Competition in the budget wireless headset space is getting fiercer by the day. For less than $100, you have plenty of quality options, like the $80 Samsung Galaxy FE Buds and the $60 Nothing Buds Pro 2 CMF. for $50. In terms of price, they’re on par with the $70 OnePlus Buds 3.
These headphones feature good noise-canceling microphones, high water and dust resistance, and long battery life. They offer great sound for the money, and let’s face it, $50 is a great price. However, if you’re looking for high-quality ANC and intuitive controls, spending a little more probably won’t hurt.
OnePlus Nord Buds 3 Pro
As long as you’re willing to compromise on ANC, the OnePlus Nord Buds 3 Pro offer a lot to like for its $50 price.
advantage
- snug fit
- Pretty good separation
- Long lasting battery life
- Waterproof and dustproof grade is IP55
- Microphone does a great job of canceling noise
shortcoming
- Sophisticated volume control
- ANC very weak
- Low frequencies sound thick at higher volumes
OnePlus Nord Buds 3 Pro review: Design
Impressive water and dust resistance.
The Nord Buds 3 Pro are available in stunning Soft Jade and Starry Black color options. Sadly, I received the latter. Starry Black isn’t as cool as it sounds. It tries hard to give that nice galactic look, but it looks like you’ve got some dust on the case. These little specks don’t look like stars, and for some reason they don’t sit on the rest of the box lid.
Besides the starry sky theme, I also like the charging case. It has a cute pebble-shaped design and its curved edges feel great in the hand. It slides easily into my pocket, and its rounded corners don’t create awkward-looking bulges. At $50, it’s a very nice case that’s sturdier than the CMF Buds Pro 2.
Unlike the Galaxy FE Buds, which are rated IPX2 for water and dust resistance, they are rated IP55 for water and dust resistance. You can rely on them for sweaty workouts at the gym. I use them around the house all the time, which means these poor things go through a lot. They held up well to my wet hands in the kitchen and the minor splashes I endured while washing my face in the bathroom. This case is not dustproof or waterproof, so be careful not to drop it in the toilet.
OnePlus Nord Buds 3 Pro review: Fit and controls
Annoying volume control.
In-ear headphones rarely stay in my ears, while on-ear headphones generally offer a more comfortable fit. These are the few in-ear headphones that work for me. I immediately swapped out the medium tips on the headphones for the small tips in the box, and they hugged my ears tightly throughout the entire review. Each earbud weighs 4.4 grams and is comfortable to wear for long periods of time.
Oddly, the only way to adjust the volume is to designate the “long press” gesture on the headphones as “Volume Up” or “Volume Down.” Therefore, you can only do one of these two things with your headphones. I set it to “Volume Up,” then reached for my phone to turn it down. How convenient. To complicate things further, another “tap and hold” gesture is used to cycle between ANC modes. The only difference is that the volume click takes two seconds longer, which obviously leads to a bunch of misclicks. The rest of playback (pause, play, forward or skip tracks) is handled via single, double and triple clicks.
| color matching | Nephrite
starry sky black |
| microphone | Two analogies and a number |
| Charging interface | USB Type-C |
| Waterproof and sweatproof | Earbuds: IP55
Charging box: No IP rating |
| Bluetooth | AAC/SBC Bluetooth 5.4 |
| weight | Earbuds: 4.4 grams Charging box: 38.2 g |
| price | $50 |
| battery life | ANC off Earbuds: 12 hours Earbuds + charging box: 44 hours ANC on Earbuds: 5.5 hours Earbuds + charging case: 20 hours |
OnePlus Nord Buds 3 Pro review: Sound and ANC
Reasonably priced breakaway.
My first impression of the sound was that it was bass heavy. It favors bass, midrange comes second, and treble is the least appreciated of all elements. But the higher I turned the volume up, the more you could hear the bass reaching its limit. It sounds thick, heavy, and muddy. It feels like it loses the power it retains at lower volumes.
In terms of separation, these buds are great value for money. Impressively, the $50 headphones have enough imaging that I was able to discern various elements. Still, the OnePlus Buds 3 win out at delivering more detail than these earbuds, which are clearly better than the CMF Buds Pro 2.
Support for mono listening and wear detection means you only have to plug in one earbud to listen, playback stops when you remove the earbud from your ear and resumes immediately when you reinsert it. The earbuds feature on the My Features app you can navigate by tapping a small play button. I tried it and the charging case made a faint beeping sound, which would be helpful if I were in the same room as the charging case. I connect them to my iPhone and Nothing Phone (2a) Plus. I quickly listened to music on my iPhone and remapped its gestures on the Nothing phone, where I downloaded its companion app HeyMelody.
The ANC on these headphones is very weak and I often couldn’t tell if it was on. I frequently cycle between ANC modes while doing chores at home, and every sound sounds the same, including the running faucet, the plastic and paper bags I’m sorting, and even the bug spray I use to repel mosquitoes in the kitchen. . I would note how loud a particular sound was with ANC off, and then repeat the operation with ANC on; there was almost no difference. The same was true at work when my co-workers were talking behind me, and even though ANC was on, I could still hear every word. This wasn’t a loud conversation next to me; This is still forgivable because silence is harder. There was a low hum coming from a few feet away from me.
OnePlus Nord Buds 3 Pro review: Battery life and microphone
The microphone is very effective at canceling wind
The Nord Buds’ 44-hour battery life is pretty consistent with the competition (44 hours for the OnePlus Buds 3 and 43 hours for the CMF Buds). With a battery life of 30 hours, the Samsung Galaxy FE Buds are probably the only thing that can beat these headphones. It can be used for 12 hours with ANC turned off and 44 hours with the charging case. Turning on ANC reduces the total time to 20 hours.
These don’t have wireless charging, which isn’t surprising considering their $50 price. They do offer fast charging, though. 11 hours of playback after 10 minutes of charging.
The Nord Buds 3 Pro’s microphone features a “windproof design,” which they detail as an “external metal mesh and cavity structure that blocks wind noise.” [and] An internal acoustic grid further filters wind and other noise. I tested this in depth with outdoor wind and artificial wind from a tower fan and it worked great. My callers reported that they couldn’t hear any noise even though my face (and earbuds) were about two inches from the fan.
OnePlus Nord Buds 3 Pro verdict
The OnePlus Nord Buds 3 Pro tick a lot of boxes, but they also miss some important boxes. They offer a snug fit, impressive enough sound imaging, and high water and dust resistance ratings. Their microphones are excellent at canceling noise, and the battery life can easily last you over a week of heavy use. But their ANC feature falls short, and considering the Galaxy Buds FE and OnePlus Buds 3 both do a great job at a similar price point, their price shouldn’t be an excuse. I can forgive the bass for getting thicker at higher volumes, as that depends on the quality of the drivers, and I shouldn’t expect too much from a $50 device. The volume control is finicky to use, which could be avoided with a slightly more intuitive design. Some of the extra features, like support for finding my earbuds and mono listening, are welcome additions.
Still, for its modest price, the OnePlus Nord Buds 3 Pro have more than what they lack in features. That’s reason enough to pick these up, unless the lack of high-quality ANC is completely deal-breaker for you. In this case, the mentioned competitors from Samsung or OnePlus are good options. For just $20 more, you can get better ANC on the OnePlus Buds 3.
