Honor Earbuds 3 Pro Earbuds Review: is This Version Really Worth it?

Honor finally launched its first flagship true wireless headset, the Honor Earbuds 3 Pro. As Honor’s first flagship true wireless headset, the Honor Earbuds 3 Pro can be said to be a collection of Honor’s latest technologies, many of which are available for the first time.

1. The world’s first coaxial dual-unit earphone with ultra-large amplitude dynamic coil and a ceramic tweeter

The sounding unit of the Honor Earbuds 3 Pro consists of an 11mm moving coil unit and a ceramic tweeter. The oversized moving coil unit can provide deep-dive, powerful, and elastic bass. The ceramic tweeter is specially designed and optimized for the high-frequency part of 10k-20kHz, which can bring bright and transparent treble.

2. Horrible 46db noise reduction depth

Noise reduction depth is a crucial parameter for wireless noise reduction! The Honor Earbuds 3 Pro adopts the Hybrid ANC hybrid active noise reduction solution. Each earphone has two built-in FF+FB noise reduction microphones. The FF (Feed Forward) feedforward noise reduction is used to collect the noise outside the earphones for noise reduction and then combined with FB (FeedBack) feedback noise reduction collects the noise in the ear hole for another round of noise reduction, and finally achieves a maximum noise reduction depth of 46dB.

In contrast, the well-known AirPods Pro and Sony noise reduction beans, their noise reduction depth does not exceed 40db.

3. VPU bone sensor pickup noise reduction

Traditional microphones use sound waves to pick up sounds. On different occasions, ambient noise and wind noise will seriously affect the quality of the call. Even if the noise reduction algorithm can eliminate part of the noise, it will also reduce the quality of the human voice.

In addition to 3 traditional microphones, the Honor Earbuds 3 Pro also adds a VPU bone sensor. The human voice can be directly transmitted to the Honor Earbuds 3 Pro through the vibration of the skull, minimizing the impact of wind noise and ambient noise. Can also pick up clear vocals.

4. The world’s first temperature measurement function

Now many smart wearable devices can measure temperature, why should Honor Earbuds 3 Pro be involved? The answer is precision and authenticity.

The three most accurate points for measuring human body temperature are the oral cavity, the armpit, and the tympanic membrane. As for the temperature at the wrist, it is quite different from the real temperature of the human body. To make up for this gap, most smartwatches that support temperature measurement will supplement the temperature through an algorithm, so that the displayed temperature number is closer to the real body temperature. However, due to differences in physique, the arm temperature of different people is quite different, especially for some girls, so the measured temperature is difficult to say accurately.

The Honor Earbuds 3 Pro temperature measurement point is close to the ear canal. After wearing it for 5 minutes, the measured temperature is only ±0.3 degrees Celsius from the real body temperature, which can reflect the real temperature of the human body more accurately.

5. The world’s first 5C fast charging technology

The charging box of Honor Earbuds 3 Pro uses 5C fast charging technology for the first time. The earphone charging box can quickly charge the earphones. The actual measurement can be filled with 35% of the power in 5 minutes, that is, “charging for 5 minutes, listening to songs for 2 hours”.

Of course, the new technology used by the Honor Earbuds 3 Pro is far more than that. Let us enter the official evaluation below.

Design

The earphone column of Honor Earbuds 3 Pro is made very short. When wearing it, only the earphone column is only slightly leaked, and it does not even exceed the earlobe. When it is stuck, the ears are integrated, which greatly improves the aesthetic feeling of wearing.

In addition, because the earphone column is shorter, the charging box is also made smaller and rounder, and it is like a warm goose warm stone in the hand.

The black one is the pressure relief hole, and the metal contacts next to it are the two-in-one VPU bone sensor and temperature sensor.

The Type-C charging port is at the bottom of the charging box. Under normal use, it can achieve 4H (headphone) / 16H (whole machine) noise reduction + music battery life; 6H (headphone) / 24H (whole machine) music life; 4H (headphone) / 16H (whole machine) call life.

