Last month, OnePlus added a new, affordable variant to its Nord Buds 3 series. Priced at Rs 1,599, these earbuds rock 12.4mm titanized drivers. In order to keep the price in check, OnePlus has made a couple of tradeoffs on this TWS. For starters, it doesn’t feature Active Noise Cancellation. In-ear detection is another major feature that’s missing. We used these earbuds for a week to find out whether you should grab them at their affordable price or pay the premium to get the higher spec version (our review here) with the missing features. Here is our review of the OnePlus Nord Buds 3r.
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In This Article
OnePlus Nord Buds 3r Review: Design
Before we dive into the review, let’s take a look at what you get inside the retail box of this TWS:
- Charging case with earbuds inside
- Extra ear tips (S & L)
- Sticker
- User guide
OnePlus has ditched the pebble form factor of the charging case for a boxy profile. The edges are slanted to give the case a sculpted appearance. The hinge feels strong, and it is easy to flip open the lid with one hand. The all-plastic build doesn’t exactly scream ‘premium’, but the matte finish massively elevates the in-hand feel of the device. It also keeps smudges and fingerprints at bay.
The ONEPLUS lettering is embossed right below the lid. The small LED indicator is placed further down. The USB Type-C port is positioned at the bottom of the case. There is no dedicated pairing button on this TWS.
The earbuds follow the traditional in-ear design language and have a compact form factor. They offer a comfortable and snug fit. Wearing them for multiple hours on end does not cause abrasion in the ears. Each earbud has two microphones and a small notch for the touch panel. The touch controls are well-tuned. Accidental touches are not a common occurrence.
The Buds 3r are rated IP55 for dust and water resistance. In rigorous workout sessions, these earbuds remained unfazed by excessive sweat. The fit remained intact as well, largely due to the matte finish on the inner section.
OnePlus Nord Buds 3r Review: Performance
The Nord Buds 3r support Bluetooth 5.4 and Google Fast Pair. Connecting the earbuds to a smartphone is a very seamless process. The Fast Pair pop-up appears on the screen as soon as you flip open the charging case. Once connected, the earbuds have a 10m functional range. There are 2 audio codecs on offer – SBC and AAC.
Delivering the audio output on these earbuds are 2 titanized 12.4mm dynamic drivers. The soundstage on offer here is rich and warm. Special attention is paid to low-range frequencies, but that doesn’t mean that the mids and highs are lost in the mix. If you enjoy your music with an extra thump of bass, you will enjoy the output produced by these earbuds. Needless to say, the soundstage on offer here will not appeal to audiophiles who are looking for a truly neutral output.
We played a wide range of genres on these earbuds and were happy with the listening experience. The basslines in Talking Heads’ Remain In Light were relayed with delightful clarity. The clapper hits retained their crispness, and the guitar riffs sounded punchy. While playing Broadcast’s Tender Buttons, we were impressed with the clarity of the minimal electronic sounds delivered by these earbuds.
There are 3 equaliser profiles on offer – Balanced, Serenade, and Bass. You need to install the HeyMelody app on your device to access these profiles. You can choose to create a personalised EQ profile as well. There is a handy ‘Game Mode’ on this app that drops the latency of the earbuds to 47ms. We played Call of Duty Mobile while wearing these earbuds. The sound effects perfectly matched the visuals on the screen, and there were no delays whatsoever.
The dual connection feature allows you to pair these earbuds to 2 devices at once. It can be accessed from the companion app. Since the charging case does not have a dedicated pairing button, you need to keep its lid open for 15 seconds or touch and hold both earbuds for 4 seconds to enter pairing mode. While you cannot change the touch controls for the pairing mechanism, other individual touch gestures for either earbud are customisable. Features like AI Translate and Camera Control are available exclusively for OnePlus smartphones.
The calling experience offered by the Nord Buds 3r is pretty decent for the price. The dual-mic setup for AI noise cancellation does a good job of extracting the voice of the speaker from the background noise in indoor conditions. In outdoor conditions, we were happy with how well the earbuds nullified the oncoming winds. However, the call quality took a hit when the traffic noise got too loud.
Each earbud is equipped with a 58mAh battery pack. There’s an additional 560mAh in the case. OnePlus claims a cumulative battery life of 54 hours. On a single charge, these earbuds can last up to 12 hours. Our daily usage consisted of 3-4 hours of music streaming and gaming. We were not able to fully exhaust the charging case by the end of the week-long review period. Charging the case and earbuds to 100% takes up to 2 hours. A quick 10-minute charge offers 8 hours of playback.
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Verdict
The OnePlus Nord Buds 3r tick all the essential boxes for an affordable TWS. It has a lively soundstage, an easy pairing mechanism, a long battery life, a decent calling experience, and a useful companion app. The unique design of the charging case is an added bonus. However, with the standard Nord Buds 3 model currently priced at Rs 1,799, we recommend shelling out an extra Rs 200 for Active Noise Cancellation.
Pros
- Comfortable fit
- Lively soundstage
- Great battery life
- Affordable
Cons
- Features like AI Translation and Camera Assist are exclusively available on OnePlus smartphones
