OnePlus Nord Buds 3 Review: A confused offering that fails to charm

The OnePlus Nord Buds 3 does not impress with its audio experience or noise cancellation.

It can be hard to keep track of the various TWS earphone offerings from OnePlus; after all, there is a flagship line-up as well as a budget-friendly ‘Nord’ line-up.

But even within these series, there are ‘Pro’ and base products that offer or hold back various product features, apart from building on past weaknesses. To see if the new OnePlus Nord Buds 3 carved its own niche, we tried out these TWS earphones for over a month.

Here is what we discovered.

OnePlus goes right back to the basics with this one, opting for a plain pebble-shaped case that sits well in your pocket.

The product comes in the Harmonic Gray and Melodic White colours. The smooth plastic finish looks rather generic and quickly accumulates scratches, but the design will appeal to those who prefer neutral tech accessories. The pendant-like earbud stems are short but give you enough room to comfortably operate the touch sensor.

A small pinhole light shows the battery level of the case, while there are ‘R’ and ‘L’ cut-outs on the earphones.

We reviewed the Melodic White version of the OnePlus Nord Buds 3 but found that it collected dust and dirt easily. The case also began looking dull and heavily used in a matter of mere weeks.