3 Small Earbuds, 3 Everyday Situations: Apple, OnePlus or Baseus?

TVS News AI, editorially supervised, presents 3 Small Earbuds, 3 Everyday Situations: Apple, OnePlus or Baseus.

Your ears accompany you from your first call to your workout: In the morning, you may make calls; at midday, you sit on the subway; and in the afternoon, you exercise. That is precisely why three small earbud models feel so different despite having similar basic features. The crucial difference lies not only in how good they sound, but in the extra feature they bring to your day.

This matters if you are buying earbuds for more than just one situation. A model for the train can be impractical for making calls, while an open model, in turn, does not block out train noise. Looking at your typical daily routine makes the choice much easier.

The comparison from ABC.es therefore focuses on three additional features: conversations, noise cancellation and heart-rate monitoring. Baseus, OnePlus and Apple cannot all be equally convincing in these areas. The physical design alone determines which model is suitable for your use.

Open-Ear or In-Ear: This Decision Shapes Your Entire Day

The Baseus Inspire XC1 attach to the ear like an earring and do not enter the ear canal. That is a fundamentally different approach from the OnePlus Buds 4, which fit inside the ear and consequently seal it off from the environment more strongly.

With open ears, you continue to hear what is happening around you. That is useful if you want to understand your colleague standing nearby while also on a call. For an entire morning with several conversations, this can be a clear advantage.

The open design also has a downside: On buses and the subway, outside noises continue to reach you. Music and traffic noise, in other words, are not consistently separated from one another as they are with a model featuring noise cancellation. The Inspire XC1 are therefore less suitable for longer, noisy journeys.

Morning at the Office: Baseus Focuses on Conversations

The Baseus Inspire XC1 feature four microphones designed for calls. The advantage lies not only in listening, but especially in speaking: You can call someone while continuing to perceive sounds from your surroundings.

This is likely to be particularly pleasant if your meetings tend to last a long time. After two hours of meetings, the pressure sensation caused by an in-ear earbud can be burdensome for some people. The open clip largely reduces this physical sensation.

The concept is suitable for office use. The opposite applies to journeys on public transport: Without a sealing design, the characteristic rattling of the carriage remains audible*. Baseus therefore clearly prioritizes conversations and awareness of the surroundings.

Price and Wireless Standard

The Baseus Inspire XC1 earbuds are offered on AliExpress for €149.98. The listed discount code is ABCES23. They connect via Bluetooth 6.1, which the comparison says is more up to date than the Bluetooth version of the OnePlus Buds 4.

Midday on the Subway: OnePlus Keeps Traffic Noise Outside

The OnePlus Buds 4 take a different approach from Baseus: They fit inside the ear and seal off the environment more strongly. Their central feature is active noise cancellation.

This is intended to make the rattling of the subway carriage and the murmuring of fellow passengers quieter. It is particularly useful for podcasts: Voices can be understood at a lower volume, so you do not have to keep turning the volume up to the maximum.

This is exactly where the everyday difference lies. If you regularly travel long distances by train, the Buds 4 provide a quieter listening environment. If, by contrast, you need to remain reachable while working and hold conversations at your desk, open ears are likely to offer greater flexibility.

According to the comparison, the Buds 4 cost €61.14 on AliExpress. The discount code given is ABCES12. ABC.es says this puts them well below the price of the AirPods and that they are currently being offered at a discount.

Afternoon Workout: Apple Adds Heart-Rate Monitoring to Noise Cancellation

Apple combines noise cancellation and a heart-rate sensor in its AirPods. The sensor is the additional element that distinguishes this small earbud series from the other two concepts: Baseus focuses on an open design, while OnePlus focuses on noise cancellation alone.

For an afternoon session at the gym, this addition can be decisive: You receive not only audio signals but also information about your heart rate. Apple thus provides information that goes beyond pure audio playback and blocking out the environment.

Details about the features, however, remain limited: OnePlus is associated primarily with noise cancellation, and Apple with noise cancellation plus a heart-rate sensor. The source provides no further basis for a direct price or feature test of all three models.