At the bottom of the headphone, the column is 2 positive and negative charging contacts. Earbuds 3 Pro is the world’s first true wireless earphone that supports 5C fast charging. Put the earphone into the earphone box, and it only takes 5 minutes to charge the earphone to 35% of the power. “.

The attached accessories, in addition to the manual and the warranty card, also have 2 sets of silicone earmuffs of different sizes.

Sound Experience

1. Sound quality test

In terms of sounding units, the Earbuds 3 Pro uses a coaxial dual-unit system composed of an oversized 11mm moving coil unit and a ceramic tweeter.

As for tuning, Honor does not overemphasize a certain frequency response range. The tuning style of Honor Earbuds 3 Pro tends to be three-band balanced to meet the needs of most players, but relying on the 11mm ultra-large dynamic coil can still produce strong bass.

“Ferry” is a low-frequency must-test track. After the opening three drum beats, the Honor Earbuds 3 Pro’s low-frequency driving ability is well demonstrated. The sound diving is in place, and the drum rebound can bring a very comfortable listening experience. Most of the low-end and mid-range headphones have a thump of the drums here and then go away…

I chose Zhang Jingying’s “My Dream”, in addition to her penetrating voice, there is a very subtle drum sound in the 44~45 seconds of the music. The Honor Earbuds 3 Pro can use the drums here. The sound is very rhythmic. After switching to AirPods Pro, it is bland and easy to ignore when I hear it.

“Hotel California” is also a very good audition track. I heard the drums at 3 o’clock and the gongs at 9 o’clock, and it struck my mind.

The ultra-high-amplitude moving coil unit also has a good performance in the sound field. Applause begins after the opening 20 seconds. When you close your eyes, you can feel an immersive feeling.

Noise reduction test

Due to the lack of human ear microphone equipment, the noise reduction test is mainly to experience the actual effect of different noise reduction methods in a high-noise environment. The test environment is a running subway, and the ambient noise is about 80 decibels.

When we turn on deep noise reduction, the noise reduction depth at this time is about 46db. When listening to songs, the sound of everything around disappears almost instantly. Turn off the music, and only hear the faint sounds around.

When the moderate noise reduction mode is turned on, the noise reduction depth at this time is about 35db, and the experience is similar to the “deep noise reduction” mode.

Turn on the mild noise reduction mode, you can hear a little ambient noise when listening to songs, and when the music is turned off, the noise is relatively obvious.

In a noisy environment such as the subway, the moderate noise reduction mode is sufficient. The 46db deep noise reduction mode may have a more obvious experience in occasions where the noise is particularly loud, such as when a jet plane takes off, or when a chainsaw is cutting metal.

It is worth mentioning that the headset supports automatic switching of adaptive ambient noise. After opening, the headset can automatically switch the noise reduction mode according to the external environment, which is very convenient.

Battery

1. Temperature measurement experience

For many students, the temperature measurement function of the Honor Earbuds 3 Pro may be one of the most practical functions. After wearing the Honor Earbuds 3 Pro for 5 minutes, you can start to measure the body temperature.

The temperature measurement method can be a single measurement or periodic measurement. Tap any earphone 3 times or click “Measure” in the Honor Smart Space APP to perform a single temperature measurement.

The other is to turn on the mid-cycle measurement in the Honor Smart Space APP, and the Earbuds 3 Pro will measure the body temperature every 10 minutes, and in the “Today’s Body Temperature” column, the user’s value for the last hour will be displayed in the form of a graph.

In addition, by default, when the body temperature is higher than 38 degrees, the headset will broadcast a high-temperature reminder; when the body temperature is lower than 35.3 degrees, it will broadcast a low-temperature reminder. These two numbers can be adjusted manually. According to my situation, I set the high-temperature warning threshold to 37.5 degrees.

