Why the $80 OnePlus Nord Buds 3 Pro are my new favorite budget earbuds

ZDNET's key takeaways

OnePlus is producing good quality audio products one after another, and the Nord Buds 3 Pro keep the trend going. The new product with a "Pro" mockup, a first for the Nord lineup, sits between the Nord Buds 2 and the OnePlus Buds 3. While there's no design resemblance with either, the OnePlus Nord Buds 3 Pro sound good. 

Still, there are things I wish were better. Here's what you should know about the new $80 OnePlus earbuds.

Portable design, comfortable, and easy-to-use controls

The OnePlus Nord Buds 3 Pro move away from the Nord Buds 2's rectangular case to offer a slim oval case that fit better in the pocket. The OnePlus Nord 3 Pro are the most portable earbuds in the recent Nord lineup. The build quality is solid, and there's a nice click to the lid. The case also features a two-tone finish with a rock-like look in matte, which makes the Nord Buds 3 Pro stand out from the competition.

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The OnePlus Nord Buds 3 Pro are IP55 rated for dust and water resistance, so they are good for a run. I like the fit and style of the earbuds, too. At 4.4 grams each, they're light and offer a snug fit. I didn't feel uncomfortable wearing them during workouts or long durations.

The earbuds have a small area that you can tap to control them. It is easy to locate, and you get used to the controls pretty quickly. You can adjust the controls from the HeyMelody app on both iOS and Android, or through the Settings on OnePlus phones. (The HeyMelody app hasn't changed much from the last time I used it with the OnePlus Buds 3. It's clean and easy to use.)

Unfortunately, the controls feel limiting. For instance, a single tap on either earbud can only play/pause what you're playing. You can assign more controls to a double tap: playback control like the single tap offers, track control, voice assistant, or game mode. You can set a triple tap to either track control, voice assistant, or game mode. 

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There's no volume control option for taps. You can adjust the volume by long (until three beeps) touch and hold, which is not ideal because touch and hold, which is long in itself, is assigned to noise cancellation/transparency. I would prefer to control volume with swipe gestures, but if they're absent, I'd like to assign volume controls to the taps that are supported. The taps work flawlessly, though, and I didn't have any trouble with gesture input overall.

Bass-tuned but flexible and with ANC

The OnePlus Nord Buds 3 Pro feature 12.4mm dynamic drivers and support AAC and SBC codecs. These earbuds sound better than I expected. They are heavy on the bass without compromising the mids and treble, unless you have the BassWave feature turned on.

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In the Balanced preset, which is enabled by default, the sound feels flat. You can also enable BassWave for more bass in Balanced, but it doesn't quite sound balanced then. Switching to the Serenade preset enables more impact in rock with drums and electric guitar. I preferred listening to acoustic music in the Serenade mode too. The vocals sounded clearer and the guitar tunes sharper. It felt more detailed, although this mode can sound too sharp for some tunes at high volumes.

If you want to listen to bass-heavy music, I suggest selecting the Basspreset and moving the slider up to 10 on BassWave. This does, however, come with a downside: muddling vocals. 

The Nord Buds 3 Pro also offer decent noise cancellation for the price. They were able to drown out the ambient noise of traffic and cafés, but I didn't find the transparency mode of much use. The earbuds feature two analog and one digital microphone for calls, but the call quality is average at best.

OnePlus Nord Buds 3 Pro are feature-packed

The OnePlus Nord Buds 3 Pro feature the latest Bluetooth version 5.4 standard for connectivity. I loved two features the most. One is multi-device connectivity, which is not limited to just OnePlus devices or Android. I was connected to my iPhone 15 Pro and the OnePlus Open simultaneously. It also works like a charm between Android devices. 

Second, Google Fast Pair lets you connect the earbuds to any supported Android device without needing to press the pair button. The Nord Buds 3 Pro showed up on my five-year-old OnePlus 7T as a "saved device" and connected with a single tap. Unfortunately, there's no such convenient option for PCs. 

The OnePlus Nord 3 Pro also has exclusive features for OnePlus phones. For example, there's a camera shortcut that lets you double tap on the earbuds to click a photo, and 3D audio, which sounds hollow. You aren't missing out on much if you have other Android devices or an iPhone.

Thankfully, OnePlus has included support for Find My Earbuds, which plays a sound on the earbuds even when they're lying somewhere out of the case. This is helpful if you forget to put them in the case and need to find them later. Unfortunately, it only works when they're connected to your phone, so if you've traveled out of Bluetooth range, it won't work.

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The OnePlus Nord Buds 3 Pro are rated to last up to 5.5 hours on a single charge with noise cancellation enabled and up to 12 hours without ANC. The case can top up more than 40 hours of battery. 

I used these earbuds for four hours continuously, twice with ANC turned on, and I had 25% battery left. This is solid battery life. I didn't find myself looking for a charger whenever I needed these earbuds. If you are running short on battery, you can charge them for 10 minutes and listen to music for up to 11 hours. I did the 10-minute charge test, and they lasted me till my evening commute.

ZDNET's buying advice

The OnePlus Nord Buds 3 Pro earbuds face tough competition. You can get the Nothing Ear (a) for $20 more with LHDC codec support. At $80 too, you can get the Beats Solo Buds, which have a compact design, ear-detection, and ANC. 

Still, the OnePlus Nord Buds 3 Pro are the most feature-packed pair of earbuds at $80. If you are looking for a pair of earbuds with good bass response and calling is not a priority, the Nord Buds 3 Pro are a good choice. You get a winning combination of a portable case, good sound for the price, excellent battery life with fast charging support, and decent noise cancellation. All of this makes the Nord Buds 3 Pro a good value-for-money pick.