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The OnePlus Buds Pro is expected to land on September 1st, but the new earbuds have already made their way into the hands of reviewers such as 9to5Google. In their early testing, the 9to5Google team found that OnePlus opted to get rid of Google Fast Pair support in favor of its own solution. After reaching out to OnePlus to see if this was just a bug in the pre-release software, the company confirmed that Fast Pair had, indeed, been removed.
Google Fast Pair has been around for a few years now and is a way for accessory makers to make the pairing process between headphones or smartwatches and smartphones seamless. Think of this as Google’s answer to how Apple products can quickly be paired such as the AirPods Pro with an iPhone or Mac.
Unfortunately, it seems that OnePlus decided that owners of the Buds Pro would be better served by using an app called “HeyMelody“. After the app has been downloaded, you’ll see a prompt appear that looks pretty similar to that of Google’s Fast Pair interface. This is also the only way that you’ll be able to see the actual remaining battery percentage of your Buds Pro case.
Luckily, if you are using a OnePlus phone with the OnePlus Buds Pro, then a similar fast-pairing interface is revealed without the need of downloading another app. It’s just the rest of Android users that are left to download the HeyMelody app.
This decision is a rather disappointing one, as Google Fast Pair is extremely convenient and allows you to pair the same set of headphones to other Android phones, provided the same Google account is signed in.
Despite the lack of Fast Pair, the OnePlus Buds Pro is an intriguing set of earbuds coming on September 1st. For just $150, you’ll be getting adaptive Active Noise Cancellation, a sleek (albeit familiar) design, and wireless charging. It will be interesting to see how these earbuds stack up against the likes of the Galaxy Buds 2 which are slated to arrive this week.
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