The appearance design, sound quality, comfort, and noise cancellation performance of OnePlus Buds 3 are all excellent. Coaxial dual drivers, 49dB noise cancellation, LHDC 5.0 codec, Hi-Res Wireless certification, and Rheinland high-performance noise cancellation certification are all their highlights.
- $63 – Check latest price on AliExpress, Amazon US, other Amazon countries or Banggood
Appearance Design & Comfort Fit
OnePlus Buds 3 continues the simple and stylish design style of OnePlus Buds Pro 2, and is available in black and blue. If your personality tends to be low-key, then black may be more suitable. The surface of the charging case adopts a metallic paint injection spraying process, making the surface look like aluminum alloy.
OnePlus Buds 3 earbuds continue this metallic texture, but unlike the matte texture of the charging case, the metallic glossy process is another purer and more technological style. The earbuds adopt an integrated design, which also makes people feel that they have a very good texture.
OnePlus Buds 3 adopts an in-ear design, and the earbud curves rely on a million-level human ear scanning model database and more than 2,000 model tests to make them fit better. And thanks to the lightweight design of 4.81g, the comfort is very good, and there will be no discomfort even if worn for a long time.
Connection & App Support
The earbuds uses Bluetooth 5.3 technology and supports SBC, AAC and LHDC codec. When connecting for the first time, just select “Oneplus Buds 3” in your phone’s bluetooth list for a quick connection. When using it again, open the lid to connect the successfully paired bluetooth device.
The earbuds has a stable connection with the mobile phone within 10 meters. In an environment without obstacles, the connection will be intermittent when the phone is more than 10 meters away. Also, the Buds 3 support multipoint connection, which can connect two bluetooth devices.
Oneplus Buds 3 support HeyMelody App for Android and iOS systems. After connecting the earbuds, you can select the noise cancellation mode after entering the APP settings interface. In addition to the commonly used deep noise cancellation, medium noise cancellation and mild noise cancellation, we can also turn on smart dynamic noise cancellation – Buds 3 will automatically match the appropriate noise cancellation effect based on the current environmental noise conditions.
For sounding, Hi-Res options, EQ sound effects, golden hearing and OnePlus spatial sound effect are provided in the settings. Especially for the golden hearing experience, it is recommended that everyone test the earbuds after getting them. It can indeed significantly improve the sound performance of the earbuds via software tuning.
In order to facilitate blind operation by users, the touch area of OnePlus Buds 3 adopts a matte process that has a strong contrast and differentiation with the shiny metal surface. During use, our fingers can find the touch area more accurately. You can adjust the volume by sliding, or switch songs or noise cancellation mode by clicking. Plus, you can customize the control method in the app.
Battery Life & Gaming Mode
The Oneplus Buds 3 support low-latency game mode with the latency as low as 94ms. Playing games and watching videos are no problem, it works without issues on both Android and iPhone with perfect sound and picture sync.
The battery capacity of the charging case is 520mAh, and the earbud is 58mAh. The single battery life after turning off ANC mode is up to 10 hours, and the total battery life is up to 44 hours. The battery life after turning on ANC mode is about 6 hours. (AAC code, 50% volume)
Also, the Buds 3 support fast charging – 10 minutes of charging allows you to listen to music for 7 hours.
Active Noise Cancellation (ANC)
With the support of new noise cancellation technology and high computing power chips, OnePlus Buds 3 has increased the noise cancellation depth to 49dB, which can effectively eliminate 99.6% of background noise. It has obtained the German Rheinland High Performance Noise Cancellation Certification, and combined with smart scene noise cancellation, adaptive personalized noise cancellation and transparency mode, they can bring you a more immersive listening experience.
In actual experience, I selected scenarios where noise canceling headphones are frequently used in daily life, including commuting, public transportation, airports, and coffee shop.
Public Transportation: OnePlus Buds 3 can well filter out low-frequency noise during bus operation, such as the sound of motor operation and the noise of the vehicle itself. For station announcements, the volume will be much lower, but some will still be retained – I think this is acceptable.
Roadside: Thanks to optimization for high-frequency commuting scenarios, they filters vehicle noise and vocals very well on the road.
Airport: I was very surprised by the noise reduction effect of OnePlus Buds 3 on the roar of airplanes. After turning on ANC, the noise is basically completely filtered.
Coffee Shop: The noise in the coffee shop is not loud, but more of vocals. Oneplus Buds 3 has a very good noise cancellation effect on low-frequency vocals.
Acoustic Configuration & Sound Description
OnePlus Buds 3 uses an integrated coaxial dual drivers design – 6mm treble planar diaphragm driver + 10.4mm composite diaphragm bass driver. According to official data, the 6mm tweeter driver not only extends the high-frequency to 40kHz, but also increases the sensitivity by 6dB. The 10.4mm bass driver increases the maximum amplitude by 30%, making the bass even better. Overall, the acoustic configuration has been upgraded to another level.
Also, the OnePlus Buds 3 support the LHDC 5.0 transmission protocol and has obtained Hi-Res Wireless certification. The theoretical sound quality has been greatly improved.
“BOOM” is a very classic bass electronic music. Thanks to the smart dynamic bass (Bass Wave) of OnePlus Buds 3, the song is full of low-frequency power. The elasticity of low-frequency vocals and drum beats is excellent, with quick and clean rebound.
“The Rain” is a pure musical composition composed by Joe Hisaishi. The various instruments in the music have very good separation. The piano part reflects the advantages of Buds 3 in overtone performance. The high-frequency sound of the violin is clear, bright and transparent.
“I Will Love You All My Life”: In the intro part, you can clearly hear the layering and overtones of the guitar playing. After entering the singing part, Charlie Landsborough’s magnetic voice was fully revealed, showing more details of the sound.
Overall, the tri-frequency of OnePlus Buds 3 is relatively balanced and can create a good soundstage. The sound imaging and overtone performance are both excellent. (OnePlus Buds 3 is used with OPPO Find N2 Flip, turn on the LHDC and Hi-Res options)
In addition, OnePlus Buds 3 also support 3D surround spatial audio, which is not limited to devices and sound sources, allowing you to get an immersive sense of space when listening music, watching movies, or playing games. Leakage compensation, ear canal compensation and personalized hearing, combined with the smart dynamic bass function, allow more people to get a satisfying listening experience.
Conclusion
OnePlus Buds 3 is excellent in appearance design, sound quality and noise cancellation performance. On the downside, OnePlus Buds 3 currently cannot wake up the voice assistant directly through voice – I hope this feature can be added in the future.
OnePlus Buds 3 specs and features:
- Bluetooth 5.3 with SBC/AAC/LHDC codec
- 6mm tweeter driver + 10.4mm bass driver
- 6 – 10 hours playback of per charge (ANC on/off)
- Charging case can charge earbuds fully 3 times
- IP55 waterproof and dustproof (rain and sweat resistant)
- Comes with 3 sets of eartips, USB-C cable, user manual
- $63 – Check latest price on AliExpress, Amazon US, other Amazon countries or Banggood