The OnePlus Buds 3 deliver the best of Buds Pro 2 at a lower price

Alongside the OnePlus 11, OnePlus announced the OnePluds Buds Pro 2 in 2023. The $179 earbuds offer decent sound and voice call clarity for their price tag, with the average ANC and battery life being the only bummer. This year, besides the OnePlus 12 and OnePlus 12R, OnePlus is debuting the OnePlus Buds 3. There’s no ‘Pro’ moniker this time, but the earbuds appear to pack a punch, especially with their more affordable price point.

OnePlus claims that with the Buds 3, it wants to “reset the baseline of mid-end TWS earbuds.” It says the earbuds have an ergonomic design based on over 2,000 different ear shapes and should provide a snug and comfortable fit for most users. Each earbud weighs 4.8g and packs a 10.4mm woofer and a 6mm tweeter, the former being just a bit smaller than the Buds Pro 2’s 11mm driver.

OnePlus Buds 3

The OnePlus Buds 3 pack all the features you’d want from budget earphones, including an ergonomic design with a 10.4mm woofer and a 6mm tweeter in each earbud. The ANC is good for up to 49dB, while the battery can last up to 10 hours with noise cancelation off. 

Battery Life

10 hours (without ANC); 34 hours additional with case

Supported codecs

LHDC 5.0

Price

$99

Driver Size

10.4mm + 6mm

Charging type

USB-C

Dimensions and weight (earbuds)

4.8g

Noise Cancellation

Yes

The Buds 3 are LHDC 5.0 Bluetooth codec compatible, enabling you to stream Hi-Res Audio from the paired Android phone. You can control the volume by sliding your finger over the touch control area.

The BBK-owned firm says the ANC on the Buds 3 is suitable for up to 49dB. There’s also Adaptive ANC, in which the earphones analyze your ear canal and tweak the noise cancelation for better sound quality. The OnePlus Buds 3 will automatically adjust its sound quality based on the surrounding noise.

Source: OnePlus

Without ANC, the Buds 3 can last a claimed 10 hours, which can be increased to 44 hours thanks to the charging case’s beefy 520mAh battery. With ANC, this drops to 6.5 hours, with the charging case boosting the playback time to 28 hours. Thanks to fast charging, a 10-minute top-up provides 7 hours of additional playback. There’s no wireless charging, but this was expected, given the mid-range specs.

The OnePlus Buds 3 will retail for $99 in the US and €99 in Europe in metallic gray and slate blue shades starting February 13. This makes them notably cheaper than last year’s Buds Pro 2 while packing almost similar specs, allowing them to give some offerings in our list of the best cheap wireless earbuds a run for their money. And if you are buying the OnePlus 12 or 12R, you can score another $30 discount on the earbuds, making them even better value for money.