OnePlus Nord Buds 3r review: Rich audio, great battery life

I used the earphones with both the iPhone 16 and the new Pixel 10. With the iPhone, you don’t get controls via the settings other than volume adjustments. But on the Pixel, the settings give you access to 3D audio, battery levels of both the buds, and the ability to find the buds in case they get lost. So, I would suggest this for those in the Android ecosystem. The integration is much more seamless if you use it on a OnePlus phone; even my OnePlus TV recognised that the buds were nearby.

The battery life is something that will impress regular users. (Image: Nandagopal Rajan/The Indian Express)

Given the pricing, these earphones don’t come with noise-cancelling. At the airport lounge, I could hear the rumble from the food queues and the animated discussion in the cubicle behind me. But the 12.4mm dynamic drivers give you the kind of audio playback that takes your mind off these background noises, provided you jack up the volume a bit.

However, while at home, I was really impressed by the depth and richness of the Nord Buds 3r. Listening to Sid Sriram’s new single Sol, his silken vocals transitioned easily into the chorus, and the thumping percussion could be almost felt inside my ears. As the playlist moved to Hunter Vantaar, certainly not my kind of song, I felt this one had what it needed to keep the younger users happy with the right mix of oomph and bass that you need to enjoy massy numbers.

That does not mean it can’t impress someone with more mature tastes like me. Ravel: Chamber Music, usually set aside for high-end headphones that I review at times, did not stress out the Nord Buds 3r at all. In fact, the Ravel Trio gave me good company at the airport lounge, keeping the stress of the rather long flights at bay. The earphones managed the contrasting requirements of the cello and the piano, holding fort as the trio hit the crescendo in a show of practiced synchronisation.

The OnePlus Nord Buds 3r look premium and come in a compact charging case. (Image: Nandagopal Rajan/The Indian Express)

The battery life is something that will impress regular users, given that you get over 50 hours on a full charge. That is well over a week of usage for most people. Plus, you need to plug in the case for just 10 minutes for another eight hours of playback.

At Rs 1,599, the OnePlus Nord Buds 3r is a good option for those looking for versatile truly wireless earbuds that also have good battery life and call quality. There are no big flourishes here, but neither could I find any blemishes.