Realme’s first-ever true wireless earphones with an active noise-canceling microphone, the realme Buds Air Pro is a sub P5,000 peso wireless earphone. unlike AirPods Pro with Noise Cancellation and priced at P14,990. will the P10,000 peso difference be a factor?
Pros
- Budget TWS with Active Noise Cancellation
- Long-lasting Battery
- Feels Premium with solid Build
Cons
- No Volume Controls
- Distortion at Max Volume plus enhancements
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Table of Contents
Quick Unboxing
It is from realme so the packaging is in the yellow box and upon lifting the yellow cover there’s another box and inside it are the instructions and manual. Then the device itself is in the middle and on the lower part, it has another smaller box containing the short yellow USB type-C cable and extra three pairs of different rubber tips sizes.
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Design and Build
The device looks like a makeup kit, though the design is inspired by a cobblestone. Unlike the vanilla realme Buds Air, with apple AirPods inspired design on its case, and the Buds Air Neo that looks cheap, the realme Buds Air Pro is quite a unique and premium looking device.
It is in a glossy finish on a polycarbonate build in a not-so-perfect circle just like the cobblestone. The design is pretty minimal, the realme branding is in the middle of the device with a led indicator above that turns red when the battery is below 20%. The power button is on the right side that is not that visible at first glance. On the bottom of the case is the USB Type-C charging port. And at the back, it now has a metal hinge unlike the 2 other lower versions of the realme Buds Air and we can say that it should last longer because of its overall build.
The pair of earphones inside the case was attached nicely thanks to the magnetic poles and base. It strongly holds the earphones tight to prevent falling out of the case. Although I found a hard time getting the pair out of the case, not because of the magnet but the slippery texture due to the smooth finish. After some attempts, I finally pulled out the two earphones right before I realized I didn’t pair the earphones yet. So I return the pair to the case and I pressed and hold the power button for 3 seconds to enable pairing mode and after less than a couple of seconds, it is now connected to my smartphone.
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The pairing is just a piece of cake thanks to the Google Fast Pair. It will automatically notify the device that there’s a nearby Bluetooth device to pair and I just tap the notification popped on the screen and easily get connected. If your phone doesn’t support Google Fast Pair, you can manually open the Bluetooth settings menu and choose your device. Then it will automatically pair every time you use the Realme Buds Air Pro.
The earphones have silicone rubber ear tips for comfortable use and can be the right fit for your ear thanks to changeable earbud tips sizes. The AirPods Pro inspired earphones looks like a Peashooter from plants vs zombies but with a longer stem. It’s still in a polycarbonate plastic glossy texture with tiny little holes for microphone and for the noise cancellation feature.
Sound Quality
realme Buds Air Pro sound is very impressive on its price point and audiophiles can accept it. It has the bass and the overall lows and mids are a bit balanced. For me, I hear a lot of bassy sounds thanks to the 10mm Bass Boost Driver. It is the standard size for this category but it will be distorted at 90% volume. The good thing is even if we max the volume, it still has the overall quality. Also thanks to the AAC encoding we can hear more of the crisp music’s instruments sound.
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Active Noise Cancellation
The noise cancellation is pretty decent on its price point, We tested its 35 dB noise cancellation from the ambient sound and the dual-mic noise cancellation for calls that realme buds air pro offers.
The noise-canceling microphone quality in calls, with a standard stand fan in a 2nd power, that is 24inches away from me, the air sounds coming from it completely diminished which is a pretty good result.
For the noise cancellation mode, it’s like your ears popped and it has that tingling sound and I can still hear those nearby ambient sounds but it’s totally less. The sound is now tinier and the noise cancellation totally works. This is useful especially in a loud environment outdoors as you can still hear your music without turning up the volume to the maximum that might damage your ears.
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Gestures
In order to enable the noise cancellation feature, you have to long-press either side of the earphones, You will notice the feature is turned on as the ambient sound become less. Holding either side again will get you out of the Active Noise Cancellation feature and will switch to the default programmed command which is Transparency. By holding both sides of the earpiece will enable the gaming mode to on or off. A car’s engine sound will play to notify you that the feature is in effect and it will play a soft happy sound if you get out of the gaming mode.
There are no slide gestures on the earphones so tapping and holding the buds is the only way to do certain commands. Double-tapping either side will play and pause the current music, triple tap to skip to the next song, and one tap to answer a call then double-tap to reject or hangup. These are all the reliable function in the earphones. The downside in its gestures is, it doesn’t have volume controls. This command may be available in the future update as you can upgrade firmware for the Realme Buds Air Pro from the realme Link companion app, but we don’t have a word yet, just a conclusion but we hope so.
Features
Talking about the features, you can customize gesture controls using the realme Link companion app. The app also has features for realme Buds Air Pro that you can turn on, like the Game Mode with 94ms Super Low Latency feature for faster audio-to-video sync and will result in the immersive gaming experience. Also thanks to AAC encoder it emphasizes the sounds, especially when playing FPS games. You will be hearing enhanced 3D surround sound and this helps players to aid where the enemies are. Footsteps are louder and surround and that’s what FPS gamers rely on to predict the location of their enemies. And by trying it I can say that it is enough and pretty reliable.
The Bass Boost Plus adds more power to the bass sound and the enhancement is pretty noticeable. We feel more immersive and the feel when watching movies with a great sound design like the Transformer Movie, the cranks of the metals and the long low bass sound feels great to the ear.
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There’s also a Sound Enhancer feature which will add extra volume to the sound. However, when we tried to max the volume then enabled the feature the sound introduces a lot of distortion which lowers the quality. The noticeable difference is when the volume is at 70% and when the Sound Enhancer is turned on, there are some parts of the sound that emphasized which balance the overall audio. To make it short, it enhances the sound quality but in low volume.
You can also see in the app that it has a 3 noise control, the noise cancellation which we discussed earlier, then the general which is the normal ambient noise of the normal earphone. Lastly, the transparency mode emphasizes the ambient sound around you so you don’t have to remove the buds from your ear to hear people talking nearby and be aware of the surroundings.
Speaking of removing the earbuds from your ear, music and videos that are currently playing will automatically pause however it is not as fast compared to Apple AirPods with almost 0 delays. Overall it gives a wide variety of features and flexibility with its price point and that is the selling point of this TWS from realme.
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Battery
The realme Buds Air Pro can last up to 6hrs of playback in the earphones itself and 5hrs of playback with ANC turned on, in a total of 25 hrs of use in 50% volume. However after we tested it at 90% volume all the time, the 486mAh battery of the charging case last only 21hrs with noise cancellation off, which is still a pretty solid battery in a day of using the device, it can go up to a 2-day use without charging the case if you are not that always on the go. If you run out of juice in the case, charging it takes only an hour more or less.
Verdict
Overall, the realme buds air pro is a premium competitive true wireless earphone that offers a noise-canceling feature for just P4,990. A pretty good deal on its price point. It has the capability and features for your entertainment needs and its noise cancellation feature is outstanding. A little hassle because it lacks slide volume controls and wireless charging but a recommendable TWS with ANC that can last for a day of Staying Connected while Disconnected from the ambiance.
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