We get a few audio devices like earbuds, earphone and Bluetooth devices to review and its far better to be wire free than tangled when listening to music or podcasts or more on the go these days especially since most devices are removing the usual 3.5mm audio jack.
The issue is can you get a decent or at least a really great sound without breaking the bank or will they provide sub par sound quality. This is where the decently priced realme Buds Air Pro come into the frame.
What’s in the box?
The box comes with pretty much everything you need. A 10cm USB A to USB-C Cable which I would have preferred to be a little bit longer, but that’s just my personal preference, the Buds Air Pro case which also has the pods themselves in it, Instructional booklet and additional various sized ear tips.
The design
The design and inspiration for me at least, seems to come from the Apple AirPods design clone essentially. Personally even wearing this, kind of feels like it’s an upside down Cyberman from Doctor Who but that’s just my option. I even think the same for those who wear AirPods as well.
The housing case, which is made of a glossy almost glass like-ish polymer plastic not only houses the Buds Air Pro earbuds, it also comes with an internal 486mAh battery which can be recharged via the USB-C port located at the bottom of the charging case.
Unlike the Apple AirPods Pro, the realme Buds Air Pr0, doesn’t come with the ability to wirelessly charge the buds and case. This can be forgiven by the included USB-C charging port which does seem to offer some decent fast charging.
The buds themselves are quite comfortable, though can be a little bit tricky to get in the right spot if you have somewhat big awkward ears. Also placing the buds pro in the ear once in, can trigger either for noise cancelling to be turned on or off.
There’s an app for that
To connect the realme Buds Air Pro, you can simply go to the setting menu on your phone and just go to Bluetooth and search, but you can also download the realme link app, which not only helps connect the Buds Air Pro.
The app once connected to the Buds Air Pro, can help you provide the desired settings such as removing or adding modes like Noise Cancelling, General or Transparency mode, turn on or off gaming mode – which I am a little unclear how this is different from the other modes.
Other settings you can turn on and off are things such as in-ear detection, bass booster, volume enhancer alongside setting the preferences for the earbud actions and the types of taps you need to do to either change tracks, pause/play songs, alongside the taps needed to activate the Google Assistant. Albeit, you can only select two per earbuds for these settings which I find a little bit limiting but it’s good to have a choice, or at least some control of choice.
The app also does provide updates in terms of battery capacity levels for both the earbuds but also charging case and can also provide notifications of battery levels and when the buds are getting low.
What’s it good at?
Sound quality is pretty darn good I have to say and I was certainly surprised by this as I really wasn’t expecting much as normally I have found any some Airpods knock offs to be generally disappointing.
Battery wise, the realme Buds Air Pro are said to offer up to 6 hours playback once outside the case, but my honest opinion, seem to have gotten up to close to 5 hours.
Also using the microphone during calls, I did find it to be much easier and clearer for both myself but also the recipients of my calls and video calls, as they could hear me much more clearer than say my other earbuds and headphones combined so for me that’s very much a plus.
Realme stated in their press release that the realme Buds Air Pro:
Combine both FeedForward and FeedBack microphones, the Buds Air Pro detects all unwanted noise. Emitting high-precision anti-noise waves
Also when one bud or both buds are taken out of your ears, they stop playing the music or podcast you’re listening to. Once both buds are back in or even just one, it will recommence playing your music or podcast.
Also switching between modes, by simply tap and hold to change between General, Noise Cancelling and Transparency, you will be notified between the various modes thanks to a small voice that ensures you are in the right setting you wish to have or be on.
What’s it not good at?
Touch controls, which can be set via the realme link app, can be a little fiddly and touchy to use. For example, putting the earbuds in, you can find that the selection for either noise cancelling and transparency can be activated by placing the earbuds into your ear, requiring you to change them setting back required.
Same with any pre-selections you have set, this can be very much easily triggered by accidentally adjusting the earbuds if need be.
As there is no clips or fin as we have seen with some wireless earbuds like the Beats Power Pro buds, the only way to ensure the earbuds are as secure as possible is to use the included and additional rubber tips which is fine, but I know for people like myself prefer to have an additional clip or fin to keep the buds as secure in the ear than possible.
If you’re someone who likes a really deep bass, then sadly the realme Buds Air Pro do suffer here despite the settings within the app to enable Bass Boost+. To be honest, I found for any music with deep bass lines, that my Beats Powerbeats Pro offers better bass control and sound over the realme Buds Air Pro.
Should you consider buying one?
To sum this review up, despite some flaws and small-ish issues, I have to say that the realme Buds Air Pro do offer some great features for the price and I have to say that the active noise-cancelling features are very much one of the best I have used.
If you’re working from home (and let’s be honest, a lot of us still are, myself included) and need to have some quite decent, clear earbuds for online video meetings or aren’t too fussed about having a deeper bass experience whilst streaming your favourite music, then I would possibly recommend the realme Buds Air Pro.
Although there are some more expensive earbuds that do offer a more complete package at the end of the day, if you’re on a budget, then the realme Buds Air Pro might be worthy of consideration.
The realme Buds Air Pro are available outright for $199 from the realme, MobileCiti and Catch websites.
Officeworks sells airpods second gen for $199, and u say these oppo (realme) once are reasonable price? these are not worth more than $99