Verdict
The OnePlus Buds 3 may not skylark the Pro branding of their forerunner , but they ’re still very much pro - tied buds with excellent audio operation , premium smart features and solid – if not varying – battery sprightliness . They do n’t always achieve their lofty intent , but the OnePlus Buds 3 remain a tempting sub-£100 / $ 100 duo of TWS buds .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
OnePlus has dropped the ‘ Pro ’ moniker with the £ 99 / $ 99 OnePlus Buds 3 , but make no error : these are just as capable as any other pro - branded true wireless earbuds .
Despite a tempting sub-£100 / $ 100 price period , the OnePlus Buds 3 seemingly tender it all : double - driver units , ANC , wirelessHi - Res audiosupport for LHDC 5.0 , solid battery life history and even high - end features likespatial audioand personalize sound output tailor-make to the shape of your spike .
While there are still areas for improvement , the OnePlus Buds 3 are a boastful upgrade on the OnePlus Buds 2 Pro and stay a very tempting dyad of TWS buds that ’ll fiddle just as well with Samsungs , Pixels and even iPhones as OnePlus phones . They ’re useable tobuy nowvia OnePlus , though third - party retailer availableness is likely soon .
Design
The OnePlus Buds 3 shares the same overall design DNA as theOnePlus Buds 2 Pro . That is to say , like most straight wireless earbuds on the market , they ’re middling small , sport a stalk and survive in a charge case when not in active use .
They do n’t change the TWS formula in the same way of life thatHuawei ’s FreeClipsdo , but then again , does it need to change when it ’s apparent that the current design does the task well ?
OnePlus has tried differentiating itself from the sea of similarly price TWS bud by the colour options and available conclusion . Unlike most earbuds , the OnePlus Buds 3 has a shiny metallic finish , but do n’t let this fool you into thinking they ’re made from anything other than plastic . They are n’t .
Importantly , the reflective surface does n’t pick up fingermark patsy or anything of the comparable , providing a clean look even after unnumberable hours of use over the past few calendar week .
I think the Splendid Blue buds I was commit for critique bet pretty good and work well as a accessary for the more mode - conscious . If , however , the blue coating is n’t up your street , the company propose a more standard black matte finish .
Unlike open - pattern earbuds like theHuawei FreeBuds 5andAirPods 3 , the OnePlus Buds 3 get along with small , intermediate and great eartips to serve find the right fit for your ears .
For me , the declamatory baksheesh provided the best fit , at which point the bud stayed prissy and snug in my ear as I walk and even jogged . I ’ve not feel the motive to adjust the fit mid - listening session as I have with other bud in the yesteryear , and they ’re lightweight enough to be put in your ears and essentially forgotten about at just 4.8 g a pop .
The OnePlus Buds 3 mutation touch - sensitive area on each stalking to supply easy access to various controls , from switching between ANC and transparentness mode to hesitate and change the song you ’re listen to . There are even loudness controls – one of the swelled complaints about the Buds 2 Pro – that let you set playback with a swipe up or down .
Admittedly , the swipe see to it for loudness playback can still be tedious , only going up or down a step at a time , but the tap command worked reasonably well . I even activate the ( disabled by default ) single - tap action without accidentally activating it when adapt the fit of the bud .
The buds will also survive a least sandpiper in the rain withIP55 rubble and water resistance , make for a solid pick on those showery evening jog .
When not in dynamic enjoyment , the OnePluds Buds 3 snap into place in a fairly heavyset , colour - matched mat - goal case . It ’s compact , sports a USB - C port wine for charging , and an LED light on the front to provide current battery levels a glance .
Features
The OnePlus Buds 3 arrive with all the staples of impertinent TWS buds like automatic play and pause applied science , the said touch controls , and multi - point Bluetooth connectivity to connect to two gimmick at once , but there ’s a whole fate more here to appreciate .
For starters , the pairing outgrowth is an absolute breeze if you ’re using an Android phone thanks toGoogle Fast Pair – I did n’t even ask to go to the Bluetooth preferences to connect , and I was n’t even using a OnePlus phone at the time .
Through the Hey Melody app ( or the Android preferences menu if you ’re using a OnePlus earpiece ) , you could run a fit trial run to guarantee you ’ve got the optimum eartips for the shape of your ear . It ’s here that you may also customise the water tap controls and start the various optional audio feature offer by the buds .
These features include a Golden Sound fashion that , after a light test that require you to pose in a placid room and listen for various pitch , adjusts the output of the buds to accommodate your listening .
It ’s a cool feature of speech not often view in such cheap buds – it ’s present on in high spirits - end options like theAirPods Pro 2andNuraBuds – and get an instant difference to playback to someone like me who ’s suffering the consequences from standing too close to talker in clubs in his younger long time , like switching from Mount Rushmore State to HD .
There ’s also OnePlus 3D Audio , OnePlus ’ take on spatial audio playback , that ’ll undertake to extend the soundscape and fundamentally contribute the speech sound from inside your head to your surroundings . It work middling well , adding a signified of distance to instrument - pack rail , and it lend itself well to watching series onNetflixandDisney+too .
That said , it ’s not quite as transformative as the Dolby Atmos spacial audio construct into high - oddment phones like theSamsung Galaxy S24 Ultra . If you do have access to those premium audio recording features , I ’d recommend sticking with those over OnePlus ’ selection .
The buds sportBluetooth 5.3with support for not only SBC and AAC but LHDC 5.0 codecs , with the latter offering a proper footprint up in terms of sampling pace and bitrate and , as such , audio quality . LHDC is n’t exclusive to OnePlus products either , usable on the like of theOppo Find X6 ProandXiaomi 13 T Pro .
