OnePlus has had a busy 2024 so far, launching a new tablet, the first 5G metal-bodied smartphone and building out its audio portfolio across multiple price segments. If you’re after a bargain, the OnePlus Nord Buds 3 Pro are on the table, while those after a more premium offering have the company’s latest OnePlus Buds Pro 3 to consider.
What if you’re a fan of the brand, but on the fence between these two pairs of true-wireless buds, though? Wondering whether you should be a little more frugal and opt for the latest Nord Buds or fork out the extra cash for the beefier Buds Pro 3? That’s what we’re here to find out.
It’s important to remember that not all of the best earbuds are created equal, and just because there’s more to the Buds Pro 3, that doesn’t make them the better choice for every user. With that in mind, let’s get on with the comparison.
OnePlus Buds Pro 3 vs OnePlus Nord Buds 3 Pro: Price and release date
Confusing naming strategies aside, the Nord Buds 3 Pro arrived first in mid-July 2024, priced at $79.99 / £79, however, at the time of writing, they’re enjoying a discount of £10 in the UK (no reduction is currently running in the US, sadly).
As for the OnePlus Buds Pro 3, they hit the market a little over a month later – on August 20 – coming in at $179.99 / £199, although UK pricing is again currently discounted to £179.
OnePlus Buds Pro 3 vs OnePlus Nord Buds 3 Pro: Features
Perhaps one of the most impressive aspects of the Nord Buds is how much they have in common with their pricier sibling, with the majority of these overlapping features centered around convenience.
Both support technologies like wear detection – so your media pauses when you take an earbud out, Google Fast Pair – making connecting to new devices (that also support Fast Pair) quick and painless, and Dual Connection (OnePlus’ specific flavor of Bluetooth Multipoint), which allows for simultaneous audio from your phone and your tablet or PC, seamlessly; without needing to re-pair when moving between devices. The underlying technology in both cases is Bluetooth 5.4, with a promised 10m range too, with connectivity that only really faltered in a busy train station concourse, during testing.
Managed via the HeyMelody app across Android and iOS (unless you also use one of the best OnePlus phones, which have this same experience pre-loaded), you have the option to customize both sets of buds’ integrated touch controls. Beyond simple play/pause and answer/end call functions, you can toggle noise cancellation states and even activate your device’s voice assistant. And for you forgetful types out there, there’s also a Find My Earbuds feature, whichever pair you choose.
The Buds Pro 3 begin to pull out in front with extras like high-res audio support (LHDC 5.0), Golden Sound – which creates a custom EQ by mapping your ear canal, additional EQ presets (five, instead of three) bolstered by tuning support from the Danish engineers at Dynaudio, and spatial audio support.
If you have a OnePlus phone, the Buds Pro 3 also serve up a neck vertebrae health assessment tool and something called Zen Mode Air; granting quick access to noise cancellation, paired with your choice of five background soundscapes to switch off to.
Both buds also sport USB-C charging and a level of fast charging, with 10 minutes spent refilling the Nord Buds 3 Pro resulting in up to 4 hours of use (ANC off, AAC, 50% volume) for the buds themselves and 11 hours total playback, when factoring in the charging case too. Turning on ANC generally halves listening time with the Nord Buds, so a full charge will result in 5.5 to 6 hours of playtime with ANC on and 12 hours playback with ANC off. Factor in the case and those figures rise to 20-hours use with ANC enabled and a maximum 44 hours without it, in total.
As for the Pro 3s, the buds and case together dole out and even more impressive 13 hours of playback from just 10 minutes recharging, up to 10 hours of use (ANC off, AAC, 50% volume) from the buds alone and 43 hours total, from the buds and case together. Enabling ANC, again, saps extra power, meaning those figures drop to around 6 hours and 25.5 hours, respectively, while high-res audio playback uses a tad more juice too.
The Buds Pro 3 also benefit from wireless charging, which although much slower (2.5 hours versus 70 minutes for a wired recharge), is a welcome added convenience.
OnePlus Buds Pro 3 vs OnePlus Nord Buds 3 Pro: Audio performance
Sizeable 12.4mm titanium-diaphragm-toting drivers are responsible for the OnePlus Nord Buds 3 Pro’s output, and the results unquestionably impress at the price point.
Your money goes to the buds’ feature set and audio performance in equal measure, meaning you can get similarly-priced buds (like those you’d find in our roundup of best budget wireless earbuds) that have finer detail at the expense of wider functionality.
Like OnePlus previous’ buds, bass is at the fore of the default sound profile, but improvement to mid and high-frequency response has come on a noticeable amount since the original Nord Buds. They’re not the clearest TWS buds around, but they offer a powerful and complete sound profile.
