OnePlus Buds 3 Sound Great for the Price
Previously, to find a good pair of headphones, you had to turn to the big players like Bose or Sony. However, many phone companies now have their own surprisingly durable headphones. One such example is OnePlus, which recently introduced OnePlus Buds 3 .
Building on what the company learned with the OnePlus Buds Pro 2 last year, the OnePlus Buds 3 sits between the cheaper Nord-branded headphones and the Pro variants. The sound and features that come standard with the OnePlus Buds 3 for just $99 are pretty solid, although there are times when they really show off their price tag. I’ve spent the better part of two weeks using the OnePlus Buds 3 as my daily audio driver, and overall I’m very impressed, especially for this price range.
Sound quality
When it comes to mid-range headphones, many companies are doing it wrong. Either they skimp on sound quality or the features offered in the headphones are simply not up to par. This is not the case with the OnePlus Buds 3. While I don’t think they sound as good as my Pixel Buds Pro or my AirPods Pro, the OnePlus Buds 3 do an outstanding job of delivering quality audio and the features you love. not what you’d expect from mid-range headphones.
The sound quality right out of the box is decent, although nothing particularly special. If you connect the headphones to a OnePlus phone, like the new OnePlus 12 , you’ll have access to a bunch of different options right in your phone’s settings. If you’re using another type of Android phone or iPhone, you’ll need the HeyMelody companion app to tweak the settings and make these headphones sound their best. I don’t usually like to download additional apps to control one device, but I have to say that setting up the HeyMelody app was very easy and the various features, which I’ll explain soon, were really worth using.
Everything I listened to through these headphones sounded good, from Noah Kahan songs to the latest Hozier masterpieces and even some old Metallica tracks. Everything sounds good, especially after some EQ tweaking in HeyMelody.
These headphones support SBS and AAC encoders, as well as LHDC 5.0, which is less common on mainstream smartphones. I also noticed that the quality does not vary across devices. Listening to headphones through the OnePlus 12 sounded just as good as it did through the Galaxy S24 Ultra , Pixel 8 Pro , and iPhone 15 Pro Max .
Overall the microphone quality isn’t the best, but for a $100 pair of headphones I didn’t expect them to sound like professional headphones. The sound is more than enough for conversations, even when you’re walking in a slightly noisier environment, like a grocery store.
Battery life
Battery life is another thing that was a little better than I expected. OnePlus claims that the Buds 3 can last up to six and a half hours on a single charge, even when using ANC (active noise cancellation). Based on my time with the Buds 3, it seems pretty accurate, and honestly, I never felt like I was going to run out of juice before I finished listening.
They also charge relatively quickly using the USB-C cables that OnePlus provides, and the charging case can hold up to three extra charges before you have to worry about plugging it in. Overall, for a $100 pair of headphones, the battery life is a winner.
Features and Fit
In my opinion, this is where the OnePlus Buds 3 really start to shine. Despite its mid-range price, the OnePlus Buds 3 pack a lot of features you’d expect to see in more expensive headphones. These features include Active Noise Cancellation (ANC), Transparency Mode (more on that in a second), the ability to use a fast connection, and even a multipoint connection, allowing me to easily switch between listening to game audio on the Steam Deck. and answer calls on my phone.
However, many of the really nice features won’t be enabled unless you use the HeyMelody app, which allows you to create a “Golden Sound” profile. OnePlus says this maps to your ears to deliver audio designed specifically for your unique ear placement. This is an interesting feature and I definitely noticed a slight difference when it was enabled. However, this isn’t really a selling point for the headphones as they sound great without Golden Sound.
The Buds 3 are reasonably comfortable, although it took some effort to get them to stick to my ear during more active testing. However, once they were on, it was easy to forget I was wearing them because they are so light. The touch controls located on each earbud are also very easy to use, although I did occasionally accidentally press the controls when adjusting the fit in my ear. This is an issue we see on most headphones, making it difficult for OnePlus to connect to this one.
What needs work
Despite all the positives, there are some not-so-great things we need to talk about when it comes to the OnePlus Buds 3. In particular, the ANC on the Buds 3 just isn’t very good. Sure, it cancels out some noise, but it also lets in a lot of noise. Additionally, Transparency mode seems to block out noise better than ANC mode, as I could often hear people in the office around me while using ANC, but when I switched to Transparency mode, voices and background sounds were much quieter.
I’m not sure if this is just a bug in the system or what’s going on, but it definitely makes me miss the excellent noise cancellation on my Google Pixel Buds Pro. I also noticed some connection issues when using the HeyMelody app. The Buds 3 connected to my phone or Mac without issue, but when I tried to load them into the app, it told me I needed to connect. And then when I tried to connect, it timed out, saying the connection was unavailable. Again, this may have just been a bug or glitch on my part, but it’s still worth noting as it did impact my usage.
Final verdict
Overall, I’m very pleased with the OnePlus Buds 3, and if I bought them myself, I wouldn’t regret spending $100. ANC could be better, but I think most people will find the OnePlus Buds 3 to be a really solid pair of headphones, especially for their $100 price tag. Of course, they don’t provide the top-notch quality expected from more expensive headphones, but they do have some features that we don’t often see in the mid-range, and that’s a nice bonus.
You can purchase the OnePlus Buds 3 for $99.99. They are available in Splendid Blue and Metallic Grey.