Since its inception as a product line three years ago, the OnePlus Buds Pro line-up has delivered some holistic interface features and well-balanced sounds in an affordable price bracket. This year, the promises aren’t very different. I’ve been plugged into the OnePlus Buds Pro 3 for almost a month now and here’s whether it makes me dance to its tune!
Design
Visually, the construct of the OnePlus Buds Pro 3 is fairly straightforward this time, with a faux leather finish on the case. In Midnight Opus (black) and Lunar Radiance (white), the case weighs about 50 grams, with each earbud weighing a little more than 5 grams. Overall, the design is both familiar and comfortable to wear for extended use. The buds are built to support both pinch and swipe gestures. A single pinch plays or pauses the track, a double pinch takes you to the next track, a triple pinch plays the previous track and a slide gesture adjusts the volume. A long-press allows you to toggle between ANC and Transparency modes.
Sound Quality
I waste no time setting it up. OnePlus doesn’t either, considering it has Google Fast pairing, which is super snappy. The brand says that the Buds Pro 3 is built with dual dynamic driver units, each designed to do equal justice to bass, treble and vocals. However, this time they have supposedly tweaked the woofer to be punchier and tweaked the 6 mm tweeter to deliver better high-frequency sounds.
I cue Devil is a Lie by Tommy Richman, a popular track over the last couple of months. With thumpy bass notes and a fair bit of background synth, the song sounds pretty decent on the Buds Pro 3. I switch to Neva Play by Megan Thee Stallion featuring RM of BTS. The rapper’s verse that beings with a sexy “What’s up, Stallion?” sounds deep and rich on the device. There’s a fair bit of high notes in the track as well, which can sound a bit tinny at high volume on these buds.
I use the device for a few product briefings and was informed that I could be heard clearly even in a room with a rather noisy ceiling fan.
App features
I do the Golden Sound test, which customises a personalised sound profile, usually more wholesome than the default one. All EQ options carry the Dynaudio logo but not all of them do justice to the tracks I sample. I choose to have BassWave on, which immediately delivers deep bass while maintaining overall clarity across other aspects of the acoustics.
I get the most immersive acoustics with spatial audio on, and set to fixed. The head-tracking spatial audio can get a little disorienting for me when I’m on the move. When I switch off spatial sound after having it on for a long time, the sound appears a bit flatter.
Noise cancellation
I had active noise cancellation set to ‘High’ on the device for the most part of my usage. It drowns out the murmur and chatter in the background at work and cuts out most of the whir of a noisy autorickshaw. However, I could still hear a fair bit of my air-conditioner’s white noise in the background as I write this. So, it doesn’t do a perfect job with active noise cancellation and there’s a fair bit of room for improvement.
Battery
Over the month I used the OnePlus Buds Pro 3, I had to charge it on average once a week. My usage was mostly moderate with a maximum of 1.5-2 hours of listening to audio or calls each day. According to the company, a quick 10-minute charge adds another five hours of playback time while a full charge cycle delivers about 42 hours of possible playback.
Verdict
The OnePlus Buds 3 delivers some decent acoustics which is easily improved upon by in-app customsiations. In terms of design, it’s neither exceptional, nor too boring. The earbuds are comfortable for long hours of usage but don’t offer the most secure fit for sports or even jogging. So, overall it feels like a bit of a mixed bag. Compared to its budget buds, which also manage to deliver some great sound and customisation options at a much lower price range, I’d expected even better noise cancellation and overall acoustics from the OnePlus Buds Pro 3. Having said that, in its price range and with competitors such as Sony, Marshall and Sennheiser, the OnePlus Buds Pro 3 has enough ground to stand on with its current audio capabilities and user experience.