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As noted in our Buds Pro 3 review, OnePlus’ best makes for a significant leap in audio fidelity from its forebears. Dual DACs serve new ceramic-metal composite diaphragm-toting 11mm woofers and 6mm tweeters in each bud, paired with the aforementioned tuning through a collaboration with Dynaudio.
The result is pretty outlandish for the price point, elevating all of the qualities that define the default Nord Buds 3 Pro sound profile, but with significantly greater depth and detail across its (marginally wider) frequency range. The additional EQ profiles make it easier to quickly tailor the sound too.
While the Nord Buds 3 Pro sound justifies its price point, the listening experience from the Buds Pro 3, pushes past both expectations and price, just a little bit.
Where both pairs of buds fall much closer in line with one another is ANC performance and microphone performance.
On paper, OnePlus states that the Nord Buds suppress up to 49dB when ANC in turned on, while the Buds Pro 3 top out at 50dB. While the adaptive quality of the Buds Pro 3’s ANC grant it more versatile suppression and it edges out in front of the more affordable alternative, neither is going to give the feeling of being in an anechoic chamber.
Across both buds, mids are softened, while high hisses and low drones are suitably trimmed too, however, sources like speech and sudden changes in ambient sound levels prove challenging for OnePlus’ ANC system. Even on the pricier Buds Pro 3, there’s no AirPods Pro 2/AirPods 4 Conversation Awareness feature, to switch to Transparency Mode either.
While both sets of buds offer a multi-microphone setup on each ear and the Pro 3’s even tote an additional VPU (voice pick-up bone) sensor, resulting audio quality across recordings and calls isn’t exactly mind-blowing. Once again, the sound capture by the Nord Buds isn’t as full-bodied as the pricier alternative here, but neither is as capable as what Apple‘s fines TWS buds can capture.
OnePlus Buds Pro 3 vs OnePlus Nord Buds 3 Pro: Design & fit
OnePlus has unified the design language for the cases across its latest generation of buds, with both entries in this comparison adopting a top-loading cassette-style layout, with an oval silhouette. It’s a form that makes both options more pocketable than previous entries in their respective lines too.
The Nord Buds 3 Pro feature a more rounded case, rendered in black or a fun flecked green finish (pictured) called Soft Jade, while the Buds Pro 3’s IPX4-rated water resistant case adopts harder edges and a faux-leather texture, which collectively grant a little more grip. Of the two finishes, the Buds Pro 3 come in Midnight Opus (essentially black – pictured) or the elegant Moonlight Radiance (a cream/champagne with metallic qualities).
Although case dimensions are much the same between these two sets, the Buds Pro 3’s is the heavier of the two; no doubt a result of the additional wireless charging components inside.
As for the buds themselves, their respectively designs are far more distinct from one another. Both feature a stemmed silhouette and both sport IP55-certified protection against dust and moisture, but the Nord Buds 3 Pro feature a unique aesthetic, defined by a bulbous stem that’s wider and rounded at the bottom, like a raindrop. It comes rendered in matt plastic, with a shiny flat surface on its outer face to denote the touch control area on each bud.
The Buds Pro 3 use what’s arguably a more generic design, with a uniform cylindrical stem, wholly rendered in a reflective finish for this generation (the more unique two-tone aesthetic of previous entries in the series appears to have been ditched, unfortunately).
The finish is eye-catching but attracts fingerprints more readily than the Nord Buds, while the touch surface runs the length of the stem parallel to your face when worn. Unlike the Nord Buds, it supports a slide gesture for volume control and the like, along with the same taps and long-presses.
The added tech inside the Buds Pro 3, also makes them a little larger, longer and heavier than the Nord Buds (5.28 grams per bud versus 4.4 grams), meaning they’re more noticeable when worn, in side by side comparison. OnePlus includes multiple proprietary silcone ear tips with each pair of buds; three sizes for the Nord Buds 3 Pro (small, medium, large) and four for the Buds Pro 3, with the addition of an extra small tip size.
OnePlus Buds Pro 3 vs OnePlus Nord Buds 3 Pro: Verdict
The main takeaway is that, as far as sound quality goes, the OnePlus Nord Buds 3 Pro meet expectations for their price, while the more expensive OnePlus Buds Pro 3 surpass theirs. That said, you get an impressive amount of functionality – with a focus on convenience – as well as great battery life, whichever pair you pick.
As for why you should upgrade from the Nord Buds 3 Pro to the Buds Pro 3, it really falls to whether any of the latter’s additional features is essential for you. Higher-res audio support, wireless charging, case water resistance, additional EQ presets and Dynaudio’s involvement in the sound of the Buds Pro 3 are collectively good enough reasons to fork out the extra $100 / £120, but if only one or two of those upgrades appeal, then you’ll likely be better off saving your money and opting for the latest Nord Buds, which still feel well-rounded in their own right.
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alex.walker-todd@futurenet.com (Alex Walker-Todd)
