OnePlus has been producing audio products across various price ranges for some time now. It would not be wrong to say that they have also been targeting low-end, centric brands with their “r” series under the Nord branding for a while. The new Nord Buds 3r is another pair of TWSs that are priced at Rs 1,599 and look to offer a feature-rich experience. Let’s see how much it stands:

The Nord Buds 3r comes in a tall and flat-ish case that matches the exact colour of the buds themselves. Made of plastic with very few smudges and fingerprints quickly seen on it, the case isn’t IP55 dust and water-resistant like the buds are.

The case has the OnePlus branding, an LED light at the front and the USB Type-C port at the bottom. It is thick enough that you can place it vertically or horizontally. The buds have a stem cell design with rubber cushions at the top that visually appear larger in size than an average bud.

The buds are to be comfortable to wear. At a price under Rs 2,000, there’s nothing much wrong with how these fit in-ear and didn’t really cause any discomfort when worn for 45 minutes or so for music playback and calls.

The Buds 3r support AAC and SBC audio codes along with Bluetooth 5.4. Connection issues were not observed with any device and they also have multi-device support, so you can connect them with your phone and OC and switch over as and when needed. The buds support a voice assistant for quick tasks like calling, checking the weather or playing a particular song (with the supported app).

The audio quality in the Nord Buds 3r is satisfactory with no major issues. Vocals come out clear, there’s a little bit, not huge bass and mids also seem to be provided quite well with a number of instruments playing at the same time. It is not the most detailed pair of TWS you might have heard, but these are surely clear and loud for that price tag.

Call quality is also good enough such that mics can be kept up for indoor use as well as outdoors, if the conditions are friendly (read: not windy).

To summarise, the Nord Buds 3r are more than a decent pair of wireless earbuds that have clear and loud sound and are comfortable enough to wear – making it a good value option for the price.