When technology company OPPO released its next true wireless earphones, the Oppo Enco Air3 Pro, the first thing that caught your eye (if you didn't look too closely) was that they looked like an exact copy of the previous Oppo Enco Air2 Pro. Let's try to figure out what the Oppo Enco Air3 Pro really brought us new, and whether it is worth replacing the Oppo Enco Air2 Pro with them (if you already have them and like them).
Appearance and design
By the way, regarding the design, I still confuse them, although I was given the Oppo Enco Air2 Pro for the New Year, so I could study thoroughly what exactly they look like during this time. So, I myself cannot remember which of them is who, whose inscription on the case is on the front, and whose on the back. Although not, I still remembered that in the OPPO Enco Air3 Pro, under the cover, which is also translucent, as, by the way, in the OPPO Enco Air2, some waves (combs) are visible. Here, you can compare these two models with each other in the photo, as well as with everything that I got my hands on.
First in the cases (everywhere in the photo on the left is the OPPO Enco Air2 Pro, and on the right is the OPPO Enco Air3 Pro):
And then without:
Complete set
The packaging of the OPPO Enco Air3 Pro is much larger in height, from which you can mistakenly assume that something much more has been put in there. But no, they didn't put it. There is nothing more, not even the charging cable is thicker. Nothing has changed at all, only the air has become larger inside.
By the way, the compositions in the photo in OPPO Enco Air2 Pro and OPPO Enco Air3 Pro are slightly different, because Air2 Pro is not able to do what Air3 Pro does. He does not know how to keep his case open. Therefore, for the next photo, where both cases are open next to each other, I had to put something under the Air2 Pro. So the photo is beautiful, but a little false. By the way, you can see that the Air2 Pro has holes on the opposite side of the ear pads, while the OPPO Enco Air3 Pro does not have them. And the ovals around the letters "L" and "R" also disappeared. That's almost all the external differences.
Personally, it reminded me of the situation with HUAWEI FreeBuds 4i and HUAWEI FreeBuds 5i, when the next model unexpectedly learned to stand open, because, no matter what, the ability to stand/lie open for the headphone case is "not a whim, but a vital necessity", especially when it is necessary to activate the headphones. Because personally, I only have two hands, and when you hold an open case with one hand and hold the phone with the other, you also try to stick something there, because without this "something" the headphones will not activate - you need to have someone else nearby, for example, in case you scratch where it suddenly itches. Sorry.
UPD: In fact, the trick with the open case did work, when it unexpectedly turned out that it can stand, or rather, lie open, but only on a cover made of artificial leather (probably because it does not slide on it, that is why the stiffness of the spring is sufficient lids).
Specifications
Here is the information from the official website:
If, literally in a few words, all you need to know is that OPPO Enco Air2 Pro — Bluetooth® 5.2 and Enco Air3 Pro has Bluetooth® 5.3, bamboo fiber diaphragm, Hi-Res LDAC mode, 49dB intelligent adaptive active noise cancellation, and IP55 vs. IP54 in Enco Air2 Pro.
And finally, the most amazing thing: in Enco Air3 Pro "Frequency response range(?) 20-40(!)kHz" vs "Frequency response range: 20 Hz to 20 kHz" at Enco Air2 Pro!
Software support
Software support for OPPO audio devices is implemented in the brand's own gadgets using built-in tools. But in devices of other brands, if, of course, you have a desire to fully reveal the potential of OPPO headphones - only with the help of the HeyMelody application, inside which you will see all the same headphone settings as in the proprietary shell from OPPO - ColorOS.
First, let's start with the OPPO Enco Air2 Pro:
And here's how much, unexpectedly, we find in the settings of the OPPO Enco Air3 Pro, which, as you remember, looks almost no different from the OPPO Enco Air2 Pro:
You know, I have the opinion that maybe the OPPO Enco Air2 Pro could also do all these things if someone would let them, that is, all these, or rather, most of all these interesting functions (let's not forget about Bluetooth® 5.2 in Enco Air2 Pro vs. Bluetooth® 5.3 in Enco Air3 Pro) but I'm afraid we'll never know. Although... Maybe one day OPPO will release a firmware update for OPPO Enco Air2 Pro and we will see a lot of unexpected things there. I really hope for this, considering that I currently have my own OPPO Enco Air2 Pro.
