Realme Buds Q Review: Great set of affordable TWS earbuds punch above price

Realme has just unveiled its third and most affordable true wireless earbuds in India with the arrival of the Realme Buds Q. Realme latest TWS earphones are priced at Rs 1,999 in India and are available in three colour options – Black, White, and Yellow. Our unit arrived in Black, which is arguably the best of the three colours. The Buds Q features standard Realme packaging, while the company include a charging cable and extra earbud tips in the box.

Design

Before we get into the details about the Realme Buds Q, let’s take a moment to talk about the case. The case is pretty compact and can easily slip into a small coin pocket. The case itself looks good with a matte black finish and the Realme logo engraved on the top. The case an LED indicator on the front that displays charging status and a microUSB port on the back. The case has a small lip on the front just beneath the lid so you can easily open the case.

Because of the size of the case, we do not recommend opening it with one hand, i.e. if you can, as the earbuds could fall out. There are two pogo pins inside the case to charge each bud. The receptacles for the earbuds feature a glossy finish, while magnetism allows the buds to slip right into place. Overall build quality is decent for the price you are paying. The case is easy to open, shuts tight, and is really light.

Now to the buds itself! The Realme Buds Q has a common design for a pair of true wireless earphones, and that’s not such a bad thing. The earbuds have the same matte black finish as the case and an oval-shaped design. Additionally, there is a glossy-black font over the matte-black finish. The Realme branding on each bud also doubles as a touch area for gesture-based playback controls.

Battery Life

Speaking of battery life, the Realme Buds Q manages to impress on that front. According to Realme, the Buds Q can last for up to four and a half hours on a single charge. In our experience, you are definitely going to get four straight hours of battery life with the TWS earbuds operating at full volume.

We cannot confirm that the case can take the total charge time to up to 20 hours, but it will definitely get you close to the 20-hour mark, which in itself is impressive. The charging case comes with a micro-USB port, so you are stuck with slower charging. It should take little under two hours to fully charge the case.

Audio Performance

The Realme Buds Q are equipped with 10mm dynamic drivers as compared to 7.2mm drivers on the Redmi Earbuds S. The Buds Q offer support for AAC HD audio codec and Dynamic Bass Boost. The Buds Q tend to favour songs with thumping bass sounds with the sound produced mainly focused towards the mid-to-high frequencies. In our experience, the Buds Q deliver crisp audio and pumping base. However, loudness can override clarity in some instances, while the thumping bass can come at the cost of crisp vocals at times. For the best experience, we recommend using the Buds Q at 70 to 80 percent volume.

Overall, Realme’s affordable TWS earbuds deliver a satisfying experience; vocals sound clear most of the time, bass-centric tracks tend to sound better, while treble is pretty much on point. The Realme Link app does not feature a built-in equalizer, but you can always use third-party equalizers to fine-tune the sound to your liking as tonal balance is not quite on point out of the box. The audio quality for calls is good, you do not face any connectivity drops, and there is no issue of clarity. It is worth noting that we haven’t tested out the buds in noisy outdoor conditions.

Touch Controls

You can control playback and calls on the Buds Q using touch gestures. There are three gestures available on each earbud – a long press, a double-tap, and a triple tap. The functions on both earbuds are the same by default, but you can customize them to your liking on each bud individually using the Link app. Additionally, holding down on both earbuds activates Gaming mode. The touch button on each bud encompasses the entire glossy area with the Realme logo, which is rather convenient.

Additional Features

The Realme Earbuds Q are rated IPX4 for sweat and water-resistance, which makes them ideal for workouts. It is worth noting that the water-resistance only applies to the buds and not the case. A long press on both earbuds together can turn on the Gaming Mode, which reduces latency for gamers, something we didn’t see on the Realme Buds Air Neo. This mode helps keep the audio and video in sync, which is important for multiplayer first-person shooters. It is worth noting that this takes a hit on battery life.

Conclusion

Overall, the Realme Buds Q are an excellent pair of TWS earbuds for their price. Audio is slightly better than the competition, while the earbuds easily surpass any of its rivals in terms of battery life. Moreover, the Buds Q offer a comfortable fit and a minimalist design. Additionally, the Link app adds some useful features on top of an already good package but lacks iOS support for the moment. To conclude, the Buds Q are excellent for starter TWS earbuds if you are on a tight budget, you’re definitely getting more than what you pay for.