OnePlus just unveiled its next generation of Pro buds with the help of singer-songwriter Anuv Jain. The new model brings better audio quality, stronger noise cancellation and slightly better battery life.
OnePlus Buds Pro 3
The OnePlus Buds Pro 3 feature a dual driver setup with 11mm woofers and 6mm tweeters. What sets these apart from the Pro 2 buds is the new dual DAC system, the first in the series. One DAC feeds the woofer, the other is hooked up to the tweeter. Also, the woofer design now uses two magnets, which is another improvement over the Pro 2 buds. Both woofer and tweeters have new diaphragms too.
These changes result in powerful bass and crisp treble, according to OnePlus. The buds have been master-tuned by Danish loudspeaker maker Dynaudio.
The new Adaptive Noise Cancellation system automatically adjusts the level of cancellation. For example, as you exit a quiet office and walk down a noisy street, the ANC system can dial the cancellation up to 50dB (compared to 48dB on the Pro 2).
OnePlus claims that Adaptive ANC can improve battery life, since unnecessarily high ANC level drains the battery faster without having much practical difference from a lower level. However, the improvement appears to be pretty mild. Each bud has a 58mAh battery and can last up to 10 hours with ANC off or up to 6 hours with adaptive ANC on (compared to 60mAh, 9 hours and 6 hours on the old model).
The case has a 566mAh battery, which brings the total listening time to 43 hours with no cancellation and 25.5 hours with adaptive ANC. Charging is done either over USB-C (which takes 70 minutes) or wirelessly (2 hours 30 minutes). If you go the wired route, 10 minutes of charging are enough for 13 hours of listening.
The OnePlus Buds Pro 3 feature 3 mics plus a Voice Pick Up (VPU) bone sensor in each bud. They are rated IP55 for dust and water resistance (but the case is not). The buds are available in two colors, Midnight Opus and Lunar Radiance.
Connectivity is handled by Bluetooth 5.4 with LHDC 5.0 and AAC codecs. Additionally, Google Fast Pair and Spatial Audio are supported. Note that the minimum latency is the same as before, 94ms.
The OnePlus Buds Pro 3 are available in the US and Canada on oneplus.com at an MSRP of USD 180/CAD 270. For a limited time, the price is discounted by USD 30/CAD 40 and students can get an additional 15% off (offer ends on September 20). The Pro 3 buds will also be sold through Amazon starting in late September or early October.
Moving over to Europe, the new buds are available in the UK for £200, though there is a temporary £20 discount. On the mainland, the price is €200 with a €20 discount. The Buds Pro 3 are listed as coming soon in India.
P.S. We received a pair of OnePlus Buds Pro 3 for review, so stay tuned for a detailed report coming soon.