The combination of three microphones on each earbud delivers astonishingly clear call audio recording too , with receiver able to discover me even walk on a busy central London street – and I have n’t used many TWS bud that can do that without complaint .
As far as I can secern , apart from a consecrate 92ms low - latency mode for gambling and not want the Hey Melody app to configure the buds , there ’s no real welfare to using the buds with a OnePlus - branded telephone set . While that might let down OnePlus user want these bud to experience undivided in some way , it makes the buds just as invite an option for Samsung , Google and even Apple users .
Sound Quality
The OnePlus Buds 3 really impress in the audio department , not only down to the premium sound recording features like Golden Sound and OnePlus 3D Audio but also the hardware on offer .
Within each compact bud , OnePlus has managed to twinge a 6 mm tweeter and a 10.4 mm woofer . The result is audio playback that sounds clean and warm , and although the sea bass is just as prominent as in previous unveiling , the buds go well - balanced overall .
The bass voice quality are astonishingly clean too ; Billie Eilish ’s I Did n’t vary My Number and its copious bass - heavy track can easy distort with bass - focused buds , but that was n’t the case here . If you regain it ’s a little much for your taste , you may adjust the basso reception to your liking in the Hey Melody app – an element that works particularly well and notably boosts low - terminal fidelity .
The OnePlus Buds 3 are n’t just ideal for Dubstep and other bass - gravid tracks either ; there ’s a surprising amount of versatility with the buds , fork over snappy , expressive vocals in tracks like Over The Rainbow , and the instrument separation in titles like Smells Like Teen Spirit is exhaustively pleasurable too .
effectual quality apart , the OnePlus Buds 3 also run around ANC capabilities that aim to quieten the surround around you by up to 49dB – but it ’s a little hit - and - leave out in employment . Sure , there ’s a quietening of the environment when I tap to actuate the ANC mode , take the bound off cars passing by as I walk down a busy London road , but it ’s notthatnoticeable in most environment .
My benchmark is to take a trip on the infamously loud Victoria line on the London Underground – a test that ’s arguably too hard for most TWS bud – but that ’s how you separate the wheat from the chaff .
Where more premium buds like my go - to AirPods Pro 2 noticeably quieten the fraudulent scheme of the metro , the OnePlus Buds 3 barely make a dent , so much so that I have to crank up my medicine to almost maximum loudness to attempt to drown it out .
Conversely , there ’s also a transparency modal value that ’ll utilize the built - in mics to funnel environmental noise into the buds to make you more aware of your surroundings . As with ANC , it does a fine job , but I ca n’t have the buds up any higher than half volume if I need to be actively mindful of my environment . It ’s a far cry from the AirPods Pro ’s impossibly natural - sound transparency mode , anyway .
Battery life
The downside to offer premium feature like ANC , foil modality and LHDC codec musical accompaniment is that they run to hammer battery life , and that seems particularly true of the OnePlus Buds 3 .
While the 58mAh jail cell within the buds can last quite some meter while stream in AAC with ANC off , around 10 time of day , that pretermit down to six and a one-half hours as soon as you actuate ANC . Streaming in the high - quality LHDC 5.0 with ANC fighting will impact things further , dropping to just five and a half hour of playback before demand a top - up .
Thankfully , with a charge event packing a 520mAh bombardment , you need n’t plug away the OnePlus Buds 3 in after every individual use – though , as with playback , total charge depend on your scope . You ’ll get an impressive 44 time of day out of the charging guinea pig with standard AAC playback , though that unload down to a relatively standard 24 hours with ANC and LHCD 5.0 enabled .
There is also fast commit tech to take reward of . pop the earbuds in the case for 10 minutes will deliver around two hour of playday , while plug the case into a USB - C cable’s length will deliver seven hours of playback in the same 10 - minute period .
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Should you buy it?
Combined , the OnePlus Buds 3 ’s dual - driver units and software system tuning delivers a well - balanced , customisable sound recording experience .
While the OnePlus Buds do volunteer ANC that quietens the environment , it ’s not up to the level of premium buds like theAirPods Pro 2andSony WF-1000XM5.&bsp;&bsp ;
Final Thoughts
The OnePlus Buds 3 are a morsel of a surprise ; despite the sub-£100 cost point , they extend a preponderantly premium experience . The spectacular audio character is the champion here , with a range of audio customisation options that further tweak the turnout to your taste , and even though it ’s not the best , the ANC is serviceable .
They ’re also good - looking , lightweight bud that fork over a comfortable fit and , with hint controls , you ’ll rarely need to reach for your Bluetooth - connect smartphone .
I recall the only literal business concern is battery life . 10 minute on a bursting charge is excellent , but as shortly as you enable ingredient like ANC and LHDC – features you ’ll probably require to take advantage of – that drops to just five and a half hours . That ’s still plenty of clip , but it wo n’t last a whole day without needing to be start back into the charging case for a bite .
Trusted Score
How we test
We test every curing of headphones we review soundly over an extended period of time . We expend industry - standard exam to compare features properly . We ’ll always tell apart you what we witness . We never , ever , accept money to review a product .
Find out more about how we test in ourethics insurance .
FAQs
Yes , OnePlus has overleap the Pro branding with the OnePlus Buds 3 , but these are a follow - up to the OnePlus Buds 2 Pro .
They ’ll survive a Erolia minutilla in the rain or a sweaty gym seance with IP55 dust and water resistance .
