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OnePlus has had a engaged 2024 truthful far, launching a new tablet, nan first 5G metal-bodied smartphone and building retired its audio portfolio crossed aggregate value segments. If you're aft a bargain, nan OnePlus Nord Buds 3 Pro are connected nan table, while those aft a much premium offering person nan company's latest OnePlus Buds Pro 3 to consider.
What if you're a instrumentality of nan brand, but connected nan obstruction betwixt these 2 pairs of true-wireless buds, though? Wondering whether you should beryllium a small much frugal and opt for nan latest Nord Buds aliases fork retired nan other rate for nan beefier Buds Pro 3? That's what we're present to find out.
It's important to retrieve that not each of nan best earbuds are created equal, and conscionable because there's much to nan Buds Pro 3, that doesn't make them nan amended prime for each user. With that successful mind, let's get connected pinch nan comparison.
OnePlus Buds Pro 3 vs OnePlus Nord Buds 3 Pro: Price and merchandise date
Confusing naming strategies aside, nan Nord Buds 3 Pro arrived first successful mid-July 2024, priced astatine $79.99 / £79, however, astatine nan clip of writing, they're enjoying a discount of £10 successful nan UK (no simplification is presently moving successful nan US, sadly).
As for nan OnePlus Buds Pro 3, they deed nan marketplace a small complete a period later – connected August 20 – coming successful astatine $179.99 / £199, though UK pricing is again presently discounted to £179.
OnePlus Buds Pro 3 vs OnePlus Nord Buds 3 Pro: Features
Perhaps 1 of nan astir awesome aspects of nan Nord Buds is really overmuch they person successful communal pinch their pricier sibling, pinch nan mostly of these overlapping features centered astir convenience.
Both support technologies for illustration deterioration discovery – truthful your media pauses erstwhile you return an earbud out, Google Fast Pair – making connecting to caller devices (that besides support Fast Pair) speedy and painless, and Dual Connection (OnePlus' circumstantial spirit of Bluetooth Multipoint), which allows for simultaneous audio from your telephone and your tablet aliases PC, seamlessly; without needing to re-pair erstwhile moving betwixt devices. The underlying exertion successful some cases is Bluetooth 5.4, pinch a promised 10m scope too, pinch connectivity that only really faltered successful a engaged train position concourse, during testing.
Managed via nan HeyMelody app crossed Android and iOS (unless you besides usage 1 of nan best OnePlus phones, which person this aforesaid acquisition pre-loaded), you person nan action to customize some sets of buds' integrated touch controls. Beyond elemental play/pause and answer/end telephone functions, you tin toggle sound cancellation states and moreover activate your device's sound assistant. And for you forgetful types retired there, there's besides a Find My Earbuds feature, whichever brace you choose.
The Buds Pro 3 statesman to propulsion retired successful beforehand pinch extras for illustration high-res audio support (LHDC 5.0), Golden Sound – which creates a civilization EQ by mapping your receptor canal, further EQ presets (five, alternatively of three) bolstered by tuning support from nan Danish engineers astatine Dynaudio, and spatial audio support.
If you person a OnePlus phone, nan Buds Pro 3 besides service up a cervix vertebrae wellness appraisal instrumentality and thing called Zen Mode Air; granting speedy entree to sound cancellation, paired pinch your prime of 5 inheritance soundscapes to move disconnected to.
Both buds besides athletics USB-C charging and a level of accelerated charging, pinch 10 minutes spent refilling nan Nord Buds 3 Pro resulting successful up to 4 hours of usage (ANC off, AAC, 50% volume) for nan buds themselves and 11 hours full playback, erstwhile factoring successful nan charging lawsuit too. Turning connected ANC mostly halves listening clip pinch nan Nord Buds, truthful a afloat complaint will consequence successful 5.5 to 6 hours of playtime pinch ANC connected and 12 hours playback pinch ANC off. Factor successful nan lawsuit and those figures emergence to 20-hours usage pinch ANC enabled and a maximum 44 hours without it, successful total.
As for nan Pro 3s, nan buds and lawsuit together dole retired and moreover much awesome 13 hours of playback from conscionable 10 minutes recharging, up to 10 hours of usage (ANC off, AAC, 50% volume) from nan buds unsocial and 43 hours total, from nan buds and lawsuit together. Enabling ANC, again, saps other power, meaning those figures driblet to astir 6 hours and 25.5 hours, respectively, while high-res audio playback uses a tad much juice too.
The Buds Pro 3 besides use from wireless charging, which though overmuch slower (2.5 hours versus 70 minutes for a wired recharge), is simply a invited added convenience.
OnePlus Buds Pro 3 vs OnePlus Nord Buds 3 Pro: Audio performance
Sizeable 12.4mm titanium-diaphragm-toting drivers are responsible for nan OnePlus Nord Buds 3 Pro's output, and nan results unquestionably impressment astatine nan value point.
Your money goes to nan buds' characteristic group and audio capacity successful adjacent measure, meaning you tin get similarly-priced buds (like those you'd find successful our roundup of best fund wireless earbuds) that person finer item astatine nan disbursal of wider functionality.
Like OnePlus previous' buds, bass is astatine nan fore of nan default sound profile, but betterment to mid and high-frequency consequence has travel connected a noticeable magnitude since nan original Nord Buds. They're not nan clearest TWS buds around, but they connection a powerful and complete sound profile.
As noted successful our Buds Pro 3 review, OnePlus' champion makes for a important leap successful audio fidelity from its forebears. Dual DACs service caller ceramic-metal composite diaphragm-toting 11mm woofers and 6mm tweeters successful each bud, paired pinch nan aforementioned tuning done a collaboration pinch Dynaudio.
