Big value with even bigger audio

I’ll admit it. I’m a bit of an audio snob. I thoroughly believe that you get what you pay for regarding headphones and earbuds. But OnePlus quickly disabused me of that notion with the Nord Buds 3 Pro earbuds. These $80 earbuds kept throwing curveballs, serving up good ANC, a feature-rich app, and fantastic sound. The OnePlus buds have no right sounding this good as they do. They’re easily some of the best cheap earbuds I’ve tested this year.

I’ll even take it further and say they’re some of the best earbuds of the year. That’s not to say they’re perfect because $80 can only buy you so much. The call quality isn’t the best, and the battery life with the ANC could be longer. However, as the sum of all its parts, the OnePlus Nord Buds 3 Pro punches far beyond its weight class.

Pricing, availability, and specs

Only at OnePlus…for now

I love a good bargain, and the OnePlus Nord Buds 3 Pro are definitely that. The earbuds are currently on sale via OnePlus’s website for only $50. That’s a saving of $30, which isn’t too shabby. That places the buds in direct competition with the $99 Nothing Ear (a), the $99 Google Pixel Buds A-Series, and the $80 Beats Solo Buds.

What’s good about the OnePlus Nord Buds 3?

Comfort and style in an affordable package

The Nord Buds 3 are some of the cutest stem earbuds I’ve had the chance to use. The stems and part of the earbuds’ housing are black matte plastic. The remaining housing and a small ovular section at the top of the stems are shiny black plastic. The R and L on either bud act as air vents, which gives it a cool touch. The stems are short and rounded, kind of like an inverted exclamation point or a quarter note. Again, very cute. The buds are IP55-rated, offering limited protection against dust and water.

Although the Buds 3 look good in what OnePlus calls Starry Black, I would love to see the Soft Jade colorway. It’s a minty green that really speaks to me. Something else that speaks to me is the matte black plastic charging case. It’s egg-shaped, similar to Easter-edition Reese’s Peanut Butter cup. The bottom portion is speckled with tiny white dots, which is unique. A glossy OnePlus plaque catches every flash of light, and if you look at the bottom of the case, you’ll see the USB-C charging port.

The buds are tremendously comfortable. I wore them for over five hours with no complaints. To ensure their comfort, HeyMelody, the free companion app, has a fit test to ensure you’re wearing the proper size ear tips. The app also allows you to set up tap controls, switch between ANC modes, choose EQ presets, and access Game Mode. In case the buds go missing, there’s a Find My Earbuds feature.

On Max settings, the Nord Buds 3’s active noise-cancelling technology is better than it has any right to be at this price point. I was impressed with how much New York City quieted down with this mode engaged. Is it as powerful as, say, the Sony WF-1000XM5 or Bose QuietComfort Ultra earbuds? No, but they’re still pretty good. Conversations dropped to almost a whisper, and walking by a construction site, the jackhammer sounded like a distant, tinny tapping.

The Nord Buds 3 have five ANC modes (Max, Moderate, Mild, Smart, and Off). I prefer Max as I enjoy having my own bubble of solitude. There’s also a Transparency mode for those who want to have some awareness of the world around them.

These absolutely do not sound like $80 earbuds. I was blown away when I started my listening test. As usual, I used Tidal for my listening test with the audio quality set to Hi-Res. I kept the EQ set to Balanced to get as close to a flat frequency response as possible. Whether I was listening to Hip-Hop, R&B, or alt-rock, the soundstage was surprisingly expansive.

Ten seconds into Killer Mike’s Humble Me, I had the stank face going. I couldn’t help it. Between the staccato flow and the dank synthesized keyboard juxtaposed against the angelic background vocals, I was in a serious groove. The 808s were a little boomy, but the high-hats were crisp.

Although the OnePlus buds don’t have spatial audio, I definitely had a full-band experience listening to Lucky Daye’s Soft. The bassline was warm, and I clearly heard the twang of a guitar and a few hits of the whammy bar. The light plinking of the keyboard was like stones skipping across a pond. The weighty boom of the bass drum was clean, as were the snare and the Tom-Toms. The singer’s silky tenor, accompanied by the background singers, was a delight.

What’s bad about the OnePlus Nord Buds 3?

Call sound quality and battery life aren’t up to par

The Nord Buds 3 Pro call quality isn’t bad per sé, but as my brother stated, “they’re not as good as the Samsung Galaxy Buds 3.” That is true, but the Galaxy Buds 3 costs $100 more. However, the three-mic setup of the OnePlus buds delivers clear but distant audio during calls. My brother said they “sound like you’re in the bathroom.” Still, he couldn’t hear anything while I walked around the neighborhood, until a police car drove by, sirens blaring. And even then, he could barely make it out.

The battery life is a mixed bag. On one hand, 5.5 hours with ANC enabled is far too short for modern earbuds. However, sans ANC, the buds can last 11 hours. Throw in the charging case, and you get 44 hours of playtime, which is on par with the Beats Solo Buds and the Google Pixel Buds A-Series. The Anker Soundcore Liberty 4 NC gets eight hours with ANC and ten without, with a total of 50 hours with the charging case.

Should you buy it?

Consider me schooled OnePlus. The Nord Buds 3 Pro are some of the best earbuds I’ve listened to this year, full stop. The excellent audio quality belie their $80 price tag. Can they go toe-to-toe with some of the premium buds on the market? They get pretty close. The active noise cancelation is strong, and the companion app has a fair number of features. Plus, the earbuds are very comfortable.

I just wish that the battery life was a little better with ANC enabled because 11 hours without is absolutely stellar. Give me 7 hours with ANC, and we’d be golden. I’d even overlook the hollow call quality for longer battery life. But overall, the OnePlus Nord Buds are the new king of cheap earbuds, and I think it will be a while before one of its competitors can come close to snatching the crown.