OnePlus Buds Pro 3 Review: The Best TWS Under Rs 12,000?

OnePlus Buds Pro 3 true wireless stereo (TWS) earphones have been launched in India. These audio wearables, priced at Rs. 11,999, sport dual drivers which include 11mm woofers and 6mm tweeters. They support up to 50dB of active noise cancellation (ANC), LHDC 5.0 audio codec and dual-device connectivity. Just the earbuds come with an IP55 rating and they support the slide touch control function. The earphones are claimed to have a total battery life of up to 43 hours. All of these features look good on paper but do they hold up performance-wise? Let's explore that in the review below.

OnePlus Buds Pro 3 Design and Features: Compact and classic

• Size - 33.60 x 21.15 x 25.00mm (Buds); 64.70 x 52.45 x 25.75mm (Case)
• Weight - 5.28g (Each Bud); 61.13g (Total with Case)
• Water and dust resistance - IP55 (Buds only)
• Colours - Lunar Radiance, Midnight Opus

The OnePlus Buds Pro 3 has a comfortable in-ear design with silicone tips. Instead of the usual three silicone tip size options, we get an additional choice. They come in XS, S, M and L sizes and the out-of-the-box medium option fit me the best. The earbuds, with a rounded stem, have a dual-tone finish. Since the earphones allow the slide function, the specific area of the stem that reads the slide command is placed towards the front (when earphones are plugged in). It is marked by a column of tiny horizontal lines that help users identify the spot easily without much of a fumble.

The OnePlus Buds Pro 3 offer a comfortable fit, suitable for long-term use

Offered in two basic shades of Lunar Radiance (white) and Midnight Opus (black), the OnePlus Buds Pro 3 earphones come in a compact, easy-to-carry-around pebble-shaped case. There is nothing flashy or over-the-top about this product and it shines with the elegance of its simplicity, whether it is in terms of hardware or performance. The charging case comes with a plastic unibody build which sports a leather texture. It may appear to have a vegan leather finish, but it does not.

The case does not have an IP rating but the earbuds come with and IP55-rated build. An individual earbud measures 33.60 x 21.15 x 25.00mm in size and weighs 5.28 grams. The case measures 64.70 x 52.45 x 25.75mm in size and together with the earphones, weighs 61.38 grams. Although this is heavier than some other audio wearables in the range, the weight is not considerable and definitely does not impede functionality.

OnePlus Buds Pro 3 App and Specifications: Excellent elementary

• Driver - 11mm + 6mm
• Companion App - Hey Melody
• Gesture controls - Yes (squeeze, slide)

Much like the product itself, the layout of the companion Hey Melody app is simple and easy to use. It allows users access to noise cancellation and equalisation settings management. With supported audio formats, you can also access the Spatial Audio feature from this app. It has the Golden Sound feature as well, which with the help of a series of ear canal and hearing tests, offers users a personalised sound experience.

The Hey Melody app has a simple, easy-to-follow layout

You can customise the touch controls on the earphones' stem using the Hey Melody app. Instead of the tap function, the OnePlus Buds Pro 3 supports squeeze and slide functions. The different commands include quick squeeze, double squeeze, triple squeeze and squeeze and hold. There is also a slide command, which is defaulted to control volume by sliding a finger up or down the stem. You can also customise the slide command to reflect the “switch track” action or turn off the feature completely.

In terms of features, the OnePlus Buds Pro 3 get the basics right. Similar to the preceding OnePlus Buds Pro 2 (Review), the newly launched TWS earphones come with 11mm woofers and 6mm tweeters. However, instead of one DAC with dual drivers like in the older model, the Buds Pro 3 get dual DACs. Why is this improvement noteworthy? DAC stands for Digital-to-Analog Converter, which helps convert digital audio information to actual audio signals that we hear. This is integral in the final quality of sound that we experience and the change has made a difference. We will discuss the sound performance of the earbuds shortly.

The OnePlus Buds Pro 3 support up to 50dB ANC, 94ms low latency and are claimed to offer a battery life of up to 43 hours. The charging case has a 566mAh battery, while individual earbuds carry 58mAh cells. Only the earbuds come with an IP55 rating for dust and splash resistance. The earphones support Bluetooth 5.4, dual-device connection, Google Fast Pairing and USB Type-C port connectivity.

