OPPO Enco Air3 Pro review: Premium features and expansive sound on budget

At Rs 4,999, the OPPO Enco Air 3 Pro is an undersell since these are packed with premium features such as adaptive ANC, Hi-Res wireless audio, spatial sound, and multipoint connectivity

The Enco Air3 Pro is a new addition in OPPO’s line of wireless earphones in India. At Rs 4,999, these budget wireless earbuds boast premium features such as adaptive active noise cancellation, LDAC codec for Hi-Res wireless audio, spatial sound, and multipoint connectivity for simultaneous connection with two compatible devices. On paper, the OPPO Enco Air3 Pro seems to be a value proposition in the wireless earphones segment. Is it? Let us find out:

Design

The Enco Air3 Pro looks identical to its predecessor, the Enco Air2 Pro. However, these come in new colour themes, including green (review unit), which look refreshing. Other than the colours, however, the earbuds and case do not look any different from the last generation model. The buds come in a pebble-shaped case with elevated translucent covering on top of the lid. The case has OPPO engraved on the front side with golden texture, which adds a premium touch to the otherwise generic design. However, it gives away its budget roots because of plastic construction with glossy texture all across.

 

As for the buds, they have glossy finish with clear ‘R’ and ‘L’ marking on the right and left earbuds for easy identity. It is easy to take these out from the case, but need both hands for comfortable and safe handling since the glossy texture here is prone to accidental drops. The earbuds are lightweight and modestly sized for snug and secure fit in the ear canal. These do no come off accidently, thank to in-ear design with soft ear tips.

Features

The Enco Air3 Pro is a feature-packed pair of wireless earbuds. It boasts smart adaptive active noise cancellation, which auto adjusts the noise cancelling intensity based on ambient environment conditions. The earbuds are rated to cancel ambient noise at a depth of up to 49dB and these are TUV Rheinland certified for their noise cancellation performance. These claims by the company are true in real life experience, but there is a way to get to the right experience.

To get there, it is essential to install the earphones’ supplementary smartphone app, available on both Google Play Store and Apple App Store. In the app, take the fit test to ensure the right fit. If there is a leak, replace the ear tips with a size – big or small – that delivers best fit. Afterwards, enable the personalised noise cancellation feature, which runs a short test to generate a noise cancellation profile based on an ear canal test. Once done, you are likely to experience the best ANC experience.

OPPO has included its Golden Sound feature in the app for the Enco Air3 Pro. It essentially runs a test of about three minute to scan the ear canal structure and hearing characteristics. This lets the earphones deliver custom-tailored audio experience based on the user’s hearing profile.

Another notable addition in the app is the OPPO Alive Audio feature, which enables expansive sound sans head-tracking function. It works across devices and enables Dolby Atmos audio, if the main device supports it.

The most valuable feature, however, is the support for Hi-Res audio (LDAC codec).

Also Read: Realme Buds Wireless 3 neckband-style earphones go on sale: Price, features

Audio quality

The OPPO Enco Air3 Pro has a rich sound signature with balanced bass and treble in default settings, complemented by optimal loudness. The experience is lifted further by the pre-set sound profiles called Enco Master EQ – Original, Bass boost, and Natural inspiration. Important to note, the best audio is experienced across the listed sound profiles with Hi-Res (LDAC) enabled. The OPPO Alive Audio adds zing by widening the sound stage for multi-dimensional surround sound experience. However, it is not optimised for all audio libraries. For example, the experience is better with Apple Music since it natively supports Dolby Atmos and has supported tracks available for experience. Same audio track on other music streaming services such as Prime Music, Spotify, and YouTube Music may not sound as rich.

The OPPO Enco Air3 Pro is good for music, but not so for calls. Not that voice calls experience with the earbuds on is bad, but the microphones not always filter ambient noise and struggle to pick voice in loud ambient environments.

Battery

Rounding off the package is the impressive on-battery time of about five hours with ANC enabled. Together with the case, there is about 30 hours of battery and that is a good on-battery time figure for a feature-packed wireless earbuds in budget segment. Charging time is quick too, the earbuds and the case takes less than 40 minutes to charge.

Verdict

The OPPO Enco Air3 Pro is an impeccable pair of wireless earphones. At Rs 4,999, these are undersell since the earphones match the likes of premium earphones in terms of audio quality and features.