While Realme is more known for their smartphones, the brand has been toiling away in the background making mobile accessories to the public with the same price-to-performance value. Today, we were lucky enough to get an early look at one of the first Bluetooth headsets: the Realme Buds Wireless.
Realme Buds Wireless
| Realme Buds Wireless | |
| Driver Size | 11.2mm |
| Battery Life | Up to 12-hour Playback |
| Effective Range | 10m |
| Bluetooth Version | 5 |
| Fast Charging | 10 Minutes Charge = 100 Minutes Playback Time |
| Weight | 30g |
| Price | PhP 1,990 |
Unboxing
The Realme Buds Wireless’ packaging shares the same design philosophy as their smartphones. A plain box accented with Realme’s trademark Yellow hue greets us as we unbox the headset.
Aside from the Realme Buds Wireless themselves, the device comes with small and large extra sets of ear tips, a quick guide book and two ear supports already installed. Realme lists a MicroUSB cable in the packaging although it seems that our unit doesn’t have the charging cable. Surely the brand will fix this oversight in retail packages.
Design and Features
The Realme Buds Wireless sports a flexible band that rests on the neck of the user. Weighing in at 30g, the device is extremely light and isn’t noticeable when your head is moving around.
Volume and playback controls are integrated at the right-hand side of the neck band. The playback button, accented by the Realme logo, might need a bit of fiddling around in order to be pressed as the space between the button and the volume controls are minimal.
Turning the control area of the device reveals its MicroUSB charging port. Realme says that its 110mAh battery can last up to 12 hours of playback and only takes 10 minutes to charge to get 100 minutes of playback.
In our experience, the Realme Buds Wireless will last around 8 hours with the volume high enough to drown out the sounds of the metro. Fully charging the device can be a bit of a wait though. Charging from a standard USB plug takes around 2 hours to top-off the battery.
The ear supports come already installed on the in-ear monitors. Of course, they can be removed if you find them uncomfortable. Comfort shouldn’t be too much of an issue with the hooks as they are made of rubber and should fit any ear size.
The earphones don’t come with any physical switches to turn on or off. Instead, right earphone is magnetic and locks into place with left earphone to turn off. If both earphones are parted with each other, as if to use them, the device will turn on and immediately find or connect the device you have paired them with.
The silicone ear tips that comes with the Realme Buds Wireless are bog-standard as they come. They probably won’t fit every ear in the world. The device does have universal ear tip mounts in case you wanted to use a pair of your own.
Audio Performance
We played a few titles with the Realme Buds Wireless from a Huawei P30. Music played are local FLAC files and not streaming services in order to get the highest possible quality with the device.
Aside from having a fairly bass-heavy preference, the Realme Buds Wireless can be well-rounded earphones to listen to. James Labrie’s voice is pretty clear in Dream Theater’s Another Day. There is a bit of softness when it comes to the percussion from Mike Portnoy’s drums. John Petrucci’s guitar solo at the second half of the track comes through with clear highs.
The Realme Buds Wireless’ proclivity to bass-heavy audio really comes through with Metallica’s Master of Puppets. The pounding of Lars Ulrich’s bass drum together with Cliff Burton’s bass line can be heard with such power that they occasionally overpower James Hetfield’s guitar riff.
Conclusion
Priced at PhP 1,990, the Realme Buds Wireless performs out of its price range. If we were giving a pair without knowing its price, we’re probably going to set it a bit higher than it actually is.
The device is pretty much a complete package when it comes to Bluetooth earphones. It’s lightweight, comfortable, and offers decent battery life at 9 hours. Again, audio performance is a leans a bit to the lower ranges of the spectrum but it shouldn’t be much of an issue when it comes to any kind of track.
Like its brethren in the smartphone market, the Realme Buds Wireless offers tons of value and performance at its price point, which is why we’re giving it our Hungry Geeks Approved Seal. If you’re looking for an upgrade for the earphones that your smartphone came with, the Realme Buds Wireless is a solid option for you.
The Realme Buds Wireless will make its debut in the Philippines via Lazada on its 12.12 Grand Sale.
