Oppo Enco Air5 Review: Good Value True Wireless Earbuds

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I have reviewed a fair number of Oppo wireless earbuds, and my takeaway has consistently been the same: good, but never quite great.

It’s with genuine curiosity that the Enco Air5 land on my desk this time. And they’re not alone either; Oppo also launched the Enco Air5s, which we reviewed earlier in 2026, alongside the Enco Air5 Pro.

The question now is where the Enco Air5 falls. Good? Middling? Or has Oppo finally landed on something great?

Oppo Enco Air5 Full Specs

Oppo Enco Air5 Design

You get two color choices here, Glossy White or Midnight Black, both finished with a glossy coating. My white review unit does pick up dirt fairly easily, though the glossy finish at least means wiping it clean is simple. If that bothers you, the black version might suit you better.

Oppo Enco Air5 review

The charging case matches whichever color you pick, featuring an LED indicator up front and a Bluetooth pairing button underneath.

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Comfort-wise, these fit well, sitting snug once properly seated in your ears. There’s some noticeable pressure though, and if that tends to bother you, Oppo’s semi-open Enco Air5s might suit you better instead.

They carry an IP55 rating, protecting against water, dust, and dirt, though they’re not fully waterproof. Touch controls sit on the upper stem, mirrored identically on both sides; oddly, play and pause aren’t assigned by default, though you can customize the controls yourself. Despite relying on touch input, I found these consistently responsive to taps and nudges without any real issues.

Oppo Enco Air5 Features

I mentioned earlier that you can customize the controls, and for Android users, this actually happens through the OS itself, similar to how AirPods work at a system level on iOS.

Head into your Bluetooth settings, tap on the earbuds, then navigate to Earbud functions. If you’re on iOS, or you simply prefer using an app, the Hey Melody app offers those same customization options.

Oppo Enco Air5 earbud

Bluetooth support sticks to SBC and AAC codecs, no real surprise given these sit under £100, and similarly priced competitors like the Sony WF-C510 offer the same codec support.

The Bluetooth 6.1 connection held steady throughout testing without any drops, and both Google Fast Pair and Windows Swift Pair make connecting to those respective devices quick and painless, just a couple of taps.

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Auto pause works here too, though you need to switch it on manually. There’s also an Earbud Fit Test that plays a short sound to check how well they’re sealed in your ears. Bluetooth multipoint is supported, and you can manage which devices connect through the settings menu.

A handful of convenience features round things out. Spotify Tap gives you a quick shortcut to jump straight into your playlists. Sound Space offers a library of relaxing sounds you can download and listen through.

Oppo’s oddly named Alive Audio handles spatial audio, though it apparently only works with select video, music, and game apps. When I tried it myself, I honestly couldn’t tell the difference between the “Off” setting and “Fixed,” so I’m skeptical it’ll matter much to most people.

EQ options live in the Sound Master EQ section, though the naming oversells what’s actually there. “Thundering bass” isn’t particularly thundering, “Pure vocals” somehow makes singers sound less natural, and “Ultimate sound” is really just the default mode dressed up.

You can build your own custom EQ too, and surprisingly, there’s a full 10-band EQ option available. That feels like overkill for earbuds at this price, but it’s there if you want to dig in.

AI Translate offers Face-to-face translation and Live Translation, with your phone doing the processing and audio playing through the earbuds. Both features appear locked to Oppo phones specifically, so I didn’t spend much time exploring them.

A few other extras round out the package: Camera control lets you double-tap either earbud to snap a photo, again exclusive to Oppo phones; Find My Earbuds helps locate them if lost, and Game Mode claims to cut latency, though the fine print notes it only works with “certain games.”

Oppo Enco Air5 Noise Cancellation

Wearing these around Edinburgh, they suppress city traffic remarkably well, turning even large vehicles into little more than a distant hum.

Wind noise barely registers either, and on a flight, the amount of noise they cancel out genuinely impressed me. That’s likely down to a combination of the fit and the ANC strength, but very little noise makes it through.

