It's only been a relatively short time since OnePlus launched its first pair of true wireless earbuds: the OnePlus Buds. Now it's rumoured to be preparing an even more affordable pair.

Regular OnePlus leaker @MaxJmb teased the upcoming launch on Twitter in his typical style: bold text over a graphic with little in the way of an explanation. 

This teaser joins some recent evidence found in Oxygen OS 11 by XDA Developers that makes reference to the Buds Z within some strings of code. 

There's been very little else said about the cheap earphones supposedly launching soon, but with OnePlus making moves to compete at the lower end of the market in the smartphone world, it makes sense it would attempt to use the strength of its brand to bring real competition to the budget earphone market too.

Look for $50-$100 true wireless earphones right now and you'll likely find a huge sea of names you don't recognise. For OnePlus to wade in would certainly shake things up. 

As for the name, it's not the first time we've seen Z-branded audio product. In fact, in the run-up to the OnePlus Nord launch, OnePlus launched a pair of Bullets Wireless Z earphones, and so it's very much on-brand for the company. 

As we've seen with the launch of the OnePlus Nord, however, it's not unlike OnePlus to change the brand name by the time it gets to release. After all, that phone was often referred to as either the OnePlus 8 Lite or the OnePlus Z before it was official.