OnePlus Buds 3 vs Nothing Ear (a): which should you buy?
A direct comparison of ANC, battery, codecs and real-world owner complaints between two of the most cross-shopped earbuds in India.
These two come up together constantly, and the honest answer is that they optimise for different things: one for endurance, one for codec flexibility.
The short version
Buy the OnePlus Buds 3 if battery life is what you care about. Buy the Nothing Ear (a) if you want LDAC on a non-OnePlus phone.
| Spec | OnePlus Buds 3 | Nothing Ear (a) |
|---|---|---|
| Price | — | — |
| ANC | 49 dB adaptive | 45 dB |
| Battery (buds) | — | — |
| Battery (case) | — | — |
| Codecs | LHDC 5.0, Bluetooth 5.3 | LDAC (Hi-Res Audio) |
| Weight | 4.8 g per bud | — |
OnePlus Buds 3
Price unavailable · specs from oneplus.in
Shows its age
Connectivity draws the most complaints (16 of 16 opinions).
Based on 16 owner opinions about connectivity — the parts that wear. Sound and design are excluded: they do not change with use.
What owners actually say about the OnePlus Buds 3
Most praised: value (23 of 25 opinionated mentions) and mic (12 of 19 opinionated mentions). Most criticised: connectivity (16 of 16 opinionated mentions).
- value23 for · 2 against
Using this for almost one month now. Worth the price. Reply with qns if you guys have any doubts. Thanks 🙌🏻youtube
- mic12 for · 7 against
Mic ki quality is actually great yaar.... ha thoda bass jesa voice hain but still its betteryoutube
- connectivity0 for · 16 against
കൊള്ളാം but low latency ശോകം ആണല്ലോ. Game കളിക്കാൻ കൂടി ആഗ്രഹിക്കുന്നവർ മാറി ചിന്തിക്കുന്നത് നല്ലതായിരിക്കും.youtube
Nothing Ear (a)
Price unavailable · specs from in.nothing.tech
Shows its age
Battery draws the most complaints (24 of 26 opinions).
Based on 26 owner opinions about battery — the parts that wear. Sound and design are excluded: they do not change with use.
What owners actually say about the Nothing Ear (a)
Most praised: mic (45 of 64 opinionated mentions). Most criticised: battery (24 of 26 opinionated mentions).
Common questions
Is the price difference worth it?
The OnePlus pair is cheaper and lasts longer. The Nothing pair offers LDAC, which works across any Android phone rather than only OnePlus handsets. If codec support matters to you, the gap narrows considerably.