OnePlus Buds Pro 3 review: Among the best wireless earbuds for Android, iOS

The OnePlus Buds Pro 3 are the third-generation premium wireless earbuds from OnePlus, priced at Rs 11,999. These earbuds feature adaptive active noise cancellation, the LHDC codec for high-resolution wireless audio, spatial audio, multipoint connectivity for simultaneous connections with two devices, and support for both wireless and wired charging.

On paper, the OnePlus Buds Pro 3 seem to be an incremental upgrade over their predecessor, but OnePlus has claimed improvements across several aspects – from design and audio quality to call performance and battery life.

Design

The OnePlus Buds Pro 3, both the case and earbuds, look nothing like the predecessor, and for better. The case, which is now pebble-shaped, features vegan leather on the front and back for a premium feel and improved ergonomics. Available in Midnight Opus and Lunar Radiance (review unit), the case has a shiny golden OnePlus logo, adding a touch of elegance to its otherwise generic design.

As for the buds, they have glossy finish on the stems and matte texture on the buds. The buds have ‘R’ and ‘L’ cut outs for clear identification between the right and left earbuds. It is easy to take them out from the case, but the glossy texture on the stems is slippery and leads to accidental drops. Nevertheless, the earbuds are lightweight and modestly sized to offer snug fit in the ear canal. Moreover, the in-ear design with soft ear tips offer secure fit.

Features

The OnePlus Buds Pro 3 are feature-packed wireless earbuds. Among its headline features are:

• Adaptive active noise cancellation: Adjusts noise-blocking intensity automatically based on ambient noise levels, with manual settings for max, moderate, and mild.
• Sound Master EQ: This is for the sound profiles, co-engineered in partnership with Danish audio brand Dynaudio. There are total of five pre-set equalisers to choose from and an option to custom-create, if the pre-set ones do not match your liking. The pre-set options include Balanced, which is set as default and works fine in most scenarios; Bold, which enhanced instruments details; Serenade, which is tuned for vocals; Bass, which adds more texture to low frequency for enhanced thump effect; and Dynaudio featured, which is said to replicate the sound of Dynaudio speakers. In addition to these sound profiles, there is an option to enable OnePlus’ BassWave technology, which enhances bass without compromising details on other bands.
• Golden Sound: It is a tool to adjust sound signature based on your hearing profile. To do so, the earbuds run a test of about three minute to scan the ear canal structure and hearing characteristics.
• Spatial Audio: It uses Google Spatial Audio technology to deliver expansive sound stage, even if the sound track natively supports stereo output only. More importantly, there is support for head-tracking feature.
• Game mode: Reduces transmission latency, but works best with OnePlus smartphones only.
• Dual connection: Can be paired with two devices, including Android and iOS.
• Earbuds fit test: Helps you find the right ear tip for best experience.
• Google Fast Pair: Android devices recognise the buds in pairing mode and enable quick connection.
• Hi-Res audio: Supports LHDC codec for hi-res audio transmission, besides commonly used SBC and AAC codes. Important to note, LHDC is not widely available codec on Android devices.

Companion app

Most of the OnePlus Buds Pro 3 headline features are available even on non-OnePlus devices through the companion app named “Hey Melody”. This app is available on Play Store for Android and App Store for iPhone. That said, one must give it to OnePlus to not tie up the headline features of the earbuds to its ecosystem.

Audio and calls

The OnePlus Buds Pro 3 deliver a balanced sound profile with clear bass and treble, complemented by optimal loudness. As stated above, there are five sound profiles available and you may find the right audio tuning among them to suit your listening preferences. If not, there is an option to custom create one. For me, the default (balanced) sound profile worked fine in most cases, and occasionally switched to Bass sound profile.

The spatial audio feature enhances the audio experience by widening the sound stage, with support for head-tracking. Importantly, it works across audio streaming platforms and even with audio files that are natively recorded in stereo.

While the earbuds perform well overall, the call quality is decent but not exceptional, with the microphones sometimes struggling to filter ambient noise in loud environments.

Battery

The OnePlus Buds Pro 3 offer a modest battery life of about four hours with active noise cancellation enabled in smart mode. Battery life increases significantly with ANC disabled and at lower volume levels. With the case, the earbuds provide sufficient battery life for at least a week of use with a couple of hours of daily use. Charging is quick, taking approximately 40 minutes, though wireless charging is slower. This feature remains a useful addition, particularly for devices that support wireless power share.

Verdict

The OnePlus Buds Pro 3 are feature-rich wireless earbuds offering a compelling mix of performance and versatility. Designed primarily for Android devices, they also work effectively with iPhones thanks to the companion app. If you are seeking premium wireless earbuds that offer future-proofing and adaptability across devices, the OnePlus Buds Pro 3 are a strong choice.