OnePlus Buds 3 review: Close to Pro at half the price

OnePlus had a busy January. The company launched the OnePlus 12, OnePlus 12R and the Buds 3 on January 22. Since then, the OnePlus 12 is already on sale while the 12R and Buds 3 are going on sale now. One theme that we have seen with these products this time is how OnePlus has focussed on making them more refined. The company has done this via bringing some of the high-end features to a more modestly priced device. This is in particular true for the OnePlus 12R, and the OnePlus Buds 3, which we are reviewing here.

Oh, we also have the OnePlus 12R review for you. That you can check out at OnePlus 12R India review.

On paper, the Buds 3 look like the perfect pair of buds. Their price of Rs 5,499 seems more than reasonable and their feature set is impressive, so impressive that it resembles what the company offers in the OnePlus Buds Pro 2. Of course, specs don’t equal performance. And here too there are differences between the Buds Pro 2 and Buds 3. But as I went about using the Buds 3 and compared it to my experience with the Buds Pro 2 — which I have been using for the last 9 odd months — I was surprised to find how close the new non-pro earphones are to the best of the OnePlus.

But specs first: The Buds 3 comes equipped with dual dynamic drivers, support for Hi-Res Audio via LHDC 5, 94ms low latency, touch volume control, up to 49dB active noise cancellation, IP55 rating for water and dust protection and up to 44 hours of playback time with the accompanied charging box. Features like dual-pairing and Google Fast Pairing are also supported. Is there anything missing compared to the Buds Pro? The only significant differences — although both matter a lot — are support for spatial audio and likely better tuned 11mm woofer in the Buds Pro 2.

Yet, for the price the OnePlus Buds 3 offers you a lot. The question then is, how does it perform?

OnePlus Buds 3 design and build

One look at the Buds 3 and you realise that OnePlus means business. The new buds get an upgrade in looks, as they borrow the short-stemmed design from the Buds Pro 2 and somewhat from the Apple AirPods Pro. The charging case also gets a makeover and now looks similar to the case that houses the Buds Pro 2.

The earbuds are available in two colours: Splendid Blue and Metallic Grey. While the Grey buds do look classy, I like the funky blue shade. This is also the shade you can see in this review. The blue colour feels cool, fresh with a hint of metallic tone but not shimmery. Although the buds are made of plastic and are glossy, the plastic and the finish it has doesn’t look commonplace or cheap.

Bonus point? The light shade of blue gave me the impression that it would easily attract dust or stains. But I’ve carried the earbuds everywhere with me for the past week, including keeping them in bags, my jeans pocket, on the dining table, and elsewhere, and there are still no scratches or stains on the beautiful shade.

Compared to the Buds Pro 2, the Buds 3 are lighter. Now, obviously, I prefer the heft of the more premium earphones, but in my use I didn’t find the Buds 3 tacky or cheap. The hinge on the charging box is smooth and snappy. The overall quality too makes the Buds 3 look more expensive than they are.

OnePlus Buds 3: Audio, fit and experience

In the last one week, I have been using Buds 3 for almost 6 to 7 hours daily. I did not find much to complain about, particularly given the price of these buds. Although I also found that the Buds 3 did not make me forget the Buds Pro 2. Not that they are supposed to — there is a huge difference between the prices of the two products — but I bring this point to highlight that specs are not everything.

With Buds 3 in my ears, I went through my daily music the way I do on regular days. My mornings are generally filled with melodic Bollywood songs — think Arijit Singh and his Kesariya. At work there is a lot of K-Pop and late evenings are often full of some energetic Bollywood tracks. With these genres, I found that the Buds 3 did a fantastic job. The sound from buds in these songs delivers clear vocals, an immersive background, and surprisingly good bass.

It’s just that the sound was also not what I was used to from the Buds Pro 2, in the sense that the bass was slightly muddier and the soundstage too is not that expensive to make the vocals pop.

But overall, this is more of nitpicking. Because if I compare the Buds 3 to the similarly priced TWS that I have tried, I feel confident in saying that they sound superior, even the ones that sell for Rs 2,000 or even Rs 3,000 more.

I feel that good audio performance is also due to the snug fit of the Buds 3. Even with extended use, I found them comfortably in my ear canal, never causing any discomfort. Fit is also important for me because I have small ears and ill-fitting earbuds compromise with features like ANC. Just like the Buds Pro 2, the Buds 3 also lets users customise fit and sound through the OnePlus Hey Melody app.

The app from OnePlus allows users to check the battery, noise control options, which include – noise cancellation, off and transparency mode. Additionally, the app also has features to set sound equalisers, OnePlus 3D audio, game mode, earbuds controls and so on.

The Buds 3 feature touch controls and in my use I found them to be effective and precise. With various touch and tap controls on the stalks, I could play music, pause, take calls, rewind, or forward and even use ANC. Similarly, sliding the finger up and down lets me control the volume.

So far so good. So, what is not? There are a few things you must know.

First, the ANC. Active noise cancellation is a feature that is generally not available or not good in this range of earbuds, but OnePlus does a decent job in the Buds 3, if not great. In my use I found that the Buds 3 cut down on the surrounding noise, but not neatly. For instance, I often use ANC earbuds in the office without playing any music on them, so that I can focus on work without hearing work chatter and clanking keyboards. In the case of Buds 3 I found that it manages to deal with softer sounds — say whooshing fan — but mid frequency noise, say conversations do filter in. The average ANC was also felt during my daily commutes, as I was able to hear not just the traffic noise while travelling in an auto but on occasions the phone conversation that auto drivers had.

One more bit that I noticed was sound leakage. Even at moderate volumes, the person next to me in the office could hear the music I was playing. For me, this was somewhat uncomfortable in closed spaces such as lifts as it gave people an idea that I was listening to music at a high volume, which wasn’t true at all.

OnePlus Buds 3 battery life

OnePlus says that the Buds 3 can offer up to 7 hours of playback with 10 minutes of fast charging. Well, kind of. As I mentioned, I used the earbuds for around 6-7 hours every day and I only had to charge them once every day and a half. The charging was also pretty fast, especially with the OnePlus 12R 100W charger, as I was using the 12R simultaneously with the Buds 2. You can check out the OnePlus 12R review here.

OnePlus Buds 3: Should you buy it?

As a pair of fairly dependable TWS, the OnePlus Buds 3 gets a lot of things right. Sure, I wouldn’t say that these are the Pro grade — although on paper they do look like total pro — but then their price is also not Pro-level.

For anyone looking to buy a good pair of TWS, the kind of pair that offers excellent design, good sound quality, decent noise cancellation and great battery life, should close their eyes and pick the Buds 3. At Rs 5,499, when it comes to TWS with ANC it doesn’t get better than the OnePlus Buds 3.