OnePlus Nord Buds 3 Pro Review: AirPods Pro Vibes for the Cheap Seats

If imitation is the sincerest signifier of flattery, Apple’s AirPods Pro indispensable beryllium feeling beauteous bigheaded these days. Every twelvemonth we spot dozens of caller earbuds aiming to exemplary Apple’s distinctive design, with adjacent the latest revamp of Samsung’s Galaxy Buds joining the party.

Looks aside, astir models that travel crossed my table don’t effort to straight vie with the AirPods Pro’s high-end show oregon breezy iOS usability. Instead, buds similar OnePlus’s caller Nord Buds 3 Pro spell the different way, heavy undercutting Apple’s apical buds connected terms portion offering coagulated baseline show and features.

There’s thing similar the existent thing, particularly if you privation earbuds that cater to each things Apple. For those connected a tighter budget, the latest Nord Buds Pro service up a comfy fit, extras similar multipoint transportation and decent sound canceling, and clear, punchy dependable for well nether $100.

Familiar Form

The Nord Buds 3 Pro’s astir stand-out trait whitethorn beryllium their exorbitantly agelong yet unmemorable name. No joke, I’ve had to look up the bid of this connection crockery astir each clip I constitute it.

Their plan recalls the AirPods Pro and their galore knockoffs, of course, but it’s peculiarly akin to a brace I precocious reviewed from Soundpeats, the Air4 Pro (7/10, WIRED Recommends), close down to their rounded and speckled charging cases. Both pairs person a fund flair with ample swaps of shiny integrative throughout, though the Nord Buds’ much compact stems marque them marginally easier to wield and wear.

Their value of 4.4 grams per bud is somewhat heavier than the Air4 Pro, but inactive astir a gram lighter than the AirPods Pro, which combines with their ergonomic plan to bash a disappearing enactment successful your ears. Like a batch of fund pairs, they lone supply 3 receptor extremity sizes, but the default brace worked good for me, providing a unchangeable acceptable and aggregate hours of comfort.

The buds connection snappy and unchangeable instrumentality transportation implicit Bluetooth 5.4, often pairing with my iPhone earlier I pulled it retired of my pocket, and Android users get casual one-touch archetypal pairing with Google Fast Pair+. Multipoint transportation is likewise seamless, letting you brace the buds to a telephone and a laptop simultaneously to conveniently swap betwixt the two. To initiate, simply clasp down the fastener connected the case’s bottom, nary app required.

You volition privation to download the OnePlus app (bizarrely named “Hey Melody”) earlier getting excessively acold on due to the fact that the Nord 3 Pro's play/pause bid is turned disconnected by default. I presume this is to forestall unwanted taps portion adjusting the buds, but it’s inactive a baffling default setting. The buds bash connection sensors to automatically intermission oregon play audio erstwhile you propulsion 1 out, thing adjacent my favourite fund buds, Soundcore’s Space A40 (8/10, WIRED Recommends), omit. You tin easy delegate the play/pause power successful the app, alongside volume, ambient audio, and opus skip commands for a well-rounded acquisition via mostly responsive interaction sensors.