OnePlus Nord Buds 3 Pro Review: Balanced Audio on a Budget

OnePlus’ Nord series is well-known for its midrange and budget smartphones, as well as its affordable TWS. On my commute to and from work, it’s common for me to spot someone wearing a Nord earbuds. That is why I was eager to try the next iteration of these wireless earphones, and after a week of use, I’m ready to share my thoughts in this review of the OnePlus Nord Buds 3 Pro.

OnePlus Nord Buds 3 Pro: Box Contents

Here’s a quick look at all the contents you will find inside the box of the OnePlus Nord Buds 3 Pro.

• The OnePlus Nord Buds 3 Pro with charging case
• Pair of small and large ear tips
• User Manual
• A single sticker
• USB A to C charging cable

Design and Build Quality

The Nord Buds have traditionally gone with a pretty minimal design. It isn’t too flashy and is compact enough to fit your bags or jeans pocket. This tradition carries over to the Buds 3 Pro. They come in an oval-shaped case similar to Realme Buds Air 6 (review) but more boxy from the sides.

The case itself has a matte texture and a dual-tone finish, with the top being plain black. While the bottom has splashes of white for a starry night look. It’s good and lightweight, with the OnePlus branding on the front and a USB-C port and pairing button at the bottom. The hinge is pretty good here, it doesn’t wobble around like other buds in or under this segment.

Open the case, and you will find the buds inside, and they have also been redesigned. They share a similar look to Oppo Enco buds. The flat stem is gone in exchange for a long teardrop-shaped stem. It has an indent for touch controls. I like the fit of the buds overall in my ears, as I had them on me for over 4 hours and still didn’t feel any discomfort.

However, these buds do invoke the sense that I am using a pair of TWS worth Rs, 3,300. The Realme Buds Air 6 also cost the same, but they are more compact, dense, and feel better overall. That’s one big reason I expected them to be priced lower than what they are.

OnePlus Nord Buds 3 Pro: Connectivity

Let’s now focus on the wireless part of these earbuds. These buds come with Bluetooth 5.4 and Google Fast Pair support, which is a step above the Nord Buds 2. But sadly, there’s no Microsoft SwiftPair support to be found here. As far as the connection goes, it was strong, and I didn’t face any drops in my usage throughout the week.

OnePlus this time around also included dual device pairing, which has over time become my favorite feature. This allowed me to connect the buds with my laptop and my primary phone simultaneously. For some reason, I’ve enjoyed this feature on these buds more than any other I have tested before. This could be because the pairing process is quick and hassle-free.

Sound and Mic Quality

The OnePlus Nord Buds 3 Pro comes with 12.4 mm drivers and supports SBC and AAC codecs. I am seeing a trend this year with Realme and now OnePlus earbuds. They appear to listen to the criticism and have tuned their buds to sound more balanced instead of leaning towards bass only.

While the Nord Buds 2 were more bass-heavy, that is not the case here. The sound quality is I’d say more on the balanced side. The treble, the vocals, and the bass all find their place in the sound signature without one emphasizing the other. I found the bass where it should be, and the treble was in focus where needed. They also get very loud without tearing up the audio.

However, there was a lack of details and the sound didn’t feel clean. It’s like watching a YouTube video at 480p. It looks nice but doesn’t have that sharpness. There’s also little sound separation between the instruments. Though the default bass should be enough, you can crank it up using the companion app if you want to.

There are additional features here like spatial audio, in the form of OnePlus 3D audio. In simple words, it’s not good, and they wouldn’t make a difference if it wasn’t even there. There’s also Sound Master EQ that you can adjust to create your custom profile if you don’t enjoy the stock options. Overall, the Buds 3 Pro offers a good sound quality that should suffice your everyday listening needs.

Microphone Quality

Each earbud houses 3 mics for calls and noise cancellation. If I talk about the mic quality, I’d say it’s good. The person on the other end never had any complaints about my voice, even when I was talking through Noida’s heavy traffic or going my way back home in a crowded metro. The microphone clarity is almost comparable to the Realme Buds Air 6 in my opinion.

Noise Cancellation and Transparency Mode

When I tried the ANC in the Nord Buds 2 last year, I wasn’t impressed by it. I was expecting a similar situation here, but OnePlus proved me wrong. These buds can do 49 dB of noise cancellation at the maximum settings, and it’s one of the best aspects for me. It managed to cancel out most environmental noise, even the roaring sound of the metro on rails while traveling.

The noise cancellation here also doesn’t feel harsh or rough like it did with the Buds Air 6. You don’t feel like a sudden vacuum was created in your ear. It’s a gentle transition when you turn on ANC. I will say that the noise cancellation is definitely on par with buds priced higher than this.

Transparency Mode

I’m happy to report that like ANC, the transparency mode is also handled well here. The voices from the environment, especially other people talking, were crystal clear. I could carry out a conversation while a song was playing at 50% volume with the transparency mode on these buds. That’s how good it is. Though your own voice may sound artificial to you when talking.

OnePlus Nord Buds 3 Pro: Touch Controls

In terms of touch controls, you will find a lot of gestures to control them. Essentially, you won’t need to pull out your phone from your pocket once you master these controls. Here’s a look at the default gesture and touch control settings for the OnePlus Nord Buds 3 Pro.

Now that the flat stem is gone, OnePlus has gone with the Realme route, offering small indents at the top of each stem. This is where you put your fingers to trigger the touch controls. It is accurate almost every time, but if you have sausage fingers like me, then you will have a hard time registering those interactions from time to time.

Battery Life and Charging

Each bud comes with a 58 mAh battery and 440 mAh in the charging case. How does it translate to hours? Well, I used these buds on my long expeditions to explore Delhi, and they managed to last me throughout the day. I got almost 6 and a half hours of battery life with them, despite the ANC enabled.

During that time, I played a lot of jams, had video sessions showing the beautiful scenery to my mom, and back to songs again. I think there shouldn’t be any complaints in the battery department. So they should last 6 hours with ANC and 20 hours with the case. When I reached home, I put them to charge and it took about 1 hour and 10 minutes to fill them to the top.

OnePlus Nord Buds 3 Pro: Companion App Experience

If you pair these buds with a OnePlus device, you won’t need to install any companion app (Realme, please take notes). You can access all controls from the Bluetooth settings page for the buds. OnePlus users can also take advantage of exclusive features like using the buds as a camera shutter and audio channel switch, which will play audio from the phone speaker when you take off the buds.

But for those not in the Red Cable Club, you’ll need to install the Hey Melody app from the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store. Hey Melody offers a straightforward pairing experience. Once paired, you’ll see a well-laid-out interface showing the bud’s battery, different noise modes, and other settings. There’s no signing-in or fancy animations. Just a simple app with clearly written menus and options. This is why it is one of the better companion apps besides the Nothing X app.

Should You Buy the OnePlus Nord Buds 3 Pro?

You might have noticed that I have talked about the buds from the perspective of everyday users, bringing them up when necessary. That is because they are made for them. You wouldn’t catch an audiophile or a tech enthusiast wearing them.

The OnePlus Nord Buds 3 Pro cater to people who want a good and reliable pair of TWS that they don’t have to think about. It’s a pair of buds that you would recommend to your parents, siblings, or family members who are looking for a budget-friendly option.