OnePlus Buds Pro 3 review: Fantastic TWS earphones with long-lasting battery

OnePlus on Monday (August 20) launched the premium Truly Wireless Stereo (TWS) earphones Buds Pro 3 for Rs 11,999 in India.

It is co-developed by OnePlus and Dynaudio, a Chinese-owned Danish loudspeaker maker. It should be noted that Bugatti uses a Dynaudio-branded 'Puccini sound system' in some of its ultra-premium sportscars.

OnePlus Buds Pro 3 promises to offer excellent listening experience and long battery life. Does it deliver? Here are my thoughts on the latest TWS buds from the house of OnePlus.

Design and build quality

OnePlus Buds Pro 3 comes in a familiar pebble stone form factor, but it has a uniqueness in terms of hand-feel. It features a dual-tone scheme with an entire border around the curved edge flaunting a smooth matte finish. In the middle, the company has incorporated premium faux leather with a textured finish. On the front, it has OnePlus engraving and on the back, it has co-creator Dynaudio.

OnePlus Buds Pro 3.

On the left, it has a reset button and on the base, it has a type-c port for charging. The company offers the earbuds in two colours-- lunar radiance and midnight opus. Our review unit is the latter. It looks elegant and refreshing.

OnePlus Buds Pro 3.

Inside, you will find the in-ear design-based buds with a touch-sensitive stem. On the top, each bud comes pre-fitted with medium-sized silicone tips to fit comfortably to the ears. For me, it fits in perfectly. For others, who feel the earphones are too big or small, the company offers three pairs of ear tips -- extra small, small and large--options with the retail box.

For each earbud at the top, there is a clear marking with R (right) and L (left) to help users place them on the respective sides of the ears.

The touch-sensitive part of the stem is very responsive and takes swipe inputs instantly with a swipe gesture. Users swipe up to increase the volume and down to reduce volume with less hassle.

OnePlus Buds Pro 3.

With double-tap gestures, users can control the music track to skip to the next song or reject or hang up the call. With triple taps, users go back to the previous song.

And, with a one-second squeeze, users can switch between ambient mode and adaptive noise cancellation.

The earbuds come with IP55 rating. It can withstand heavy sweating during workouts at the gym or jogging outdoors.

It supports Bluetooth 5.4 for a stable wireless connection with the device up to 10 metres. It can pair with two devices. This comes in handy while watching a movie on a tablet and getting a call on the phone. The earbuds seamlessly switch to the phone to help users answer the call.

Performance

Like the previous iterations, setting up the OnePlus Buds Pro 3 is easy. It barely takes a few minutes to pair with the primary phone. One has to just open the case and look for the Buds Pro 3 on the Bluetooth settings on the phone. And, connect it. Or, users can install the Hey Melody app on their phone and follow the on-screen instructions. It also takes a few minutes to complete the pairing process. And, it offers more customisation such as equaliser; users can adjust the audio delivery frequency that matches their taste.

OnePlus Buds Pro 3.

It has five EQ settings-- Balanced, Bold, Serenade, Bass and Dynaudio.

With Bold mode, the earphones deliver crisp audio of instruments, particularly pianos and symphonies.

In Serenade mode, it focuses on delivering the clear voice of the singer. With Bass mode, it offers a deep, textured rhythmic pulse. It is good for listening to rock genre music.

And, with Dynaudio mode, it balances bass, mids, and treble to replicate the sound of the Dynaudio speakers.

There is also Bass Wave mode too. It can dynamically boost bass to deliver deep bass with clarity and fidelity.

It also boasts a gaming mode. Users can find it in the Hey Melody app. It can significantly reduce the lag between the audio reaching the earbuds and the video played on the phone.

The most noticeable improvements over the predecessor include adaptive noise cancellation and spatial audio delivery.

It has dual drivers--an 11mm woofer and a 6mm tweeter. For the 11mm woofer, the company has incorporated a second magnet to increase the amount of power the woofer can generate. It has also redesigned the diaphragm with 30-layer ceramic-metal composite material to improve audio sensitivity and sound accuracy.

OnePlus Buds Pro 3.

And, the 6mm tweeter features a 35-micrometre flat voice coil and flat diaphragm, to ensure the tiniest high-frequency details with less loss of audio quality are delivered into the ear. It is said to be 35 per cent better than the standard OnePlus Buds 3 (review) earphones.

With dual drivers and dedicated dual DACs(digital-to-analogue converter), the OnePlus Buds Pro 3 does an excellent job of delivering clear crisp music to the ears.

Each earbud houses the mics and a VPU (Voice Pick Up Bone Sensor) to pick up the voice clearly and pass it on to the other side of the phone call with less distortion.

With Adaptive Noise Cancellation mode on, it is capable of reducing up to 50Db noise around the user.

The earbuds do a fine job of decreasing the annoying honking sounds of vehicles during peak traffic hours on the road. Even indoors too, it can significantly reduce the chatter around the cubicle at the office to answer phones with less disturbance.

Each bud houses a 58mAh cell and the case has a 566mAh battery capacity. With full charge, it can support up to 10 hours of playtime.

With Adaptive Noise Cancellation on, it can run for six hours on a stretch. And, with the charging case, it goes on for 43 hours. It also supports fast charging. With 10 minutes of charging, it can last for five hours.

To fully charge from zero to 100 per cent capacity, it takes a little over one hour via wired charging process. It also supports wireless charging and the case will take close to two hours and 30 minutes.

OnePlus Buds Pro 3.

Final thoughts

OnePlus Buds Pro 3 is fantastic TWS earphones for everyday use. It excels in delivering pristine audio while listening to music tracks and during phone calls with minimal distortion.

Also, in terms of battery life, it lasts long. The noise cancellation does a fine job controlling the outside sound of the vehicle horn during peak traffic hours.

OnePlus Pro 3 is available on Amazon, OnePlus e-store and other authorised stores in India for Rs 11,999.

Get the latest news on new launches, gadget reviews, apps, cybersecurity, and more on personal technology only on DH Tech.