The OnePlus Buds 3 are the newest wireless earbuds from OnePlus.
They came after the first ones called the OnePlus Buds in 2020.
There wasn't a OnePlus Buds 2, but there were Buds Z and Buds Z2 in 2020 and 2022. The Buds 3 seems to combine features from both the original Buds and the newer Buds Z series, maybe because OnePlus realized they had too many types of earbuds.
💡Table of Content
➥ Design
The Buds 3 are in the middle of the Buds Pro (the best) and the Nord Buds (the cheaper ones). They have some cool features like noise cancellation, two drivers for better sound, and LHDC 5.0, which is a type of audio technology. And they cost about $100, which is not too expensive.
➥ Design
The Buds 3 earbuds and case look a lot like the Buds Pro 2, but they're a bit different. The case is slimmer and taller, and it's lighter too. It doesn't have a shiny hinge like the Buds Pro 2. The case feels nice and strong, and it has a matte finish with the OnePlus logo.
Inside the case, everything looks matte except for where the earbuds go. OnePlus put the legal stuff in a sneaky place so you hardly see it. There's a button inside to pair the earbuds.
The earbuds themselves look similar to the Buds Pro 2, but more of the back is shiny this time. You can tap them to play music or skip tracks, and hold to change noise-canceling modes. You can also swipe up or down to adjust the volume, which is handy.
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They come with different sizes of soft silicone tips, and they're comfy to wear. They're also pretty resistant to dust and water, so they're good for workouts.
➥ Software and features
The Buds 3 can connect with Bluetooth 5.3 and use different types of sound codes. They have two drivers for different sounds and are controlled by an app called Hey Melody. On OnePlus phones, you can find the settings in the system options. You can use the app to change noise-canceling settings and adjust how much it reduces noise.
The Sound Master EQ in the app has presets and lets you make your own sound settings. There's also a Bass Wave feature to adjust the bass. Hi-Res mode improves sound quality but needs a restart.
The Golden Sound feature customizes the sound based on your hearing, but it might not be very accurate.
The 3D Audio feature isn't as good as Dolby Atmos found in many phones.
You can control the earbuds with taps and gestures, and they automatically switch audio to the phone when you take them out during a call.
The earbuds can connect to two devices at once, but the sound quality might be lower. You can update the earbuds' software to get new features or improvements.
➥ Performance
➲ Audio quality
The OnePlus Buds 3 has a nice sound, not too heavy on bass like older models. The default setting is still a bit bass-heavy but not overwhelming like before. The 'Balanced' preset is okay, but lacks detail in the mid-frequencies, making the sound a bit crowded.
The 'Serenade' preset is better, balancing the sound nicely.
The 'Bass' preset adds more punch to the bass, while 'Bold' emphasizes highs and lows more aggressively.
There's also a feature called 'BassWave' that lets you adjust bass levels, but it can make the sound a bit muffled. It's better to use the custom EQ to fine-tune the sound.
Overall, the Buds 3 has one of the best sound tunings from OnePlus yet, better than the more expensive Buds Pro 2. The sound quality is good, although not extremely detailed, which is common for Bluetooth earbuds in this price range. They're comfortable to wear for long periods and with a bit of adjustment, they can sound really good for their price.
➲ Microphone
The microphone in the OnePlus Buds 3 is really good. It makes your voice sound clear, and it's great at reducing background noise, even in loud places. Overall, I think it's better than the microphone in the Buds Pro 2.
➲ Noise cancellation
The Buds 3 can stop a lot of background noise. They're not as good as the more expensive Buds Pro 2 for some noises, but they're close.
You can pick how strong you want the noise stopping to be: Max, Moderate, or Mild.
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If you change from Max to Moderate, you'll let in more middle sounds. Mild isn't much different from not using noise-stopping at all. Being able to change the noise-stopping level is helpful when you want to hear what's happening around you, like announcements at the airport. It's not known if using lower settings saves battery power.
➲ Latency and connectivity
The Buds 3 headphones work well with minimal delay, especially when used with phones or tablets for watching videos. They automatically sync audio to avoid delays.
If you connect them to a PC, there might be a slight delay, but it's not too distracting.
You can further reduce delay by using Game mode in the Hey Melody app. On OnePlus phones, this mode turns on automatically when you launch a game. It makes the delay so small that you hardly notice it, which is great for mobile gaming.
The Buds 3 have reliable connectivity when you first use them. However, adjusting the bitrate settings manually can cause problems. Even though the company says they support high bitrates, the highest one often has sound interruptions, even if your phone is nearby. Lower bitrates work fine, though.
Most people won't change these settings, and the default ones usually focus on stability rather than high bitrate. So, don't be too impressed by big bitrate numbers; stability is more important for everyday use.
➥ Battery Life
OnePlus provides detailed battery life information on its website, including results with ANC on/off and different settings like AAC and LHDC. This is rare and deserves praise.
In our test, we focused on two numbers: battery life with ANC off using AAC and LHDC. We couldn't test ANC since it turns off when the earbuds are removed.
With ANC off and using AAC, the Buds 3 lasted 11.5 hours, which is more than OnePlus' claimed 10 hours. With LHDC set to 24-bit/48kHz and 500kbps, the earbuds lasted 8.5 hours, again beating OnePlus' claim of 7 hours.
OnePlus also claims 2 hours of playtime after a quick 10-minute charge, which I confirmed in my test. With AAC, the earbuds played for 2.2 hours, and with LHDC, it was 1.6 hours.
Real-world testing often exceeded OnePlus' claims, so I trust their ANC-enabled figures, which aren't bad. However, using higher bitrates with LHDC significantly affects battery life.
➥ Summary
The OnePlus Buds 3 are the best headphones the company has made yet. They sound great, and features like noise cancellation, microphone quality, comfort, and battery life are all good.
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Some people don't like LHDC, but overall, there's not much to complain about. They cost $100/€99/INR 5499, and I think they're a good option.
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