The brand new OnePlus Buds 3 look like a totally new product line, as OnePlus by no means launched a Buds 2 actually wi-fi earbuds. Technically, these are nearer to the Nord Buds Z2 each by way of options and by way of worth, so You possibly can say that these headphones are the non secular successors of the Buds Z2. Nonetheless, their worth places them just under the premium OnePlus Buds Professional 2 in OnePlus’ audio vary. OnePlus, with its new Buds 3 actually wi-fi earbuds, claims to supply premium options at a cheaper price. I’ve been utilizing them for a few weeks and right here is why I feel they’re a fantastic possibility at Rs. 5,499 in India.

OnePlus Buds 3 evaluate: Design and options

The case design of the OnePlus Buds 3 seems similar to that of the OnePlus Buds Professional 2. Decide it up and you may discover that it is a bit of thick in comparison with the latter, and that is as a result of the battery within the case is bigger. The case has a plastic end and does not really feel as premium because the Buds Professional 2 case, however that is okay because it additionally sells for half the value. Its thicker total dimensions additionally make it simpler to open the case when accessing the headphones, permitting me to confidently open and shut it with one hand.

The OnePlus Buds 3 has a really comfy match with a grippy semi-chrome end

The headphones can be found in two finishes, Splendid Blue and Metallic Gray. I acquired the Splendid Blue earbuds for evaluate they usually have a pleasant chrome end across the stems with the blue plastic casing uncovered nearer to the silicone suggestions. These chrome stems, that are thicker than these on the Buds Professional 2, additionally give it some grip (though they do get soiled), so they do not slip out of my fingers when eradicating them or putting them within the charging case. Just like the OnePlus Buds Professional 2, the earbuds have a really comfy match and I had no issues carrying them for hours with none discomfort.

The charging case weighs 40.8 grams, whereas every earbud weighs 4.8 grams, which isn’t heavy. In truth, they’re lighter than the mixed weight of the OnePlus Buds Professional 2 (over 50 grams). Just like the OnePlus Buds Z2, the Buds 3 provide an IP55 score for mud and water resistance. Which means that the buds may face up to splashes of water or sweaty exercises. The gross sales bundle consists of two further units of silicone suggestions and a brief USB-C charging cable.

The OnePlus Buds 3 charging case (proper) is thicker however has a bigger battery in comparison with the Buds Professional 2 case (left)

OnePlus Buds 3 evaluate: App and specs

When related to a OnePlus smartphone, all settings and customizations may be accessed within the telephone’s Bluetooth Settings in Settings > Bluetooth > OnePlus Buds 3 > i > Headphone options. You possibly can modify the effectiveness of energetic noise cancellation, tweak the equalizer, toggle 3D audio, and most significantly, modify the headphone controls from right here. You can too discover your headphones and management the digital camera when related to a OnePlus smartphone (not obtainable on non-OnePlus units).

For non-OnePlus smartphone and iPhone customers, there’s the HeyMelody app. It’s obtainable for Android and iOS units and presents numerous management and customization. You get noise management (ANC), adjustable equalizer, Golden Sound, and even OnePlus 3D Audio. You possibly can even swap between twin connections and even verify related units on an iPhone. There’s even a gaming mode for many who desire decrease latency, and you’ll even replace the firmware utilizing an iPhone, which is fairly spectacular. The headphone controls can be found in a totally separate part.

The contact controls that include the OnePlus Buds 3 are new. They work very nicely and supply correct suggestions by sliding a finger up or down the stem of the headphones. Whereas contact controls have been current on OnePlus earbuds for some time, the brand new swipe gesture permits you to change a observe or modify the quantity.

The HeyMelody app works nicely on iOS and non-OnePlus units and presents sufficient options and customizations.

Moreover, the swipe gesture may be custom-made for every earbud, so one can be utilized to vary tracks whereas the opposite can be utilized to regulate the quantity. This function or gesture alone appears justifiable for a lot of to improve to this pair of actually wi-fi earbuds as a result of even the higher-end Buds Professional 2 do not allow you to modify the quantity controls by the earbuds.

