These buds have a good noise-canceling mic, high water and dust resistance, and a long battery life.
They provide decent sound for the price, and lets face it, $50 is an excellent price.
Pros
Cons
OnePlus Nord Buds 3 Pro Review: Design
Impressive water and dust resistance.
Photo:© Artem Golub
The Nord Buds 3 Pro are available in a stunning Soft Jade and a Starry Black shade.
Sadly, I received the latter.
The Starry Black is not as cool as it sounds.
Photo: Artem Golub / Gizmodo
Apart from the starry theme, I like the charging case.
It has a lovely pebble-shaped design, and its curved edges feel good in your hands.
It slid easily into my pocket, and its rounded corners didnt produce an awkward-looking bulge.
Photo: Artem Golub / Gizmodo
For $50, its a pretty good-looking case thats way sturdier than the CMF Buds Pro 2. you’ve got the option to rely on them at the gym for your sweaty workouts.
I have been using them around the house, meaning these poor things have been going through a lot.
The case isnt rated against dust and water, so be careful not to drop it in the toilet.
Photo: Artem Golub / Gizmodo
OnePlus Nord Buds 3 Pro Review: Fit and Controls
Annoying volume control.
In-ear buds rarely stay inside my ears, while on-ear earbuds usually provide a much more comfortable fit.
These are some of the few in-ear buds that were snug on me.
Photo: Artem Golub / Gizmodo
The earbuds weigh 4.4g each and are comfortable to wear for extended periods.
So, you might only use your buds for one of the two actions.
I set it to volume up and reached for my phone to turn it down.
Photo: Artem Golub / Gizmodo
To complicate this even further, another tap and hold gesture is used to cycle between the ANC modes.
The first impression I had of the sound was how bass-heavy it was.
It sounded thick, heavy, and muddy.
Photo: Artem Golub / Gizmodo
It feels like it lost the power it retained at a lower volume.
In terms of separation, these buds do a good job for the price.
It was impressive that the $50 buds featured enough sound imaging for me to discern the various elements.
Photo: Artem Golub / Gizmodo
The Nord Buds 3 Pro can simultaneously connect to two devices.
I connected them to my iPhone and the Nothing Phone (2a) Plus.
The ANC on these buds is so weak that I often couldnt tell whether it was on.
Photo: Artem Golub / Gizmodo
This wasnt high-pitched chatter right next to me; that would still be forgivable as its harder to silence.
It was a low hum a few feet away from me.
You get 12 hours with ANC off, which goes up to 44 hours with the charging case.
Turning ANC on would reduce that to 20 hours in total.
Theres no wireless charging on these, which shouldnt be a surprise considering their $50 price.
They do offer quick charging, though.
A 10-minute charge promises 11 hours of playback.
They provide a snug fit, sufficiently impressive sound imaging, and a high water and dust resistance rating.
Some extra frills, such as support for finding my earbuds and mono listening, are welcome features.
Still, at their modest price, the OnePlus Nord Buds 3 Pro offers way more than it lacks.
Thats reason enough to opt for these unless the absence of quality ANC is a complete dealbreaker for you.
In that case, the mentioned competitor offerings from Samsung or OnePlus are decent alternatives.
For just $20 more, you get far better ANC on the OnePlus Buds 3.
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