For many years, Motorola has released dozens of headphones, and reviews of many of them are already on our site. Today, we review the Moto Buds 065 – a high-quality wireless earphone offering from Motorola, set to compete with the Xiaomi Redmi Buds 5, 1More EO005, BASEUS Encok W09, and even something like the Wave Flex from JBL. They were released in late May and appear to be a very interesting and affordable option.
The company describes them as follows: “We proudly present a versatile solution for all your earphone needs – Moto Buds 065. An excellent microphone for constant conversations or learning, clear bass, and impeccable quality of every note of your favorite track—all in one device.” Today, we’ll find out what’s true and whether they live up to the claims.
Moto Buds 065 specifications
- type: TWS
- environmental noise control (ENC), the ability to use each earbud in MONO mode
Google Fast Pair, impedance 16 Ohm, range 15 m - protection against moisture according to the IPX4 standard
- battery: 60 mAh headphones and 300 mAh case
- operating time: up to 17 hours with charging case and up to 5 hours without recharging
- Bluetooth 5.3
- touch control
- 2 years of official warranty
Package contents
The Moto Buds 065 arrived for review in a small, bright cardboard box with the recognizable logo. The earphones are marketed as a device for active youth, with the official slogan: FOR THE MOVERS!
Inside the box, you’ll find the case with the earphones (in my case, in Tofu color), extra ear tips of different sizes, documentation, and a USB Type-C charging cable.
As for the additional ear tips, they come in three different sizes by default, fitting any ear, which is very convenient.
For example, the standard medium size right out of the box was too large for me; the earphones kept falling out and felt uncomfortable. After switching to the smaller tips, the problem was resolved.
Design, materials, build quality
The design of the earphones and the case is one of the most important aspects of the Moto Buds 065. They come in three shades: Moonless Night, Tofu, and Outer Space. As I mentioned earlier, I received the Tofu color for review.
As soon as I unpacked the device and held the case, it immediately became clear why this color was named Tofu—it really does look like a small slice of the namesake cheese.
The case itself is ultra-light and has a pleasant matte texture, ensuring that no smudges or fingerprints will be left on it. The charging case is compact and light, making it easy to slip into your pocket without even noticing it’s there.
On top of the case, there’s the Motorola logo. At the bottom, near the charging port, there’s an indicator that shows the connection status and battery charge level. When the earphones are correctly placed in the charging case, the LED briefly lights up blue.
When the LED flashes blue, it indicates that the battery charge in the charging case is low. On the back side, there are device details, and inside the case, between the compartments, you’ll find the letters L and R. The case closes with a quiet clicking sound and securely holds the earphones inside.
Now let’s talk about the earphones themselves. They have a shape similar to AirPods, and they are lightweight and comfortable for extended wear. They won’t cause discomfort, even if worn for long periods, provided you use the right size ear tips.
The Moto Buds 065 are rated IP54 for water and dust resistance, making them capable of withstanding splashes of rain and sweat during light athletic activities. This should be reassuring if you engage in light workouts.
Overall, the Moto Buds 065 leave no questions regarding design or fit. Moreover, I even managed to fall asleep with them once, something not every earphone model can achieve.
Control
The earphones are equipped with Fast Pair technology, which automatically detects Bluetooth accessories in close proximity and then connects with a single tap on the screen.
How to connect Moto Buds 065
To pair the Moto Buds 065 with a Motorola smartphone or an Android phone running Android 6.0 or higher, simply open the top cover of the charging case. Then, confirm the pairing request for the Moto Buds 065 on the screen of your device.
For other devices, select the Moto Buds 065 in the Bluetooth menu of your device. After successfully pairing, you’ll see a notification on your phone and hear a connection sound in the earbuds.
Connecting them is straightforward; there’s no need for a separate app. Control is quite easy, featuring voice commands for convenient hands-free calls using Google and Siri. The touch panel responds effortlessly to a single finger, especially if you’re already familiar with in-ear headphones. It’s worth noting that for the initial connection, you don’t need to remove the earbuds from the case; simply opening it suffices.
The default setting for the noise cancellation (ENC) mode is enabled, so there’s no need to adjust it. Coupled with the right choice of ear tips, the earbuds fit snugly in the ear, hardly letting external sounds through. I say “hardly” because the ENC does suppress sounds for the person you’re speaking to, not entirely for yourself.
Let’s take a closer look at touch control, here we have the following gestures:
- Answer a call / End a call – one touch
- End or reject a call – hold the touchpad for 2 seconds
- Play/Pause – one touch
- Previous track – triple tap the left/right earbud
- Next track – double-tap the left/right earbud
- To call the voice assistant – hold the headphone touch panel for 2 seconds.
I can confidently say that the touch gestures on Moto Buds 065 are very responsive and reliable. Throughout my usage, I haven’t encountered any misactions. The earbuds respond instantly to touches, though to stop playback, it’s not enough to just remove them from the ear; you need to manually pause it, either by touch or on your device’s screen. Unlike other Motorola models, there’s no feature here to detect when the earbuds are removed from the ear to automatically pause playback. It’s also worth mentioning the ability to use each earbud independently in mono mode.
Moto Buds 065 sound
The most important aspect of TWS devices is sound quality. Moto Buds 065 sound great, but to hear clear sound, you need to use them at a volume level above 60%. They are sufficiently loud, though they do start to lose some sound quality in the higher frequencies.
However, anything below the 80% mark but above 60% sounds consistently good. They offer a well-balanced sound profile with a noticeable emphasis on bass. Speaking of bass, I was pleasantly surprised by how well these little buds reproduced low frequencies. It was unexpected how confidently they handled bass during listening sessions. Videos and podcasts also sound great, with voices being clear and distinct. However, when the volume level exceeds 85%, vocal clarity starts to diminish, and the sound becomes somewhat distorted. The volume might seem adequate, but the sound loses its character. High frequencies become harsh and spoil the overall picture. Perhaps if there was an option to adjust the equalizer, the situation could be improved, but considering the price, the offering is justified. If your smartphone has an application like Dolby Atmos (as our chief editor, who also tested these earphones, does), it may improve the situation.
On the other hand, the call quality was impressive, thanks to the ENC feature. During calls, I could be heard clearly without distortion, and external noises were effectively filtered out. Of course, this doesn’t apply to very noisy streets, but rather quieter environments like home, supermarkets, and moderately quiet parks.
As for battery life, the Moto Buds 065 offer impressive longevity. The manufacturer claims up to 17 hours of total playtime with the charging case and up to 5 hours from the earbuds alone. A full charge takes about 2 hours using the USB-C cable provided. In my experience, I managed to deplete them after 15 hours of combined music playback and calls. It’s worth noting that the talk time tends to drain the battery the most, so that’s something to keep in mind.
Conclusions
Moto Buds 065 is one of Motorola’s commendable entries in the ultra-budget TWS segment. It’s a worthwhile choice if you’re looking to buy earbuds priced under $25 (around 1000 UAH, €24) with powerful bass-heavy sound, long battery life, scratch-resistant construction, ENC, and more. Despite minor drawbacks like the absence of an app, insufficient volume, and clarity in sound, the Moto Buds 065 remain a reliable option in the sub-$25 segment.