Review: OnePlus Nord Buds 3 Pro

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, Apple’s AirPods Pro must be feeling pretty bigheaded these days. Every year we see dozens of new earbuds aiming to model Apple’s distinctive design, with even the latest revamp of Samsung’s Galaxy Buds joining the party.

Looks aside, most models that come across my desk don’t attempt to directly compete with the AirPods Pro’s high-end performance or breezy iOS usability. Instead, buds like OnePlus’s new Nord Buds 3 Pro go the other way, heavily undercutting Apple’s top buds on price while offering solid baseline performance and features.

There’s nothing like the real thing, especially if you want earbuds that cater to all things Apple. For those on a tighter budget, the latest Nord Buds Pro serve up a comfy fit, extras like multipoint connection and decent noise canceling, and clear, punchy sound for well under $100.

Familiar Form

The Nord Buds 3 Pro’s most stand-out trait may be their exorbitantly long yet unmemorable name. No joke, I’ve had to look up the order of this word salad nearly every time I write it.

Their design recalls the AirPods Pro and their many knockoffs, of course, but it’s particularly similar to a pair I recently reviewed from Soundpeats, the Air4 Pro (7/10, WIRED Recommends), right down to their rounded and speckled charging cases. Both pairs have a budget flair with large swaths of shiny plastic throughout, though the Nord Buds’ more compact stems make them marginally easier to wield and wear.

Photograph: Ryan Waniata

Their weight of 4.4 grams per bud is slightly heavier than the Air4 Pro, but still nearly a gram lighter than the AirPods Pro, which combines with their ergonomic design to do a disappearing act in your ears. Like a lot of budget pairs, they only provide three ear tip sizes, but the default pair worked fine for me, providing a stable fit and multiple hours of comfort.

The buds offer snappy and stable device connection over Bluetooth 5.4, often pairing with my iPhone before I pulled it out of my pocket, and Android users get easy one-touch initial pairing with Google Fast Pair+. Multipoint connection is similarly seamless, letting you pair the buds to a phone and a laptop simultaneously to conveniently swap between the two. To initiate, simply hold down the button on the case’s bottom, no app required.

You will want to download the OnePlus app (bizarrely named “Hey Melody”) before getting too far along because the Nord 3 Pro's play/pause command is turned off by default. I assume this is to prevent unwanted taps while adjusting the buds, but it’s still a baffling default setting. The buds do offer sensors to automatically pause or play audio when you pull one out, something even my favorite budget buds, Soundcore’s Space A40 (8/10, WIRED Recommends), omit. You can easily assign the play/pause control in the app, alongside volume, ambient audio, and song skip commands for a well-rounded experience via generally responsive touch sensors.

One place the Nord Buds 3 Pro falter a bit is battery life. OnePlus promises up to a mighty 12 hours of playing time per charge (44 hours with the charging case), but using noise canceling cut that to less than half for me. I usually got around 5 hours per charge, but mileage will vary depending on how loudly you rock out. On the bright side, the buds charge crazy fast, giving you around 80 percent in less than 10 minutes, so the only real limitation is the case—and overall battery longevity.

Photograph: Ryan Waniata

Solid Extras

Along with better performance consistency, the biggest advantage of respectable budget buds like the Nords Buds 3 Pro is an increasing expansion into features once reserved for flagship pairs. That starts with noise canceling that’s more than just decoration.

Testing the buds against some of my favorite budget pairs like the Soundcore Space A40 and Liberty 4 NC (8/10, WIRED Recommends), the OnePlus held their own, especially against low-frequency sounds like HVACs. In my treated studio, both Soundcore pairs edged them out in stifling my go-to airplane drone video, and further outdid them in higher-frequency sounds like keystrokes, but it wasn’t a blowout. Once again, the OnePlus pair stacked up best against the Soundpeats Air4 Pro, which were less effective against lower frequencies, but a tad better at suppressing voice chatter.

The Nord Buds 3 Pro fared similarly in real-world tests with sounds like street traffic or ambient noises around the house. Add a bit of music and you’ll get some decent tranquility in your daily endeavors. You can get much more effective and comprehensive noise canceling, especially if you step up to flagship pairs like the AirPods Pro or Bose QC Ultra, but it’ll cost you.

OnePlus’ transparency mode, designed to let in the ambient world around you, is in some ways less satisfying. It’s tough for buds at this level to effectively pipe in sound that doesn’t come off opaque and plugged up. As with noise canceling, spending up for top pairs like the QC Ultra or AirPods Pro provides better performance, as well as advanced features like a limiter to duck sudden loud noises like a construction site or emergency vehicle.

Other handy Nord Buds features include a multiband EQ, IP55 dust and water resistance, an earbud fit test, and a Find My Buds feature that sends out a chime from the buds when they’re lost in the couch. They’ll even give a warning before chiming if you accidentally engage the latter feature while wearing the buds so you don’t blow your ears out.

Photograph: Ryan Waniata

Keep 'Em Separated

I noticed the Nord Buds 3 Pro had some sonic mojo as soon as I popped them in, even during the frenzy of Prime Day. As I dove into the fray to find the best stuff amongst the thousands of products on sale, I found myself pausing to remark on the wide stereo image and taut instrumental separation, pushing instruments forward and backward in the mix and way out to the sides for a fun ride.

There’s good balance across the midrange and treble frequencies, while the bass sometimes grabs the wheel and kicks into overdrive in unexpected ways. It’s not flabby or overpowering, but there is a healthy hunk of boom down low by default. A dedicated BassWave button kicks things up even further, which should appeal to fans of Beats buds and bassheads in general. If that’s not your thing, you can disengage the feature and even things out further with the EQ.

Doing some A/B testing, I was again struck by how closely the OnePlus buds cut to the Air4 Pro. They’re not perfectly matched, but it’s pretty hard to hear much difference swapping between the two, which is honestly a compliment to both pairs. The sound on offer isn’t nearly as clear, lively, or detailed as what you’ll get in the AirPods Pro, let alone sonic stars like the Technics AZ80 (9/10, WIRED Recommends), but it’s respectable for a pair at $80 or less.

That’s a good way to sum up the overall Nord Buds 3 Pro experience. I'd still point most folks to the Soundcore Space A40 or Liberty 4 NC for a more refined all-around experience, but OnePlus has done well with these buds. If you’re on the hunt for a solid AirPods clone below the $100 watermark, the Nord Buds 3 Pro belong on your list.