The PS  measured 37.2 degrees, my mercury thermometer measured 37.3 degrees, and the error was within the declared range of ±0.3 degrees Celsius.

Battery life test

According to Honor, the headset can achieve up to 24 hours of ultra-long battery life with the charging compartment, that is, under normal use, it can achieve 4H (headphone) / 16H (whole machine) noise reduction + music battery life; 6H (headphone) / 24H (whole machine) music battery life; 4H (headphone)/16H (whole machine) call life.

Next, we will start listening to songs continuously from 11:23 noon and will switch various noise reduction modes on the way.

The test start time is 11:23. At this time, the left and right earphones are both 100%, and the noise reduction is turned off during the test. At 12:22, just 1 hour after the test, the left ear battery was 92% and the right ear was 93%.

Change the noise reduction mode to “light”, and within an hour from 12:23 to 1:20, the power dropped from 91% to 70%. That is, listening to songs with mild noise reduction for 1 hour, and power down by 21%.

Changed to the deep noise reduction mode, from 1:21 to 2:38, a total of 1 hour and 17 minutes, the power of the headset dropped from 70% to 42%, and the power lost 28%.

Based on this estimate, listening to songs in the deep noise reduction mode can maintain about 4.7 hours of battery life.

Change to transparent transmission mode and use up the last 42% of the power, starting at 2:38 and ending at 4:40. Exactly 2 hours use almost 40% of your battery.

Based on this estimate, in the transparent transmission mode, it can also last for 5 hours of listening to songs.

3. Charging test

After the end of the above endurance test, the Honor Earbuds 3 Pro has only 1% of the battery left, and we immediately put it into the charging compartment for charging.

It started charging at 4:40, and at 4:45, exactly 5 minutes had passed, and it was about 34% charged. By 5:02, both earphones were fully charged. The calculation is 5 minutes to charge 35%, 22 minutes to fully charge.

Verdict

Unlike other manufacturers who launched flagship products from the beginning, Honor finally launched the Honor Earbuds 3 Pro, its first flagship true wireless earphone, after years of dormancy and polishing.

Whether it is sound quality, noise reduction, or a series of other exclusive new features, the Honor Earbuds 3 Pro reflects the sincerity of Honor everywhere.

In terms of sound quality, the Earbuds 3 Pro are without a doubt the best-sounding Honor earphones to date. The coaxial dual-unit system composed of an oversized 11mm moving coil unit and a ceramic tweeter has an excellent performance in terms of bass diving depth, bass rebound, and sound field without the Honor tuning style being biased towards bass.

For noise reduction, the Honor Earbuds 3 Pro achieved an unprecedented noise reduction depth of 46db, which is a bit exaggerated! You must know that the noise reduction depth of the well-known AirPods Pro and Sony WF-1000XM4 (noise reduction beans) does not exceed 40db. Of course, in most environments, the Honor Earbuds 3 Pro will have a very good noise reduction effect with moderate noise reduction turned on. 46db of deep noise reduction will be useful in some extremely loud noise environments.

Noise reduction and sound quality are the goals of most high-end noise reduction, but the ambition of the Honor Earbuds 3 Pro is far more than that.

The Honor Earbuds 3 Pro integrates the temperature measurement function for the first time. The in-ear temperature measurement has extremely high accuracy and can reflect the current real body temperature in real-time. It is more practical than wearable devices such as smartwatches/bands. More competing products will join this feature.

5C fast charging technology is also the first time to come to wireless earphones. It only takes 5 minutes to charge the earphones to 35%, and 22 minutes to fully charge. Such charging efficiency is beyond the reach of other thousand-yuan earphones.

In addition, the addition of a VPU bone sensor can indeed bring clearer and more realistic voice calls. I wonder if Honor Earbuds 3 Pro is the first true wireless headset that uses a VPU bone sensor for sound pickup?

If there is an idiom that can describe the Honor Earbuds 3 Pro, the most suitable one is “If it doesn’t fly, it will soar into the sky.