PhoneSentral Tech in Simplicity
This HONOR Earbuds 3 Pro review is made to test HONOR’s most premium earbuds which boast of the world’s first coaxial dual-driver design with Ø11mm dynamic driver and piezoelectric ceramic tweeter.
According to the company, this special built means that the sound produced by the earbuds provides a surging bass experience, with rich and clear trebles at minimal power consumption, but one may wonder if such claim is true?
Last week, I obtained the earbuds myself for testing and here’s my HONOR Earbuds 3 Pro review.
Design and comfort
From far, and when in the ear, the Earbuds 3 Pro does look like a regular earpiece with a long stem and its 3D bionic ergonomic design.
Perhaps the ease of holding the earbuds is the reason why it boast such a design which interestingly fits nicely in my ear and doesn’t fall off easily when I am on the move or exercising.
A definite bonus in terms of comfort is how the earbuds also doesn’t cause any discomfort in my ear when I am lying down sideways on bed, making it perfect for use before sleeping. During the duration of the test, I fell asleep a few times with the earbuds in my ear, only to realize they are still there when I wake up.
The earbuds come in white and grey, and I got the white variant.
In white, the earbuds look and feel premium, with the slight weight making it feel ‘expensive’.
It’s charging case comes in matching white as well, with a circular grey coloured rectangle with it’s brand name, HONOR, printed nicely in the middle.
HONOR did a very good job ‘hiding’ the functions button which is located at the side of the charging case. I actually didn’t realize the button was there at first until I opened the manual.
Despite all the praise, the shiny charging case and earbuds does attract dust which can be seen if they are in darker shade. This is annoying if you are a clean freak, but I bet most of us won’t be too bothered.
Control and connectivity
Connecting the earbuds to my Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max was easy and pretty straight forward. It took less than a minute to set everything up and get the earbuds connected to my smartphone.
I also tested it with the HONOR X9 and it was equally easy to connect it to the smartphone as well. It also has better sound, which I think is an indication it’s meant to be paired perfectly with HONOR smartphones.
Clear Bluetooth 5.2 connection between my smartphone to the earbuds could be stretched up to about 15m, with the sound breaking up after that.
It gets totally disconnected when I hits the 20m mark as listed in the product sheet.
In terms of control, the HONOR Earbuds 3 Pro could be controlled easily with the instructions below.
- Tap twice: Play/Pause/Answer & End Call
- Tap triple: Measure body temperature
- Swipe up: Turning volume up
- Swipe down: Turning volume down
- Press and hold earbuds: Switch noise cancellation mode
All the controls above were very responsive and clear to the extend that a simple double tap would activate the play and pause function easily. Interestingly, the earbuds control are not activated when I lie down sideways (with the earbuds pressing on the pillow), so that’s really good!
If you are wondering, the earbuds are not dependent to each other which means either earbud can still function with the controls above even if one side was left in the charging case.
Sound quality: Calling, music and movie
When listening to music, the HONOR Earbuds 3 Pro produces a sharp, precise and clear sound.
I really love the deep bass and the rich treble it produces, which is perhaps one of the finest I’ve heard so far from an earbuds.
When watching movies or dramas, where bass and treble notes aren’t as important, it produces good sound as well.
If I activate its Adaptive Active Noise Cancellation, watching movies, specifically action ones mimics being in a theatre or cinema because the surrounding gets almost totally muted and I only hear sounds from the earbuds.
Alternatively, when I switch off the Adaptive Active Noise Cancellation, I could hear the surroundings which makes it perfect for use when I am in an environment which requires me to be more aware of the surroundings.
When receiving a call, the callers voice was crystal clear but they (the receiver) did comment that I wasn’t as clear and I had to repeat myself a few times.
I was walking in the mall during the test so perhaps in quieter environment, it would be better.
HONOR Earbuds 3 Pro temperature feature
An interesting feature that the HONOR Earbuds 3 Pro feature has its its capability to measure body temperature in real time, akin a thermometer.
As mentioned above, the function is activated with three taps, in which I’d hear a beep, and then the earbuds telling me if my body temperature is high, normal or low, proceeded with the current temperature reading.
This feature isn’t important for music listening, but it is nice to have it anyway.
Battery life
The HONOR Earbuds 3 Pro is the world’s first 5C fast charging earbuds, in which it charge up to 65% of its 42mAh battery in 10 minutes.
This is perfect for those on the go, and those like me who do not really like charging stuff.
A full charge of the earbuds is said to be able to last for six hours when in use, with the earbuds being able to stay on standby for 36 hours without the case. I used the earbuds on and off, and so far, I’ve yet to charge it after my initial full charge.
That said, I’ve no complaint over its charging and battery life because during my test, I never ran out of power.
Conclusion about HONOR Earbuds 3 Pro
To be honest, this is probably the best earbuds I’ve tried by far.
It produces amazing sound with deep bass and clear treble, and its Adaptive Noise Cancellation feature is almost perfect.
It’s temperature feature just adds more bonus points to this already well rounded earbuds and I would highly recommend it to anyone seeking quality earbuds.
Pricing & where to buy HONOR Earbuds 3 Pro
The Earbuds 3 Pro is available through HONOR Malaysia at for RM699 in both grey and white.
You can get it from the online stores below, with promotions also made available from time to time.
