Realme Buds Air 2 Review: Sound Quality, Features & Battery Life

Realme Buds Air 2 Summary

Realme recently launched their latest actual wireless Buds Air 2, the successor to their first-generation Buds Air. With more companies entering the competitive marketplace for earbuds priced under ₹5,000, there’s even more pressure on companies to innovate and add features that are missing on offerings from the competition.

The new Buds Air 2 does exactly that by bringing active noise cancellation at a price point previously considered unlikely or impossible to permit its inclusion – at ₹3,299, the closest competitor is that the Oppo Enco W51 that costs ₹4,999. We’ve spent a while with the Realme Buds Air 2, so here are our thoughts on the company’s latest challenger within the affordable actual wireless segment.

Realme Buds Air 2 Specifications

Realme Buds Air 2 Design and fit

Design on truth wireless earbuds are some things that the brand hasn’t been ready to set itself aside from the gang. You either get a TWS with a stem design or without a stem design – the Realme Buds Air 2 opts for the previous. It inherits the curvy aesthetics of the previous generation and brings a replacement two-tone color finish. The Buds Air 2 is out there in two color options – Closer White and Closer Black. We are using the Closer Black variant during this review, but we expect that the white ones look more attractive. 

The Black variant may be a combination of Black & Blue while the White variant may be a mixture of Silver & White – I prefer the Closer White variant because it looks classy, especially the stem. The Realme Buds Air 2 comes with a matte finish on the body with an electroplating branch. These also are in-ear style earbuds which is an upgrade from the half in-ear style on the Realme Buds Air from 2019. Although the corporate claims the buds can withstand fingerprints and smudges, we managed to urge fingerprints quickly – maybe the White variant will be better therein case. 

The carry case that doubles up as A battery pack is almost like the Realme Buds Air Pro case – a cobble-shaped design. But there are a few changes. Firstly, the metal hinge is gone, and you get a plastic one on the Buds Air 2. Secondly, the LED indicator, which turns either Green or Red counting on the battery level, is now located slightly below the Realme moniker. the remainder of the components are placed as they’re.

You get a Type-C port on rock bottom and a solo button to the proper of the case to pairing/reset the earbuds. One-handed opening is additionally possible, and therefore the lid doesn’t feel fragile, as we had said in our Realme Buds Air Pro review. The case again attracts fingerprints and smudges, which is one thing we’d wish to see recover within the next iteration. 

In terms of the fit, the in-ear style design makes it highly comfortable to wear. They’re also a gram but the Realme Buds Air at just 4 grams. Removing them from the buds are now a touch easier because of the subtle change within the stem design, which helps to tug out the buds from the case. The magnets inside the case are strong enough to keep the buds in situ. 

There is no chunky design here. The highest part is far slimmer, which is why you get a cushty fit. I tested the buds while walking, running, during workouts, and while on the bike – whenever the buds were secured well within the ear. This is often my second favorite pick in terms of fit under Rs 5,000 after the OnePlus Buds Z. The box also comes with three additional pairs(S/M/L) of ear tips with which you will be ready to get the right fit. The buds are IPX4 rated for water resistance and may be utilized in the gym or maybe in slight rain. The case, however, doesn’t have any protection rating. 

In a nutshell, the Realme Buds Air 2 offers the most straightforward slot in the segment with an in-ear style design you’ll switch between the ideas to urge the simplest possible fit. 

Sound quality and noise cancellation

The Realme Buds Air 2 comes with an all-new Realme R2 audio chipset, bringing the newest Bluetooth 5.2 connectivity. it’s said to get better audio performance also as battery life as compared to the last-gen. It also brings latency by up to 35%. As for the noise cancellation, the Realme Buds Air 2 are capable of canceling up to 25dB. there’s a 10mm diamond-class Hi-Fi driver, and therefore the Realme had teamed up with The Chainsmokers to develop and tune the audio. 

Whatever Realme and, therefore, the Chainsmokers have done behind the scenes regarding the tuning has worked and worked well. The audio quality is surprisingly better than the Realme Buds Air Pro, and therefore the bass is additionally more punchy and thumping. It supports the AAC and SBC codec. 

The Realme Buds Air 2 offers bass-heavy primarily sound, which most folks prefer, and it serves well. The sound staging is superb, and therefore the separation of the instruments are on point. The mids and lows are well balanced also. The vocals were immaculate. Also, I enjoyed taking note of music on this one for an extended period. The treble onboard isn’t the simplest but does an honest job. Overall, the sound quality is satisfying, and we’d rate this second-best right after the Oppo Enco W51. 

