OnePlus Buds Pro 3 Review: Lacks at Features

The OnePlus Buds Pro 3 earbuds offer a compelling mix of features including Adaptive Noise Cancelling, personalized audio, and a stylish case that sets them apart from the competition. After testing them for over a week, it’s clear they’re serious contenders in the market.

With a unique case design that enhances grip are not only comfortable but also deliver impressive acoustics. Their dual tweeter/woofer setup and DAC design ensure rich sound, while a customizable sound profile addresses your specific hearing needs.

The OnePlus Buds Pro 3 come in a unique, soft-touch, fake-leather case that’s pleasantly fingerprint and grease-proof. The textured design improves grip, making it easier to hold. Available in two colors, Midnight Opus or Lunar Radiance, the case matches the earbuds themselves. The earbuds offer a comfortable fit with several sizes of soft silicone tips included. They’re secure during wear, even while jogging and are IP55 rated for sweat, water and dust resistance, though they shouldn’t be fully submerged in water.

These buds have Bluetooth 5.4 support for easy pairing with Android devices, and dual connection support lets you pair with two devices simultaneously, like your smartphone and laptop. If you don’t have a OnePlus device, you can use the Hey Melody app from the Google Play Store to check battery life, adjust active noise cancellation, choose sound presets, turn on game mode for minimal lag, and perform an earbud fit test. The app also includes ‘Find My Earbuds’ support, which plays a tone to help you locate them if lost.

The touch controls on the OnePlus Buds Pro 3 aren’t customizable through the HeyMelody app at the time of this review. However, the default setup is quite respectable. A single squeeze of either stem pauses or resumes your music. On one occasion, I couldn’t get the music to resume by squeezing the stem, but it seems to have been a minor bug that’s since resolved.

A double squeeze skips forward a track, and a triple squeeze skips back. You get full audio feedback, so you know when your squeezes are recognized. I would have preferred if a double squeeze on the right skipped forward and on the left skipped back, but it’s not a big issue. You can also squeeze either Bud for about a second to cycle through noise cancellation modes, including transparency mode. OnePlus has added volume controls just slide a finger up or down the stem to adjust the volume.

The OnePlus Buds Pro 3 feature 11mm woofers and 6mm tweeters in each bud, redesigned for enhanced audio clarity with new ceramic metal composite diaphragms and extra magnets. Each bud has dual DACs, one for the woofer and one for the tweeter, to optimize sound quality. Fine-tuned by Dynaudio, the sound offers rich, full-bodied audio across various genres. The Golden Sound feature customizes audio based on your ear canal, significantly improving clarity, especially in the mid-to-high range. Google Spatial Audio tech is also supported for an immersive experience.

OnePlus has enhanced the noise-cancelling with adaptive ENC, which adjusts to your environment. In a quiet space, it lowers to minimal levels to preserve battery life but remains active. In noisy settings like a train, it effectively drowns out the background noise, offering a personal, quiet experience. While it might not be the best ENC available, it’s more than sufficient for commuting.

These buds feature a triple mic setup with a voice pickup sensor, allowing them to detect when you’re speaking and enhance your vocals. Here’s a mic test recorded on my MacBook using the Buds Pro 3. I’ll add some loud background noise to simulate a challenging environment. Despite the noise, my voice remains clear and strong.

With active or adaptive noise cancellation and LHDC streaming on, the OnePlus Buds Pro 3 offer around 4.5 hours of battery life, which isn’t great compared to other true wireless earbuds. However, turning off these features nearly doubles the battery life. If the battery is low, placing the buds in the case for 10 minutes provides an additional three hours of use. The case offers about four full recharges before it needs to be powered up, which takes about an hour via USB Type-C or can be done wirelessly using reverse wireless charging.

The new OnePlus Buds Pro 3 priced $179, like the previous model. For this price, they are premium through and through. They offer solid ENC, fantastic audio quality, and a sleek design. The only drawback is that battery life with ANC on is not as good as some competitors. Overall, they are excellent, especially for those who value great audio.