Oppo Enco Air 5 Pro review: Class-leading ANC in a premium package

Oppo has had quite a busy month of May. The company launched its flagship – the Find X9 Ultra in India, with the more affordable Find X9s tagging along. But in the midst of all this, one launch may have gone under your radar – the Oppo Enco Air 5 Pro earbuds.

The Enco Air 5 Pro sit at the top of Oppo’s current TWS portfolio in India. While this raises the bar when it comes to expectations, Oppo has, at least on paper, put everything that you would expect from a TWS that costs Rs 4,999.

So, has Oppo managed to deliver with the Enco Air 5 Pro? Let’s delve right into our full review here at India Today Tech.

Oppo Enco Air 5 Pro design

Before we talk about the earbuds in particular, let’s look at the case. The Enco Air 5 Pro come with an elliptical-shaped case. But unlike older Oppo Enco buds that usually get a completely round case, this one has edges that help differentiate it from the rest of the pack.

I particularly like the finish on the matte black variant that we have. Throughout my time with the earbuds, I found it almost impossible to get scratches on the case. The Enco Air 5 Pro case reminds me of the OnePlus 15’s matte black colour, where you can rub off minor scratches.

The magnets to hold the earbuds are strong too, and the hinge quality feels better than the one you may find on the Noise Master Buds 2.

The Enco Air 5 Pro case comes with an indicator light on the front, which is placed below the Oppo logo. The pairing button is on the bottom, beside the USB Type C outlet. The whole layout is familiar, and not different from other Oppo and OnePlus buds. Though it is all plastic, and perhaps better materials may have made it feel more premium.

The earbuds themselves too look familiar. They have the same design to something like the OnePlus Nord Buds 4 Pro or even the far cheaper Oppo Enco Buds 3 Pro Plus. Though the matte finish does make it feel more premium. At 4.4 grams each, the Buds feel quite light, and you almost forget that they are there after a while.

Even if you are aggressively trying to shake your head, the Enco Air 5 Pro earbuds remain stuck in your ear, something that is good not just for those who like to “vibe hard” to music, but also if you are working out while wearing these earbuds.

While a new design for the earbuds could’ve made things fresh, this design does the job – it works, and there is no real need for Oppo to mess with it.

Oppo Enco Air 5 Pro sound experience

The Enco Air 5 Pro come with 12mm titanium-coated diaphragm dynamic drivers. And what we noticed during our time with the earbuds was that you get a good balance of sound, which should suit almost everyone. Oppo has focused more on bass this time around, but this emphasis does not come at a cost of treble or mids.

Rather, while listening to songs like “I wanna be your slave” by Maneskin, you get a decent experience with solid bass, while also being able to hear vocals clearly. In other songs, like Lady Gaga’s “Shape of a woman,” the Enco Air 5 Pro give you clear distinction between the bass and vocals. Though sometimes the mids may feel a bit suppressed.

Nevertheless, when compared to something like the OnePlus Nord Buds 4 Pro, you will get a more enjoyable experience so to speak – ANC plays a role in enhancing this.

As is the case with most TWS earbuds, the Enco Air 5 Pro come with different music settings – “ultimate sound,” “pure vocals,” and “thundering bass.” However, I found that the difference between these modes may be a bit hard to notice for the casual listener. Though you do get an option of a custom EQ to play around with.

One thing that did catch my eye, or ear, was how loud the Enco Air 5 Pro got. These earbuds get decently loud, and at even full volume, the audio doesn’t feel distorted. If you are someone who really likes to listen to music at full volume – which might not be the best choice for your ears though – you will likely enjoy these buds. Compared to even some more expensive earbuds, the Oppo Enco Air 5 Pro makes it actually enjoyable to listen to music at full volume.

There is LHDC support for audio here – no LDAC, which was offered on the Enco Air 3 Pro. While LHDC may not be as universally used as LDAC as a high-res audio standard, it should be fine for the most part.

There’s also Oppo Alive Audio – spatial audio. Just like the Nord Buds 4 Pro’s 3D audio mode, this works just as you’d expect, and if you are listening to supported audio, you will get an immersive experience.

Oppo Enco Air 5 Pro ANC

Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) might be the one area where the Enco Air 5 Pro steals the show. The earbuds support up to 55db of ANC. And it really cocoons you into your own world. The Oppo Enco Air 5 Pro are quite good at muting external noise and AC hums in an office. In fact, you can barely notice even your colleagues talking beside you.

But even in busy places, such as malls, I found that once I turned ANC on, the earbuds – almost magically – made everything quiet. As if, I was not surrounded by 100 people. And this feeling just lifts your experience. Before you know it, you may be “vibing” to something like “Runway” from The Devil Wears Prada 2 in public.

ANC, however, is not for everyone. In case you want to be aware of your surroundings, there is a transparency mode. This makes it easier to have conversations without taking off your earbuds entirely and does the job as one would expect.

Oppo Enco Air 5 Pro features and battery life

Now that we’ve covered audio and ANC, let’s talk about features. First up, since it is an Oppo product, you get seamless connectivity with Oppo, OnePlus and Realme phones – you can access all settings in Bluetooth itself. For other devices, you’ll need the HeyMelody app.

Here you can change different touch controls, such as double tap to skip track. The earbuds are not overly sensitive in this regard, and accidental touches are minimal. There’s in-ear detection too so the Enco Air 5 Pro will pause the music if you take off an earbud.

You also get AI Translate, which can translate text between two people in real time. While translation happens quite quickly, I found that speech detection could’ve been better, as sometimes the AI struggles to get certain words right. For gamers, you get a game mode too, which not just reduces latency, but also enhances some sound effects, particularly for shooting games.

Coming to battery life. Oppo promises up to 40 hours of playback time with the Enco Air 5 Pro without ANC, and up to 22 hours with ANC enabled. For us, the earbuds provided impressive battery life. I was able to use the earbuds for a good 3-4 hours a day, and only had to charge after almost a week. That is, the earbuds can keep you stress-free about battery life even if you use them while commuting everyday.

And charging is fairly quick. While you can get a couple of hours’ worth of juice within 10 minutes, the Enco Air 5 Pro usually take around 90 minutes to fully charge the earbuds and the case, which is decently fast considering the battery life.

Oppo Enco Air 5 Pro verdict: Should you buy them?

The Oppo Enco Air 3 Pro set a benchmark when they were launched in 2023 for providing solid sound, good ANC under Rs 5,000. The Enco Air 5 Pro continues the tradition. The sound experience is quite good, and the ANC is one of the best, if not the best, at this price range. You also get a bunch of quality-of-life features, and a good quality case.

While Oppo could’ve tried to experiment with the design of the earbuds, the fit is good. And while the sound modes may not add much, you can tweak the EQ yourself. Overall, for a price of Rs 4,999, the Oppo Enco Air 5 Pro tick almost all the boxes. And you can consider them in case you are looking for a new pair of earbuds.