It seems like just yesterday we were saying that if the OnePlus Buds 3 Pro launch wasn’t imminent, we’d eat an earbud — and that’s because it is was yesterday. But 24 hours is an eternity in the glamorous, fast-moving world of tech, you know, and now we have even more leaked images, as well as a launch date.
The OnePlus Buds 3 Pro launch on August 20, exactly a week after Google is expected to unveil its own new wireless earbuds, the Pixel Buds Pro 2 (Stay tuned to our Made by Google live blog for more details on that). That August 20 date is for the India launch, though; we don’t yet know if there will be a global launch on that date or if we’ll have to wait a bit longer.
The latest leaked images come via Slash leaks and clearly shows the case, the case with the OnePlus Buds 3 Pro inside, and the box with a fingerprint on it. And that last image confirms one of the key specs: LHDC support, which is a high-resolution audio streaming format that rivals Sony’s LDAC.
What OnePlus said about the OnePlus Buds Pro 3
You’ve got to love OnePlus: While images of the Buds Pro 3 have been all over the internet for a while now, the company is pushing ahead with a teaser campaign that shows off the new case in silhouette – and if India Today According to reports, the company is keeping the specifications, which have also been leaked, under wraps.
According to OnePlus, the focus this time around is on refining the existing formula to deliver better performance and better sound.
OnePlus is keeping the specs under wraps, but the leaker tells us the Buds Pro 3 will have a dual-driver setup with a 6mm tweeter and an 11mm woofer, Bluetooth 5.4, 43 hours of battery life, and fast charging.
What the leaks don’t tell us is how these earbuds will sound. That was actually the biggest drawback in our OnePlus Buds Pro 2 review: as my colleague Matt Bolton put it, when you’re going up against devices like the Sony WF-1000XM4 and the upcoming Google Pixel Buds Pro 2, you need to “get the audio right” and also have killer features like ANC and personalized audio profiles.
We found that the second-generation’s sound quality isn’t quite on par with the best wireless earbuds at a similar price: bass and treble were fine, but the mid-range lacked energy, clarity, and spaciousness. With Google raising the bar for Android earbuds with its own pro earbuds, audio performance is one area where these new OnePlus earbuds should excel.