As said earlier, it cancels out noise up to 25dB in terms of the ANC, which is usually the lower frequency noise. The noise cancellation here is achieved with a feed-forward mic which cancels out the external low-frequency noise. It does work, and that I could feel the difference when it had been turned On and turned Off. this is often a welcome addition to the sub Rs 3,500 price point. you’ll eliminate more external noise by turning on the quantity enhancer, blocking out more noise from the surface world. The transparency mode allows you to concentrate to the surface because of the media on the bud without getting rid of it from the ears. 

As for the modes are concerned, you get Bass Boost+, which takes the bass to a subsequent level, and it’s very effective. Lively gives the balance between overall music while the Clear mode offers clean vocal output. And lastly, there’s a gaming mode that brings down the latency to 88ms, one of the simplest for a TWS. This is often useful while you play games or watching movies. I had no issues with audio/video sync, which I watch video on the phone. 

These buds can get loud, which some earbuds lack; the quantity enhancer takes it to the next level. I enjoyed taking note of all the albums from The Chainsmokers, Bollywood beats, and a few DJ mixes. 

The Bluetooth 5.2 connectivity is stable and features a range of 10 meters. It connects to your phone as soon as you’re taking it out of the case once you’ve paired it.

Realme Link app and features

Realme is one of the few audio makers that features a dedicated application for its AIoT products, and therefore the Buds Air 2 takes advantage of an equivalent. The features on the earbuds are available with in-ear detection, which works as intended – it pauses the media playback once you take it off and resumes it once you put it back on. Inside the companion Realme Link app, you’ll disable the in-ear detection if needed. 

Further, the appliance shows what proportion battery is left on each bud also because of the case. It displays during which mode you’re using the earbuds – Noise cancellation, General, or Transparent. It allows you to pick 2 of the three ways to modify once you perform a remote operation. There’s also a choice to toggle game mode also as a volume enhancer. you’ll also switch between three sound modes – Bass Boost+, Lively, and Clear. Other intelligent features include auto-connect and Google Fast Pairing protocol. 

As for the touch controls, each bud on the Realme Buds Air 2 are often customized to perform an action for a double-tap, triple tap, and touch and hold. you’ll choose among “play/pause, next track, previous track, voice assistant, switch noise control modes, gaming mode” options. There’s a choice to close up controls entirely also. Additionally, there’s also an action that will be triggered by long-pressing (touch and hold) both buds at an equivalent time. 

You can customize the actions as per your preference with the Realme Link app. The touch controls are pretty intuitive and aware of your touch. You would like to touch the highest part of the stem to urge the specified output. Lastly, the auto-call toggle enables you to select the decision automatically as you’re taking out the buds from the case while you’re getting a call. 

Call quality

The Realme Buds Air 2 offers two microphones on the stems. Additionally to the dual-mic system, you may get Environmental noise cancellation(ENC) which helps you choose better audio from the opposite end. The microphone quality clothed to be surprisingly good in my testing, especially considering it a budget TWS. The person on the opposite end could hear me pretty much and the other way around within the indoor conditions. During the outdoor situations, the sound quality dropped by touch by nothing dramatic because the person could still hear me but with a distortion touch. 

Battery life

The one area where the Realme Buds Air struggled was within the battery life 一 they barely lasted 3 hours. With the Realme Buds Air 2, the corporate claims up to five hours of battery life Realme Buds Air 2 and overall up to 25 hours, including the charging case. 

In my testing, I got 5 hours of playback with ANC turned on and about 4 hours and a quarter-hour with the ANC turned on. In both cases, the left earbud drained out 10 minutes before the proper one. The case offers me almost four additional charge cycles before dying out completely. Overall, I got about 21 to 22 hours of playback on one charge, which is reasonable considering my volume was always about 80 to 100%. 

The charging are often through with the included Type-C cable. A full charge will take about an hour to charge from 0 to 100. a short 10 minutes offers 2 hours of playback as per Realme, but we got 90 minutes of playback, which remains a handy feature. 

Editor’s rating: 4.3 / 5

Pros

• Good sound quality, excellent feature set
• Functional ANC
• Comfortable and comfortable fit
• Wear detection support
• Programmable and responsive touch controls
• Good battery life; over 20 hours with charging case
• IPX5 splash resistance
• Bluetooth 5.2

Cons

• Average call quality outdoors
• Battery level information is erratic
• No volume control option
• The charging point may be a smudge magnet

Verdict

The Realme Buds Air 2 true wireless earphones are unique for one big reason: decent, functional, active noise cancellation at a comparatively low price. Aside from this, there’s also sound design, connectivity, and performance on voice calls, but my praise for these earphones stops short when it involves sound quality. The Buds Air 2 doesn’t sound bad by any means, but it is best described as ordinary. Although the bass-heavy signature might suit some listeners, the shortage of detail and character hold these earphones back.