Price and availability
This is where the most interesting thing turns out. On the official website, the price of OPPO Enco Air2 Pro and OPPO Enco Air3 Pro was the same until recently, UAH 3. Yes, you heard me right, it's the same, so I'm not sure who will buy the OPPO Enco Air499 Pro when there's already the OPPO Enco Air2 Pro? By the way, I wrote "until the last time", because now the OPPO Enco Air3 Pro has a discount of 2% from the usual price, which, correctly, is exactly the same as the OPPO Enco Air14 Pro. Well, if we look, for example, at online service for product selection and hotline price comparison then we'll see what OPPO Enco Air2 Pro is worth 1 645 - 3 499 UAH, while for OPPO Enco Air3 Pro want 2 690 - 3 499 UAH. Therefore, I believe that everything here is clear to you even without my advice.
And finally, the long-awaited:
Personal impressions
You will be surprised when I tell you that I like OPPO Enco Air2 Pro more, but to a certain extent only because they are mine, already family, and the wonderful and new OPPO Enco Air3 Pro is just beautiful, new, comfortable and very high quality, but a foreign thing that I just don't want to get used to.
But I, rather, mocked a little out of the blue, but now I will move on to serious personal impressions.
Transparency
Both the OPPO Enco Air3 Pro and the OPPO Enco Air2 Pro have one excellent mode in the noise control settings — “Transparency”, this is a kind of “noise cancellation in reverse”. I personally like this mode a lot, because you don't have to take the earphone out of your ear to hear something or someone around you. So, to me, the "Transparency" in the Enco Air3 Pro somehow seems "more transparent" than in the Enco Air3 Pro, that is, I hear much more from the environment. Although this may be a very subjective impression, it is still there, and it is not going away. I specifically checked several times.
Lack of convenient management
Since neither the Enco Air2 Pro nor the Enco Air3 Pro has the ability to adjust the volume by moving the sound along the headphone stem (which, in my opinion, is very, very convenient), all control in them goes in a circle. That is, if you have configured everything correctly in the application, for example, like me (see the screenshots above), then when you need to increase the volume, you simply touch the sensor zone of the headphone (by the way, it works even with fleece gloves), hold your hand there and wait. First, the device tries to switch the noise reduction mode, and then it starts increasing or decreasing the volume (depending on whether you are manipulating the right or left earpiece). It's not very convenient for me, but it's much better than not being able to change the volume at all without the phone (or whatever device it's connected to).
Ability to connect to two devices
This possibility is actually present in Enco Air2 Pro and Enco Air3 Pro, but Enco Air3 Pro switches automatically, but in Enco Air2 Pro, to activate them, you need to click on the name of the headphones in the settings Bluetooth on the device where you need them now.
Instability of work
As for Enco Air2 Pro, in almost five months of use, I did not notice anything bad about them, they worked quite stably. But Enco Air3 Pro, I noticed, sometimes live a life of their own. This manifested itself in the fact that I suddenly began to hear a loud noise, that is, the headphones themselves turned on and off the "Transparency" mode, which I usually keep on. I attribute this to the imperfection (so far) of the software.
Visnovki
The OPPO Enco Air3 Pro headphones turned out to be very, very interesting and promising, so I definitely recommend them to you. It is quite difficult for me to answer the main question, whether it is worth changing OPPO Enco Air2 Pro to OPPO Enco Air3 Pro. If you can simply exchange them, or exchange them with a small surcharge, exchange them without thinking. Well, if they just give you a gift - take it, don't hesitate. And if you already have OPPO Enco Air2 Pro, then buying OPPO Enco Air3 Pro at full price makes no sense to you. Well, you won't get anything new there that will be worth this money.
But buying OPPO Enco Air2 Pro now, when there is already OPPO Enco Air3 Pro — well, it makes no sense at all.
