Just yesterday we reported that OnePlus could be bringing AI features to its OnePlus Buds 3 Pro, though those earbuds haven't been announced yet. The Buds 3 Pro definitely exist, though, because they've just leaked in a massive series of images along with tons of spec details, too.
There's no news on AI features (they appear to be in a future version of the app), but there's plenty to be excited about.
The big leak comes via Smartprix.com, and the images of the case have been seconded by journalist Max Jambor on X in the post embedded below.
Here's what's been leaked so far.
OnePlus Buds Pro 3: Key features and specifications
The case design closely resembles that of the Nord Buds 3 Pro, and features a leather or faux leather finish on the front, USB-C, and a pairing button. There are two colors of the earbuds: Midnight Opus (black) and a silver-gold color called Lunar Radiance. The case weighs 61g.
Battery life is reportedly 43 hours via the case, four hours longer than the current model, and they're IP55-rated for dust, water, and sweat resistance. Bluetooth is 5.4 with 94ms low latency and dual-connection support.
These are dual-driver earbuds with 11mm woofers and 6mm tweeters – the same sizes as the current Buds Pro 2 – and they support LHDC 5.0 audio at up to 24-bit/192kHz; the current earbuds are LHDC 4.0. This codec isn’t as well-known as LDAC or aptX Adaptive, but it’s of course supported by OnePlus phones.
Noise cancellation has been improved to 50dB compared to the Buds Pro 2’s 49dB, reportedly offering better cancellation than before. And a key selling point in the marketing materials is the Dynaudio equalizer with presets for different music genres.
In our OnePlus Buds Pro 2 review we were fairly impressed, but felt the sound wasn't quite there – we're hoping these new earbuds do better in that regard, because that was the one area we felt the Buds Pro 2 really lacked.
There's no word on pricing yet, but we'd expect the third-gen Buds Pro to be priced similarly to the current models, which launched at $179 / £179 in 2023. That puts them firmly in the middle of the ANC headphone market, more expensive than the JBL Live Pro 2 and Beats Studio Buds, but cheaper than earbuds like the Sony WF-1000XM5.
