OnePlus is having a stellar start to 2024. We’ve now seen the OnePlus 12 and its budget sibling, the OnePlus 12R, have launched to positive critical reviews. Now, the company is onto accessories to these great phones with the OnePlus Buds 3.
The Buds 3 are the spiritual successor to the OnePlus Nord Buds series. OnePlus is dropping the Nord branding to streamline the earbuds lineup and clean up the name a bit.
Design
At first glance, you’d easily confuse the OnePlus Buds 3 with last year’s Buds Pro 2. That’s a good thing. The Pro 2 earbuds were one of my favorite entrances into the market last year. The overall fit and feeling is very similar in the OnePlus Buds 3. You have the same tear dropped and stemmed design with a premium build.
There’s a little more chrome around the stem than the previous models, but overall these immediately look like siblings. There’s one thing I miss and another addition I love on the Buds 3. I miss the squeeze controls to play/pause the OnePlus Buds Pro 2 instead of the capacitive touch panel you get on the Buds 3. However, what this new capacitive area does bring is sliding your finger up and down to control the volume.
I now have hope that OnePlus does both on the next gen Buds Pros. Having the squeeze for navigational controls in track is fantastic. Apple got this right with AirPods, and anyone following suite is also correct. In the same, the longer capacitive strip on the stem to control volume also feels just as natural a fit.
Sound
The audio quality of the OnePlus Buds 3 is fantastic. These earbuds punch way above their weight. The bass is deep and mids/highs come pop when needed. I’ve been overly impressed about the sound you get in this package from OnePlus.
Of course, you also get ANC, or active noise cancellation, as well. You can tweak this and the overall EQ from the Bluetooth Settings of any OnePlus phone. This allows you to alter the default controls, the ANC profiles, and the sound settings. You can manipulate all these same options on other Android devices via the Hey Melody app from the Play Store.
Battery life
OnePlus estimates around ten hours of playback per charge with ANC off. I’ve found this to be pretty solid projections, even with ANC turned on. I can generally get through a full eight-hour workday with no need to charge. This includes playback volumes of around 50% and not using them a few times a day while taking meetings and lunch.
You can extend this with the charging case, offering a total of 44 hours away from the outlet. You can quick USB-C charging when you do need to top off the case. Here, ten minutes of charging extends the life of the earbuds another seven hours.
I still think OnePlus is ignoring wireless charging again here, though. Much like my complaints of last year’s OnePlus 11, even at $99 the OnePlus Buds 3 should have Qi-charging. Amazon is full of competitors are offering this in similar price points and to fulfill the quality portfolio OnePlus is shooting for, they need to bridge this gap.
Awarded to products with an average rating of 3.75 stars or higher, the AndroidGuys Smart Pick recognizes a balance of quality, performance, and value.
Products with this distinction deserve to be on your short list of purchase candidates.
Conclusion
OnePlus has lived by the flagship moniker for years now. I think the OnePlus Buds 3 finally brings that mentality to its earbuds line as well. For $99, the quality of the Buds 3 are fantastic in almost any environment. Short of the lack of wireless charging, you will struggle to find a better value.
You can purchase the OnePlus Buds 3 from our links below. The Buds 3 are available in Metallic Gray or Splendid Blue. While we enjoyed our review sample Gray, the Blue variants look fantastic.
Purchase the OnePlus Buds 3 from Oneplus.com
Purchase the OnePlus Buds 3 from Amazon.com