Oppo Enco Air5 charging case

Transparency mode sounds clear and natural too, making it hard to tell the difference between wearing the earbuds and taking them out entirely.

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You get four ANC modes to choose from, High (real-time), Moderate, Low, and Auto, though honestly, sticking with the default High setting covers most situations. There’s little reason to bother switching between them regularly.

Call quality holds up reasonably well for the price, with minimal background noise coming through until you hit louder, busier environments. The main weakness is voice pickup, though; the earbuds don’t quite capture my voice clearly, and the person on the other end described my speech as mumbled. If calls matter to you, stick to quieter settings when using these.

Oppo Enco Air5 Battery Life

Oppo claims the Enco Air5 hits roughly 13 hours with ANC turned off at 50% volume, dropping to 6.5 hours with ANC switched on at the same volume level.

Running my own test at around 50% volume, the earbuds dropped 10% battery in just one hour. Do the math, and that points closer to 10 hours than 6.5, unless the battery drains dramatically faster after that first hour. Realistically, expect these to comfortably clear 6-7 hours before needing a recharge.

The earbuds carry TÜV Rheinland’s Battery Health Certification, with Oppo claiming over 80% battery health retained even after 1,000 charge cycles.

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There’s no fast charging or wireless charging support here. Oppo states a 90-minute charge fully powers both the earbuds and the charging case.

Oppo Enco Air5 Sound Quality

Every Enco true wireless model I’ve tested has leaned toward warm sound signatures, and the Enco Air5 continues that trend. Bass gets emphasized, but it comes through as a warm, enveloping presence rather than anything big or particularly rich.

Sound quality here feels a bit unusual, managing to sound both clear and slightly soft on detail simultaneously. Playing Steely Dan’s “Jack of Speed,” these aren’t the punchiest or most assertive true wireless earbuds around, but there’s a genuine naturalness to vocal reproduction wrapped in a warm, mellow presentation that I find myself genuinely enjoying.

Oppo Enco Air5 case

Highs stay clear without reaching particularly bright territory, coming across as slightly rolled off due to how Oppo tuned these. And despite that warmth in the low end, bass doesn’t carry quite as much weight or size as you might expect going in.

These aren’t especially dynamic or energetic sounding, though that’s true of most earbuds at this price point. If you’ve read claims that these sound powerful somewhere, I’d push back on that. This is richness in tone rather than detail, a relaxed, laid-back presentation paired with a wide, spacious soundstage. I find the sound genuinely appealing, even if it’s an unusual combination.

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Even so, I appreciate what Oppo is going for with the Enco Air5. If you’ve liked previous entries in the Enco lineup, this feels very much in that same family. More casual listening than audiophile precision, but if warmth and richness appeal to you, you’ll likely enjoy what Oppo built here.

Oppo Enco Air5 Verdict

Odd in a few ways, sure, but for the price, this pair performs impressively well, backed by strong ANC, solid wireless performance, and a genuinely warm sound signature.

Pros

Cons

Affordable and comes with strong ANC Not the most detailed sound
Good comfort with strong wireless performance Call quality is so-so
Warm and rich sound Limited features

Final Thoughts

The Enco Air5 genuinely represent good value for money, in my assessment. Noise cancellation impresses, the design stays comfortable throughout wear, wireless performance holds up well, and battery life proves solid too. There’s little here worth seriously complaining about.

Call quality could improve, but at this price point, finding significantly better is genuinely rare. Sound quality comes across as a bit unusual, though the warmth and clarity still draw you in, even with slightly weak bass and nothing close to what you’d call a powerful sound signature.

You’ll also run into several features that only work fully with Oppo phones, alongside a handful of extras that feel a bit excessive for a true wireless pair at this price.

That said, general Android users should get good performance out of these regardless. Things get a bit more complicated once you factor in the Enco Air5 Pro, priced £30 higher, but on their own, these wireless earbuds, odd quirks and all, offer pretty strong value.

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