There’s no need to say anything here: the OnePlus Buds Pro 3 are the best earbuds OnePlus has ever made. So much so that it’s better in every way than the OnePlus Buds Pro 2, which have been my go-to earbuds for the past year. The only time in the past year when the Buds Pro 2 wasn’t in my bag, whether I was traveling or working in the office, was when OnePlus launched the OnePlus Buds 3 earlier this year. It was a bit of a dilemma, you can understand.

While the Buds Pro 2 are good and we loved them in our review, there were a few flaws like the lack of volume controls on the buds and average ANC, which I felt was somewhat better with the affordable OnePlus Buds 3. However, being a budget option, the Buds 3 obviously don’t offer the same sound quality as the Pro. This led to me constantly switching between the OnePlus Buds Pro 2 and the OnePlus Buds 3 – and I haven’t gotten my hands on the OnePlus Buds Pro 3 yet.

For the past week, the OnePlus Buds Pro 3 have been my favourite earphones, and not once did I feel the need to switch to something else. The audio quality is top-notch, the ANC is impressive, and this time OnePlus has finally given these Pro Buds a much-needed design makeover.

However, first the specs. OnePlus says that with the new OnePlus Buds Pro 3, they have improved the dual drivers (11mm + 6mm) and even included better dedicated dual DACs from the expertise of Dynaudio. These earbuds feature advanced adaptive noise cancellation with up to 50 dB of noise reduction depth for an immersive listening experience. The Buds Pro 3 support Bluetooth 5.4, and controls now include squeeze and swipe gestures.

The Buds Pro 3 is claimed to offer up to 43 hours of battery life and fast charging capability. The buds are also rated IP55 for dust and water resistance, which is useful considering the frequent rainfall in parts of our country. Of course, don’t submerge them in water or go swimming while wearing them. But they will handle light rain, splashes, or sweat during a gym workout just fine. Like the Buds Pro 2, the OnePlus Buds Pro 3 also support wireless charging, with wired charging taking around 70 minutes to fully charge the case.

Pebble shape premium design

The OnePlus Buds Pro 3 has all the necessary upgrades — and for the better. But the biggest change is definitely the design. Since the first-generation Buds Pro, OnePlus has stuck with the rectangular case, which the company also offers with its more affordable earbuds like the OnePlus Buds 3. While there’s no problem with this “boxy” case, it certainly started to look boring. Now OnePlus is breaking the monotony with the Buds Pro 3. The new buds come in a pebble-shaped case.

For this review, I am using the Buds Pro 3 in the Lunar Radiance colour variant, which has a plastic build with an off-white faux leather finish and metallic colour borders. While the colour looks premium, the build is super sturdy, especially the hinge, which, unlike the plastic build, is made of metal and feels very solid. Not flimsy at all. On that note I was a bit skeptical about the lighter colour at first as it could be prone to dirt, but the material used is good enough to keep smudges and scratches to a minimum. So far in about 10 days of usage, the box and the Buds are spotless.

However if you want to play safe, there is also a black colour variant of the Buds Pro 3 for users who want to go with a darker colour.

Talking about the design of the case, OnePlus has engraved its logo on the front, while the back has Dynaudio branding. At the bottom, the earbuds have a USB-C charging port, LED indicators for battery and connectivity. On the left side, there is a button to set up Bluetooth connection.

Inside the case, the buds come with a dual-tone finish similar to their case. The buds are off-white, creamy in colour and the stem has a shiny metallic finish. Here, I would like to highlight that the buds offer a good fit, at least for me, they are a bit on the big side, so some users with very small ears might find the fit a bit uneven. The best part is that the earbuds are lightweight and never feel heavy even after wearing for long hours.

The audio is perfect

Audio is the main job of any earbud, and the OnePlus Buds Pro 3 are perfect in this regard. I am often on the road, moving from one place to another. Office, work travel, daily errands, some shopping and more. I used the Buds Pro 3 all the time in the last 10 days and it helped me spend my “me time” with my favourite music. Whether it was playing the latest hit “Big Dogs” on loop or my personal playlist, which is a mix of Bollywood, K-pop and global pop, the new OnePlus Buds Pro 3 delivered exemplary audio quality with crisp and clear sound, balanced vocals and a decent amount of sound stage that would highlight different instruments. For example, when I was playing Stephen Sanchez’s classic “Until I Found You”, the audio quality of the OnePlus Buds Pro 3 was perfectly balanced. I could hear every word and also enjoy the background score, which is entirely piano and drums.

There is also an option to customize the performance and there are other features like Golden Sound, which OnePlus’ HeyMelody app offers. So, whether it’s vocal-heavy or bass-heavy, you can tune it to your liking.

The Buds Pro 3 also delivered clear call quality, and there were no noticeable issues, even during calls in crowded areas or while travelling in auto.

Best ANC in OnePlus Buds

Whether travelling or trying to focus on work by filtering out the gossip and chatter of colleagues, earbuds often keep you away from the noise. And with premium earbuds you just want that perfect active noise cancellation. With the Buds Pro 2 though, my experience with ANC has been mixed. But it seems OnePlus has taken note of this and fine-tuned the ANC performance with the Buds Pro 3. Whether I was gossiping in the office or trying to keep my ears safe from noise pollution while travelling, I found the Buds Pro 3 to completely drown out that excess noise. The earbuds allowed me to seamlessly switch between focusing on tasks and enjoying music without any distractions.

OnePlus has also improved the Transparency mode, which kept me aware of my surroundings when I needed it, without compromising on noise cancelling performance. So whether I was travelling in auto, stuck in traffic or in a noisy office, the Buds Pro 3 ensured my peace of mind wasn’t disturbed.

The battery lasts

OnePlus promises over 43 hours of battery life with the Buds Pro 3. In the past week of using the OnePlus Buds Pro 3, I had to charge the device only once, and that too only to test the charging speed by the end of the weekend. In other words, this is an absolutely amazing battery life for a product that comes with ANC. On an average, I use the earbuds for about 4-5 hours daily, mostly in ANC mode. So, going almost a week without stressing over charging is impressive.

OnePlus Buds Pro 3 review: You can definitely buy these

As I said at the beginning of this review, the OnePlus Buds 3 Pro are the best TWS earbuds ever made by OnePlus. They are excellent at everything they do. The fit might be an issue for some people. But apart from that, OnePlus gets full marks for it. And the best part: not only do they perform well, but they also look classy and elegant in this Lunar Radiance variant. I think at this price of Rs 11,999, the Buds Pro 3 are one of the best buds you can buy.