Your Decision: Not the Best Technology, but Your Most Important Everyday Situation

The difference becomes clearest when you sort the three models according to their priorities:

• Baseus Inspire XC1: An open clip-on design with four microphones and audible* surroundings. The clear choice for numerous calls and longer days in the office.
• OnePlus Buds 4: In-ear design and active noise cancellation. The suitable option for noisy journeys and podcasts.
• Apple AirPods*: Noise cancellation and a heart-rate sensor. The additional workout feature is particularly relevant for sports and exercise.

If your calls account for most of your usage in the morning, the open design of the Baseus makes the case for itself. For commutes by subway or bus, the OnePlus Buds 4 are the logical choice. When it comes to sports, Apple scores points with its heart-rate sensor, provided this additional feature is relevant to you.

Price alone therefore does not determine everything. The €149.98 for Baseus and the €61.14 for OnePlus should only be compared in conjunction with your primary area of use. The discount code must be taken into account when reviewing the offer.

11 Tips for Making the Right Choice

1. Start with your noisiest situation

First, check where you use your earbuds most often. A noisy workplace, a crowded train and a gym present different requirements that no model covers in exactly the same way.

2. Decide whether your ear needs to remain open

If you want to hear colleagues or other passengers while using your earbuds, Baseus's open design is the relevant difference. Ambient sounds are not blocked out.

3. Choose in-ear headphones for deliberate isolation

The OnePlus Buds 4 fit inside the ear and dampen the environment through their design. With active noise cancellation, they target the rattling and murmuring during your journey in particular.

4. Plan conversations before entertainment

If phone calls and face-to-face conversations are important to you, the open design of the Inspire XC1 is practical. You do not need to mute your earbuds to continue hearing the person you are speaking to or your surroundings.

5. Evaluate microphones according to your main purpose

The four microphones on the Baseus support use cases in which conversations are the priority in the comparison. They are particularly helpful when intelligibility in conversations matters, rather than when a stronger sound effect is the primary goal.

6. Use noise cancellation for podcasts

With the OnePlus model, you can understand podcasts and other voices at a lower volume because background noise is reduced. If you travel by train regularly, this offers a direct everyday benefit.

7. Check whether the heart-rate sensor matters to you

Apple's heart-rate sensor expands the functions beyond noise cancellation. For workouts, this additional information can be useful; if working in the office and commuting are your priorities, it is less important.

8. Consider the use situations separately

Office in the morning, subway at midday and training in the afternoon each require different features. Do not look for the model that can theoretically handle every task, but for the one that best covers your most important situation.

9. Compare the prices with the discount code

For the Baseus Inspire XC1, the comparison lists €149.98 plus code ABCES23. For the OnePlus Buds 4, it is €61.14 with ABCES12. Compare the current offer in each case, rather than just the nominal price.

10. Check Bluetooth for quick device switches

According to the source, the Inspire XC1 use Bluetooth 6.1, giving them a newer standard than the OnePlus Buds 4. This may be relevant to your use. However, no further differences regarding connectivity can be derived from the comparison.

11. Do not expect one model to do everything equally well

The comparison's central point is: Baseus, OnePlus and Apple focus on different strengths. It is precisely this specialization that makes the choice easier to understand. Therefore, first ask yourself which feature should improve your everyday life the most.

Conclusion: Small Earbuds, Big Differences

The Baseus Inspire XC1 are the most convincing if you want to remain reachable while using them and hold multiple conversations. The OnePlus Buds 4 are a better fit for long, noisy journeys and podcasts. Apple's combination of noise cancellation and a heart-rate sensor, by contrast, is suitable for sports and exercise.

The honest recommendation is therefore: Choose based on the everyday situation with the highest demands, not on the number of features. For a flexible test, you can try each model in your own environment over two or three short test periods and then check whether the chosen design really suits your day.

This will help you compare the three models in relation to calls, commuting and workouts. The prices and feature differences come from the comparison by ABC.es. Good luck with your choice.