Auto Switch
Standard	Proximity, Hall, Touch
Special Features	Sound by Bouse His-Res Audio Dolby Atmos Game mode
Compatibility	Android 10 or higher with more than 1,5 GB RAM
Price	BRL 899 at Magazine Luiza via Pix

Do you have any questions about the Motorola headset usage experience? Tell us in the comments!

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