OnePlus Buds 3 review: our favourite pair of TWS earbuds under Rs 6,000 right now

Up till now, OnePlus had an excellent distinction between its premium and reasonably priced really wi-fi earbuds. On the premium facet, we had the OnePlus Buds Professional 2 (and the Buds Professional earlier than it), whereas the funds section was taken care of by the Nord and Z sequence, with the likes of the OnePlus Nord Buds 2 and Buds Z2. The corporate determined to throw this stability out of whack with the launch of the OnePlus Buds 3, a premium-looking pair of TWS earbuds at half the worth of the Buds 2 Professional. However we’re not complaining! The OnePlus Buds 3 is sweet. Actually good in actual fact.

Design, consolation, and connectivity

The OnePlus Buds 3 takes just a few design cues from its Professional sibling, which is nice since you’re getting a premium design at half the worth. The case’s design is pretty much like the Buds Professional 2, with an oblong form and matte end. It’s easy to the contact and doesn’t present a big bulge within the pocket. There’s a large slit, which makes it simple to open a case as slippery as this. The earbuds sit flat within the case and there’s a button within the center for Bluetooth pairing.

Whereas the case has a easy matte end, the earbuds include a twin end. The stem is a shiny and reflective shade of both Splendid Blue or Metallic Black, relying on which color possibility you go for. The half that sits contained in the ear has a matte end as does the contact sensor on the floor of the stem.

Talking of the contact sensor, I really like the swipe up and swipe down gesture to regulate the quantity. It’s very handy to make use of and I really feel extra TWS earbuds ought to undertake this. You’ll be able to single faucet, double faucet, and triple faucet the sensor to carry out numerous features like play/pause, leaping to the subsequent or earlier music, activating voice assistant or recreation mode. All of this may be mapped to your liking via the OnePlus Buds 3’s Bluetooth settings menu.

The earbuds are fairly mild and the silicone ear ideas are smooth, making them comfy to maintain in your ears for lengthy classes. They’re additionally IP55-rated for water and mud resistance, which suggests they’ll be capable of deal with sweat whereas figuring out or the occasional drops of water on a wet day.

The OnePlus Buds 3 helps Bluetooth 5.3, Google Quick Pair, and Twin Connection. The latter seamlessly switches between two gadgets, resembling a telephone and a laptop computer. In the course of the overview interval, I didn’t face any points with connectivity or switching between linked gadgets. The earbuds ship good low latency, which may be improved additional with Sport mode enabled.

Sound high quality and comparability with Enco Air3 Professional

I loved listening to music on OnePlus Buds 3 and they’re now my go-to pair when commuting. Every earbud homes twin dynamic drivers (10.4mm woofer and 6mm tweeter). The earbuds help SBC, AAC, and LHDC audio codecs. Whereas LHDC delivers high-res audio, it is best to know that it isn’t as extensively supported as LDAC is.

On the default Balanced setting, the earbuds ship a bass-forward sound however the good factor is that the bass not often overpowers the vocals or different devices. For instance, I checked out Go Robotic by The Pink Scorching Chili Peppers. Flea goes laborious with the bassline on this music, a lot in order that it could overpower Chad’s vocals on common earbuds. However the OnePlus Buds 3 manages to keep up an excellent stability between the thumping bassline and Chad’s vocals.

In songs with many devices, resembling ‘Stomach Stomach Good’ by Dave Matthews Band, the Buds 3 does effectively in spacing the devices, guaranteeing that every sound is obvious and distinct.  

Should you’re searching for just a little extra oomph within the bass output, you possibly can tweak the EQ to the Bass mode and crank up BassWave all the way in which as much as 5. BassWave brings a really delicate bass increase that most individuals gained’t be capable of inform the distinction.

The OnePlus Buds 3 works effectively in genres like Rock and Hip-Hop, providing good bass response and vocal readability. The earbuds really shine when listening to Acoustic songs like Chicago (Demo) Sufjan Stevens. My expertise listening to Pop songs, nevertheless, has been a little bit of a hit and miss. Whereas I favored the V-shaped sound signature with emphasis on bass and treble in Pop songs like What Goes Round Comes Round by Justin Timberlake, my ears rang in pitchier songs like Shivers by Ed Sheeran.

Right here’s my ranking for a way the Buds 3 sound in numerous genres:

The principle rival to the OnePlus Buds 3 is the OPPO Enco Air3 Professional. I attempted each pairs and located the OnePlus earbuds ship a fuller sound with emphasised bass response because of the twin drivers right here (the Enco Air3 Professional comes with a single driver). That mentioned, the Enco Air3 Professional additionally delivers crystal clear sound that’s extra balanced and affords a barely wider soundstage that enables devices to breathe. It additionally comes with LDAC help which makes it suitable with extra telephones.

ANC and mic high quality

The OnePlus Buds 3 delivers as much as 49dB Energetic Noise Cancellation, which is on par with different earbuds on this worth vary or increased. The ANC high quality itself is basically good, managing to successfully cut back loud environmental sounds whereas travelling in a metro or for those who’re in a crowded room. You’ll nonetheless hear the faint tapping of keyboards round you within the workplace or the announcement of a station approaching whenever you’re within the metro, for those who’re not listening to something.

I discovered the ANC of the Buds 3 barely higher than that of the OPPO Enco Air3 Professional, largely attributable to higher sealing.

As for the mic high quality, the OnePlus Buds 3 delivers higher readability than the Enco Air3 Professional, a minimum of when speaking indoors.

Battery life

The OnePlus Buds 3 delivers terrific battery life. Whereas I wasn’t ready to make use of them for hours at a stretch to check how lengthy every earbud can survive on a single cost, I can say that the earbuds (with the case) can final per week to 10 days simply on roughly 2 to three hours of listening time per day. OnePlus claims as much as 44 hours of playback, which sounds about proper. In fact, the precise battery life will range relying on whether or not you’re utilizing ANC or not.

OnePlus claims you possibly can stand up to 7 hours of music playback on 10 minutes of cost, which once more appears about proper. With the case and earbuds at 10 p.c battery every, the charging time took roughly 1 hour and 35 minutes utilizing the OnePlus 12R’s 100W charger.

Verdict

The OnePlus Buds 3 are simply my favorite pair of earbuds proper now. In truth, I typically select them over my first-generation AirPods Professional whereas commuting. The Buds 3 TWS earbuds nail a bunch of facets that make it value shopping for beneath Rs 6,000. Each the case and the earbuds ship a premium feel and look, with the swipe gesture being a bonus for comfort. The earbuds ship a extra thrilling sound with good bass response compared to the Enco Air3 Professional. Whereas the ANC is respectable, the battery life is superb. All in all, you gained’t get a extra full package deal than the OnePlus Buds 3 at this worth level.

For some listeners, the OnePlus Buds 3’s bass-heavy sound might be off-putting, although they will tweak the EQ to their desire. The Buds 3 are higher suited for individuals who wish to hearken to Hip-Hop, Rock, and Acoustic genres. For these searching for a extra balanced profile that’s fitted to all genres, the Enco Air3 Professional is likely to be value contemplating.

Editor’s ranking: 8 / 10

Professionals:

• Premium design at an reasonably priced worth
• Thrilling bass and vocal readability
• Handy swipe contact management
• Nice battery life

Cons:

• Bass-heavy sound won’t be for everybody
• LHDC isn’t a extensively supported codec