OnePlus Nord Buds 3 Review
The OnePlus Nord Buds 3 strikes an excellent balance between affordability and features. Priced at ₹2,299, it delivers decent ANC, excellent battery life, and an array of premium features. The addition of volume controls and dual-device connectivity makes it a more refined product than its predecessor, the Nord Buds 2. While the microphone quality is mediocre and some users might find the vocal quality lacking in clarity, the overall performance, especially at this price point, is impressive.
Less than a month after the launch of the OnePlus Nord Buds 3 Pro (review), its more affordable sibling – the OnePlus Nord Buds 3 – has stepped into India’s cutthroat TWS market. Priced ₹1,000 lower than its Pro counterpart, the Nord Buds 3 shines with impressive features such as Active Noise Cancellation, multipoint connectivity, and IP55 dust and water resistance. Remarkably, the Nord Buds 3 retains most of the features found in the Pro model, with the primary distinction being the level of noise cancellation (32 dB vs 49 dB). So, is the OnePlus Nord Buds 3 too good to pass up? Does it even make sense to opt for the Pro version anymore? We’ll explore these questions and more in our OnePlus Nord Buds 3 review.
Following the footsteps of its more expensive sibling, the OnePlus Nord Buds 3 comes with a compact pebble-shaped case with a glossy finish on the Melodic White I got for review. You can also opt for the Harmonic Gray variant, which looks more premium, in my opinion. The White coloured variant’s design is a touch too uninspired for me and the glossy case attracts fingerprints, smudges, and scratches pretty easily.
The case flaunts the OnePlus logo on the front, paired with a discreet LED indicator for pairing and battery status. At the bottom, you’ll find a USB-C charging port alongside a convenient pairing button. Its compact, pocket-friendly design ensures it can be easily handled with just one hand. Inside, the earbuds rest securely, each marked with clear R and L indicators, making them a breeze to differentiate.
The earbuds provide a snug and comfortable fit, which should be suitable for most people. With S, M, and L ear tips included, you can choose the size that delivers the best seal for your ears. Both the earbuds and the charging case have a glossy finish. The stem has a slightly bulbous design at the end, making it easier to grip when removing them from your ears. However, the touch controls could be better, often registering accidental taps. On the bright side, the IP55 rating ensures decent protection against water splashes and dust.
The OnePlus Nord Buds 3 offers insane bang for your buck, packed with an array of features at a very affordable price.
The earbuds support Fast Pair for Android devices, making the initial pairing process seamless. If you’re using a OnePlus device, you’ll experience even quicker connectivity, with the earbuds appearing instantly for pairing as soon as you open the case. An additional connectivity feature is dual-device pairing, allowing the earbuds to connect to two devices at once. This means you can listen to music on your laptop while being connected to your phone for calls, and the earbuds will automatically switch between the two devices.
The OnePlus Nord Buds 3 also feature touch-sensitive panels on both earbuds that allow for customisable controls. By default, single-tap handles play/pause, double-tap skips tracks, and triple-tap can launch your preferred voice assistant, such as Google Assistant or Alexa. You also get volume control support, which is a huge bonus. What makes the Nord Buds 3 truly flexible is the ability to modify these actions through the HeyMelody app. Through the app, you can also access EQ settings to customise the sound profile according to your taste. The app comes with preset sound modes like Balanced, Serenade, Bass, and a Custom EQ option where you can manually adjust frequencies.
You can select ANC profiles, take an earbud fit test, check the battery levels, perform firmware updates, and do much more via the HeyMelody app. It is extremely feature-rich and intuitive to use.
Another standout feature is the 32dB of Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) support. Now, while it is a bonus to get ANC support at the low price of ₹2,299, the Active Noise Cancellation only works for low, constant sounds like the hum of an air conditioner or airplane. Throw in human voices in there, and it doesn’t cut out those sounds as well. So, the ANC is good, but of course, it cannot match more expensive earbuds. There’s a Transparency Mode too which sounds a bit artificial.
Lastly, the earbuds are IP55 rated for dust and water resistance, so while you cannot dunk them in water, they should easily survive splashes of water. Overall, the OnePlus Nord Buds 3 stuns with its wide array of features, particularly the handy HeyMelody app support and the customisability it brings. There’s no in-ear detection, which is the only feature I found lacking on these buds.
The OnePlus Nord Buds 3 has been designed with a strong focus on bass, which is evident as soon as you start playing bass-heavy tracks. Powered by 12.4 mm titanium-coated dynamic drivers, the earbuds produce deep lows, especially in genres like hip-hop, EDM, and pop. While some will enjoy this bass-forward sound signature, it is a bit too bloated to give an honest representation of the track it’s playing. Furthermore, if you turn on OnePlus’ BassWave algorithm it gets even more boomy.
The mid-range performance is balanced by itself, although it leans slightly towards warmth due to the bass emphasis. They can feel overshadowed by the strong bass response, particularly when listening to tracks where bass and vocals overlap. However, the earbuds still deliver a decent performance for podcasts, audiobooks, and tracks where vocals and instruments play a more prominent role.
The high frequencies, or treble, on the Nord Buds 3 are decent but not the most standout feature. Treble-focused instruments like cymbals, strings, or electronic high-pitched sounds are present but can feel somewhat recessed or less detailed compared to the bass. You can check the sound frequency graph to see the overemphasis of the bass response, which is why it causes quite a bit of auditory masking, particularly in the mids. However, bass lovers will definitely enjoy the sonic response, but it’s not for audiophiles and purists.
The microphone on these earbuds performs decently indoors but they face issues when used in a noisy, outdoor environment as they do not effectively cut out distracting sounds. OnePlus needs to work on the microphone quality of future budget TWS as this is strictly mediocre.
Battery life is one of the strongest aspects of the OnePlus Nord Buds 3. The 58mAh battery in each earbud provides up to 12 hours of playback without ANC, or 8 hours with ANC on. Our tests confirmed 7 hours and 15 minutes of usage with ANC turned on, at 60% volume, making the claim nearly accurate.
For phone calls, the battery lasts about 5 hours, primarily due to the energy demands of call noise cancellation. The charging case, with its 440mAh capacity, extends total playback time to 43 hours without ANC, and 28 hours with ANC enabled. Impressively, the TÜV Rheinland Battery Health certification ensures that after 1,000 charging cycles, the battery will retain at least 80% of its capacity.
Additionally, fast charging provides 11 hours of playback with just a 10-minute charge when ANC is off—a major convenience for users on the go.
The OnePlus Nord Buds 3 strikes an excellent balance between affordability and features. Priced at ₹2,299, it delivers decent ANC, excellent battery life, and an array of premium features. The addition of volume controls and dual-device connectivity makes it a more refined product than its predecessor, the Nord Buds 2. While the microphone quality is mediocre and some users might find the vocal quality lacking in clarity, the overall performance, especially at this price point, is impressive. If you’re a budget-conscious consumer looking for bass-heavy audio with great battery life, the OnePlus Nord Buds 3 should be at the top of your list.