As for the specs, every earphone has a ten.4mm woofer and a 6mm tweeter (twin drivers) providing 110dB sensitivity and a frequency response vary of 15Hz to 40,000Hz. There are 3 microphones on every earbud which might be additionally used for noise cancellation along with calls. Every earbud has a 58mAh lithium-ion battery, whereas the case presents a big 520mAh unit. The headphones use Bluetooth 5.3 and assist AAC, SBS, and even the LHDC 5.0 codec.

OnePlus Buds 3 evaluate: Efficiency and battery life

As anticipated from an audio product at this worth, the audio is primarily aimed on the bass-heavy viewers. Nonetheless, this isn’t the everyday muddy bass, however quite a reasonably clear and outlined sort, which could be very nice when listening to bounce music and even watching films, because it provides that additional contact with out going overboard. However this all occurs on the default Balanced EQ setting, which accurately does what it says, reserving the bassiest sound for the ‘Bass’ setting. The mids, as normal, nonetheless take a little bit of a beating right here, however most customers will not discover a lot. For those who do, the ‘Serenade’ preset appears to deal with this to some extent.

There may be additionally a BassWave function which I discovered to be fairly distinctive. Activating it within the settings permits you not solely to extend the bass degree but in addition to decrease or scale back it. Nonetheless, utilizing the function solely appeared to make issues worse (irrespective of the place you have been going), so I most popular to maintain it disabled.

As for the microphones, they do a wonderful job of drowning out pointless ambient sounds, making the caller’s voice sound loud and clear in a wide range of environments. At no level in the course of the evaluate interval did I hear a caller complain about my voice high quality, which is fairly spectacular as I’ve heard callers complain pretty regularly when utilizing the Buds Professional 2.

Whereas the 2 look a bit comparable, the OnePlus Buds 3’s earbuds have thicker stems

The energetic noise cancellation (ANC) know-how works as anticipated and is ready to suppress low-frequency noise nicely, however not as a lot mid- and high-frequency noise as they managed to convey. Nonetheless, it is fairly succesful and will get the job carried out, given its worth.

By way of connectivity, the OnePlus Buds 3 did fairly nicely. I used to be in a position to chat and take heed to music from a number of toes away (with strong partitions with doorways in between) in my condo, and the connection did not appear to drop or have issues (so long as I used the lighter SBC/AAC codec). When taking part in video games, there’s a separate mode to prioritize latency over audio high quality when utilizing the HeyMelody app on iPhone or different Android units.

As for battery life, when taking part in music repeatedly utilizing the AAC codec, at 50 p.c quantity, the headphones simply lasted me 10 hours on a single cost with the ANC turned off. Activating the ANC diminished this determine to round 6 hours. Switching to the heavier LHDC, as anticipated, reduces play time even additional, bringing it down to simply about 5 hours. In truth, the thick case has some benefits, permitting you to make use of the headphones 4 instances on a single cost.

Whereas the LHDC audio codec is accessible, it’s fairly apparent to conclude that it’s wiser to stay with AAC for higher battery life and ANC use, as some great benefits of LHDC are a bit gimmicky with these earbuds. They handle a naked minimal of 400kbps and are unusable (by way of stability and vary) on the promised bitrate of 1Mbps or 1000kbps.

I wasn’t in a position to precisely take a look at the charging speeds, however OnePlus claims that the Buds 3 actually wi-fi earbuds, when charged with the case for 10 minutes, can present as much as 7 hours of mixed use, which sounds fairly good, so I am going to take their phrase.

Verdict

At Rs. 5,499, the OnePlus Buds 3 actually wi-fi earbuds provide a number of options which have come from the extra premium ones Buds Pro 2 (Review), nearly making the latter redundant in terms of sure options. These embrace new swipe gestures with contact controls, that are a handy technique to management the quantity and music playback expertise with out the necessity to attain in your smartphone. Whereas the addition of the LHDC codec is questionable, you continue to get succesful ANC and wonderful voice high quality. A well-designed companion app that gives a lot of the options of a OnePlus smartphone, even on a non-OnePlus system, finally ends up making the OnePlus Buds 3 headphones a really enticing audio bundle at this worth.

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