OnePlus was never a brand for frugal spenders, but it has only slowly progressed towards premium image. Simultaneously, it has also spread itself in the other direction, dispensing more economic offerings, including the cheaper Nord series phones and accessories. In this, OnePlus recently announced a new pair of neckband earbuds, the OnePlus Bullets Wireless Z3, with few changes from the previous design but a vital addition of smarter settings and Bluetooth 5.4.
While these may seem elementary, especially for a segment that has nearly been devoured by AirPods' offsprings, OnePlus brings impressive sound quality. Read this if you are looking for something inexpensive to feast your starved ears with.
What's new this year
The OnePlus Bullets Wireless Z3 earphones are proposedly new, yet admittedly very similar to the Z2s. The Z3s have the same 12.4mm drivers and are devoid of any ostensive alteration to the design except new red colour.
An easy to overlook change is the new Play/Pause button between the two volume buttons on the stem, which is now flatter, much bigger. Therefore, it's easier to distinguish from the other buttons and press without looking.
The most significant change comes internally, with the new Bullets Wireless Z3 getting app control features. That means if you have a OnePlus or an Oppo phone, you can control the options, such as EQ presets and bass boost, from Bluetooth settings. For other devices, these options are available through the HeyMelody app.
That's because the Z3s now support Bluetooth 5.4, but it does not include support for Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), which is a bummer if you were looking to use them through a timeline when Auracast becomes more widespread.
A more compelling addition is support for 3D spatial audio, which widens the soundscape, and gives the impression that sounds are coming from different directions instead of being concentrated in your ears. It's not true spatial audio with head-tracking features, but for an inexpensive headset (think ~$15) to be able to do that is pretty impressive.
Sound
Now when it comes to sound, the OnePlus Bullets Wireless Z3 sound pretty good, actually. They support SBC or AAC playback, like the previous few neckband earphones from OnePlus or Oppo, making the output reasonably high quality, if not the best.
There's no aptX, LDAC, or LHDC, so you wouldn't truly get Hi-fi output, but expecting that for the price we will be paying is bratty, to be fair. It doesn't have the best frequency response or accuracy, but that's again acceptable for what it costs.
The audio is quite clear and there's no muffling, even when playing at the highest volume, which it does tend to fare well at. The output is loud enough for you not to want to crank it up to 100%. But even if you are among folks who do, the Bullets Wireless Z3 do not tend to shift frequencies or lean towards one end when you increase or decrease volume.
The overall sound profile is bass-heavy, but that not infer lacking in mids or highs. This aspect is truly surprising, and shows OnePlus has owned the supply chain, even for lower spec products.
With Bluetooth settings or the HeyMelody app, we can also toggle between different sound presets, including Balanced, Bass, Bold, and "Serenade," along with a slider to refine bass boost. It's possible to achieve good timber along with un-crackling bass and a refined, unsuppressed highs across a variety of genres. I mostly used it for hip-hop, metal, and progressive rock.
Unfortunately, there are no inbuilt EQ settings or a User mode, so you will have to rely on whatever your phone natively offers or the app you use, such as Spotify, allows.
The app also informs you of the controls for buttons, but you can't change them. I get the not being able to change part, but OnePlus should have allowed disabling certain controls so you don't accidentally trigger an action when you press a button.
A more expensive pair of earphones, say the OnePlus Buds 3 (read review), also gets more options, such as a Hi-Res mode, Golden sound for tuning the audio to your ear's sensitivities, automatic play/pause, or an earbud fit test, which the Bullets Wireless Z3 do not offer – presumably to favour simplicity.
Sound isolation
While there is no noise cancellation on the OnePlus Bullets Wireless Z3, the in-ear type design blocks some of the external noise. While playing at higher volumes, sound is mostly sealed in, and external noise rarely impacts listening. But at lower volumes, some noise, such as the whirring of the fan or AC, road noise, people's chatter will bleed in.
Comfort
There's not much to scathe much about the comfort of neckband style earphones, such as this one. Since metal parts have been mostly eliminated, the earbuds don't my ears down. I don't feel irked wearing these for longer durations, testifying their comfort.
Besides regular wearing, I have had no issues while walking or jogging with the Z3s in my ears. You would be at ease using them on walks, at the gym, or while sitting at your desk. IP55 also gives you the additional convenience of drenching them in sweat, though I wouldn't recommend going swimming.
I also tend to go to sleep wearing earphones (ruminating brain, haha!🫠) and the Z3 gave me more comfort than a regular wired pair. However, they would easily plot out of the ear as the centre of balance displaced with turning at night, occasionally waking me up. This is a more subjective use case, so I won't stress hard.
Overall, I am pleased with the comfort offered here.
Battery and charging
OnePlus claims a 36-hour battery life, with a fine print stating this applies when you use the earphones at 50% volume. My usage is at higher decibels, which is why the actual battery backup recedes that expectation – but not by a long margin.
I have been getting around 20 hours of backup with the Bullets Wireless Z3 per charge, though I haven't had the earphones long enough to comment on consistency.
OnePlus also claims 10 minutes of charging gives you 27 hours of playback, which should translate to roughly 80% of battery.
Now, it is to be noted that unlike more sophisticated pairs, the Bullets Wireless Z3 don't show the exact battery percentage, but only an approximation in steps of 30%. In my testing, the earbuds went from 30% to 90% in 10 minutes and to 100% in another 5 minutes.
Does that mean, it's safe to conform with OnePlus' claim? I wouldn't necessarily agree, but I wouldn't refute it either. I'm happy so long as just 15–20 minutes of charging allows me a day's worth of battery, even when you don't need a specific charger to ensure those speeds.
Verdict
Overall, the OnePlus Bullets Wireless Buds Z3 bring excellent value for money, backed by the trust of a reliable brand. There isn't a lot to differentiate from the Z2, so you might as well skip them if you seldom use neckband earbuds.
But if you rely heavily on the design, prefer them over other designs, and can omit the need for active noise cancellation or ANC, these are pretty reliable. The ability to tweak sounds using the app and enable a 3D soundscape makes them even more attractive. I just wish there were more options to manually tweak sound or at least set a preferred tuning based on my hearing (re: Golden Sound), but I don't miss them too much.
For a price of ₹1,699 in India, these offer an unbeatable deal.