OnePlus Bullets Wireless Z3 review

Let’s not beat around the bush: the audio here is a bit of a mixed bag. OnePlus talks a big game about its 12.4mm dynamic drivers and a ‘BassWave’ algorithm, and they’re not kidding about the bass. It’s… a lot. Spinning Tom Misch’s Red Moon, the sound is bloated and bottom-heavy, with the thumping low-end trampling all over the delicate nuances of the vocals and guitar strings. It lacks the finesse you might find elsewhere.
This bass-first approach works a treat for explosions in films like Ready Player One, making them sound suitably epic, but it comes at the cost of suppressing the subtler details in the higher frequencies. You’ll have a grand old time with bass-heavy tracks like GA$ by Ro James, but for anything requiring a more delicate touch, the Z3s struggle. The lack of any Active Noise Cancellation is also a miss, though perhaps understandable at this price.

OnePlus claims its AI Call Noise Cancellation can intelligently separate your voice from the racket around you. Based on our testing, this feature is, to put it politely, a complete dud. If you’re on a train, the person you’re calling will hear the train, your fellow passengers, and maybe, just maybe, a faint hint of your voice.
But here’s the saving grace, and it’s a big one: the battery life is absolutely bonkers. A full charge will give you up to 36 hours of playback. More impressively, a ridiculously quick 10-minute charge nets you a whopping 27 hours of listening time. That’s not just good; it’s game-changing for those of us who are allergic to charging cables.

Beyond the battery, you get a decent smattering of extras. There’s a 3D Spatial Audio mode, which adds a bit of stereo separation for movies, though it doesn’t fix the overall warm, bassy tone. You also get four EQ presets to play with, Bluetooth 5.4 for a stable connection, and Google Fast Pair. The IP55 dust and water resistance is a welcome addition for workouts, and the magnetic earbuds, which pause music and power off when snapped together, are a genuinely clever touch. It’s available in a classic ‘Mambo Midnight’ and a rather fetching ‘Samba Sunset’.

The OnePlus Bullets Wireless Z3 is a gadget of compromises. Is the audio going to win any awards? Absolutely not. Is the mic performance anything to write home about? Nope. But for Rs. 1,699, you’re getting a pair of wireless earphones with phenomenal battery life and a design that’s perfect for the rough and tumble of daily life. If you’ve ever lost an earbud to the gap on the platform, these are for you. They’re not for the audiophile, but for the commuter who values battery and security above all else, the Bullets Wireless Z3 are a bargain.