The consequence is beautiful outlandish for nan value point, elevating each of nan qualities that specify nan default Nord Buds 3 Pro sound profile, but pinch importantly greater extent and item crossed its (marginally wider) wave range. The further EQ profiles make it easier to quickly tailor nan sound too.
While nan Nord Buds 3 Pro sound justifies its value point, nan listening acquisition from nan Buds Pro 3, pushes past some expectations and price, conscionable a small bit.
Where some pairs of buds autumn overmuch person successful statement pinch 1 different is ANC capacity and microphone performance.
On paper, OnePlus states that nan Nord Buds suppress up to 49dB erstwhile ANC successful turned on, while nan Buds Pro 3 apical retired astatine 50dB. While nan adaptive value of nan Buds Pro 3's ANC assistance it much versatile suppression and it edges retired successful beforehand of nan much affordable alternative, neither is going to springiness nan emotion of being successful an anechoic chamber.
Across some buds, mids are softened, while precocious hisses and debased drones are suitably trimmed too, however, sources for illustration reside and abrupt changes successful ambient sound levels beryllium challenging for OnePlus' ANC system. Even connected nan pricier Buds Pro 3, there's nary AirPods Pro 2/AirPods 4 Conversation Awareness feature, to move to Transparency Mode either.
While some sets of buds connection a multi-microphone setup connected each receptor and nan Pro 3's moreover tote an further VPU (voice pick-up bone) sensor, resulting audio value crossed recordings and calls isn't precisely mind-blowing. Once again, nan sound seizure by nan Nord Buds isn't arsenic full-bodied arsenic nan pricier replacement here, but neither is arsenic tin arsenic what Apple's fines TWS buds tin capture.
OnePlus Buds Pro 3 vs OnePlus Nord Buds 3 Pro: Design & fit
OnePlus has unified nan creation connection for nan cases crossed its latest procreation of buds, pinch some entries successful this comparison adopting a top-loading cassette-style layout, pinch an oval silhouette. It's a shape that makes some options much pocketable than erstwhile entries successful their respective lines too.
The Nord Buds 3 Pro characteristic a much rounded case, rendered successful achromatic aliases a nosy flecked greenish decorativeness (pictured) called Soft Jade, while nan Buds Pro 3's IPX4-rated h2o resistant lawsuit adopts harder edges and a faux-leather texture, which collectively assistance a small much grip. Of nan 2 finishes, nan Buds Pro 3 travel successful Midnight Opus (essentially achromatic – pictured) aliases nan elegant Moonlight Radiance (a cream/champagne pinch metallic qualities).
Although lawsuit dimensions are overmuch nan aforesaid betwixt these 2 sets, nan Buds Pro 3's is nan heavier of nan two; nary uncertainty a consequence of nan further wireless charging components inside.
As for nan buds themselves, their respectively designs are acold much chopped from 1 another. Both characteristic a stemmed silhouette and some athletics IP55-certified protection against particulate and moisture, but nan Nord Buds 3 Pro characteristic a unsocial aesthetic, defined by a bulbous stem that's wider and rounded astatine nan bottom, for illustration a raindrop. It comes rendered successful matt plastic, pinch a shiny level aboveground connected its outer look to denote nan touch power area connected each bud.
The Buds Pro 3 usage what's arguably a much generic design, pinch a azygous cylindrical stem, wholly rendered successful a reflective decorativeness for this procreation (the much unsocial two-tone artistic of erstwhile entries successful nan bid appears to person been ditched, unfortunately).
The decorativeness is eye-catching but attracts fingerprints much readily than nan Nord Buds, while nan touch aboveground runs nan magnitude of nan stem parallel to your look erstwhile worn. Unlike nan Nord Buds, it supports a descent motion for measurement power and nan like, on pinch nan aforesaid taps and long-presses.
The added tech wrong nan Buds Pro 3, besides makes them a small larger, longer and heavier than nan Nord Buds (5.28 grams per bud versus 4.4 grams), meaning they're much noticeable erstwhile worn, successful broadside by broadside comparison. OnePlus includes aggregate proprietary silcone receptor tips pinch each brace of buds; 3 sizes for nan Nord Buds 3 Pro (small, medium, large) and 4 for nan Buds Pro 3, pinch nan summation of an other mini extremity size.
OnePlus Buds Pro 3 vs OnePlus Nord Buds 3 Pro: Verdict
The main takeaway is that, arsenic acold arsenic sound value goes, nan OnePlus Nord Buds 3 Pro meet expectations for their price, while nan much costly OnePlus Buds Pro 3 surpass theirs. That said, you get an awesome magnitude of functionality – pinch a attraction connected convenience – arsenic good arsenic awesome artillery life, whichever brace you pick.
As for why you should upgrade from nan Nord Buds 3 Pro to nan Buds Pro 3, it really falls to whether immoderate of nan latter's further features is basal for you. Higher-res audio support, wireless charging, lawsuit h2o resistance, further EQ presets and Dynaudio's engagement successful nan sound of nan Buds Pro 3 are collectively bully capable reasons to fork retired nan other $100 / £120, but if only 1 aliases 2 of those upgrades appeal, past you'll apt beryllium amended disconnected redeeming your money and opting for nan latest Nord Buds, which still consciousness well-rounded successful their ain right.
You whitethorn besides for illustration
- Prefer wired listening? See our prime of nan best wired headphones
- Happy to look astatine options costing a small more? See our best noise-cancelling earbuds round-up
- Want to spell over-ear? See our best noise-cancelling headphones buying guide
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