The TWS earphones come with four sizes of silicone ear tips

OnePlus Buds Pro 3 Performance and Battery Life: Dulcet and detailed

• ANC - 50dB
• Battery - 58mAh (Bud), 566mAh (Case)
• Charging - Wired (USB Type-C) and wireless (Qi technology)
• Bluetooth - 5.4

Other than the on, off, and transparent modes, the OnePlus Buds Pro 3 allow users to choose between mild, moderate and max ANC modes as well. With the ANC on, the different modes are meant to deal with varying degrees of disturbances. Additionally, there is a mode to rule them all, the Smart mode, which helps assess the environmental noise level and automatically set the adequate level of noise cancellation. You can otherwise of course switch between the modes using the Hey Melody companion app. However, I did not experience any marked difference among the different ‘on' modes. But the noise cancellation was decent. Apart from a few low-frequency sounds, the earphones managed to mask most environmental disturbances adequately.

The sound experience offered by the OnePlus Buds Pro 3 earphones is a harmonic blend of balanced and detailed. You can access a six-band customisable equaliser through the Hey Melody app. Most of the time, the audio output you get is well-rounded and dulcet. You get five Dynaudio-backed EQ presets — Balanced, Bold, Serenade, Bass, and Dynaudio featured. The last one is promised to replicate the sound of Dynaudio speakers with perfectly balanced bass, mids and treble. I don't know if the preset does quite that but it is pleasant nonetheless.

The plastic unibody charging case has a leather textured finish

The Bold mode highlights the crispier, higher notes and offers a melodious concord with a track like House of The Rising Sun by The Animals. With the Serenade mode, which focuses on vocals, we can feel the soulful, almost raw emotions in songs like Francis Forever by Mitski or Lost On You (Live) by LP. The bass performance of the earphones is good too, with clear, defined sounds and no harsh edges or distortions. Most songs from Light Em Up by Fall Out Boys to Freedom by John Batiste are delightful to listen to in the Bass mode. If you are a fan of stereo mixes, you might be giddy with joy at how pronounced some of the details are with these earphones. For instance, the distinct snares from Dear Prudence by The Beatles seemed to pleasantly poke a certain itch I did not know I had.

Alongside AAC and SBC, the OnePlus Buds Pro 3 support the lossless LHDC 5.0 audio codec. If used with a LHDC-supported handset, the latter improves sound quality markedly and affects the battery life as well. Connectivity options of the earphones include Bluetooth 5.4, a dual-device connection and they support Google Fast Pairing. You can seamlessly switch between the two paired devices without major lag. The 94ms low latency game mode ensures minimal lag between audio and video output. They also support a clear voice call experience.

The battery life of the OnePlus Buds Pro 3 is impressive too. Without ANC, while playing the lossy AAC codec, I got a total playback time of almost 42 hours out of the earphones. With the ANC feature turned on, the total playback time dropped to about 24 hours, which I was more than pleased with, given my arguably more-than-average usage. With the lossless LHDC codec and the Smart ANC mode on, together with the case, these earphones gave me a runtime of a little over 20 hours, 20 hours and 18 minutes to be precise. For the purpose of this review, I maintained a uniform 50 percent volume throughout the testing period.

The charging connectors of the earphones are placed on the bottom of the stem

The OnePlus Buds Pro 3 charging case supports USB Type-C charging as well as wireless charging. Using a 15W Qi wireless charger, it took me three hours to charge the case from zero to 100 percent. Meanwhile, using a 67W wired charger, they were charged to completion in an hour.

OnePlus Buds Pro 3: Verdict

We finally come to the big question. Should you get the OnePlus Buds Pro 3? Priced competitively at Rs. 11,999, these TWS ANC-supported earphones offer a top-notch sound experience. The design is compact and elegant in its simplicity. They can offer an impressive total battery life of almost 43 hours if you keep the ANC off and use the AAC codec. Even running LHDC with ANC on, together with the case, they can last for over 20 hours, which is a good runtime for most casual listeners. If the art of deduction is to be trusted, these audio products have no substantial caveat. So yes, they are a good pick for buyers looking for TWS earphones around Rs. 12,000.

However, if you want to explore more options before committing, you can consider the Sennheiser Accentum True Wireless earphones (Review), which support aptX and LC3 audio codecs and are priced in India at Rs. 12,990.