Meet realme Buds Air Pro - Affordable TWS with proper ANC?

We take a look at the new realme Buds Air Pro with Active Noise Cancellation and IPX4 water resistance.

realme Buds Air Pro

realme continues its onslaught of new devices with the new realme Buds Air Pro True Wireless Earphones with Active Noise Cancellation and IPX4 water resistance.

At an expected price of under PHP 6K, this is one of the more affordable true wireless earphones with Active Noise Cancellation.

Let's take a closer look.

Meet realme Buds Air Pro!

Inside the Box

It comes in the familiar yellow box with the render of the earbuds in front.

Inside are the charging case, Buds Air Pro earpieces, USB Type-A to Type-C cable, extra silicone ear cups, and documentation. There are three extra sizes of earcups which gives you a total of four pairs in different sizes to get a better fit.

We like the included USB Type-A to Type-C cable because of its bright color and tough build material and design. We just wished it was at least 1 foot long.

realme Buds Air Pro

Out of the box is the charging case with the earpieces inside. This charging case and earpieces are made of lightweight polycarbonate. It is the type of polycarbonate that is solid but it doesn't have that heft that comes from more expensive counterparts.

Front and back

In front is the LED notification light and realme logo while at the back is the metal hinge.

Top and bottom side

On top is the flip cover while at the bottom is the USB Type-C cable.

Buds only

The earpieces themselves have pea-shaped heads with a stem that ends with a metal finish that houses the CPU contacts. At the back of the stem and the head are two ports that presumably is for the microphone and Active Noise Cancellation.

Pairing notification with realme smartphones

Upon opening the Buds Air Pro near a realme smartphone, a pop-up notification appears on the phone to pair with Buds Air Pro thru Bluetooth 5.0. This connects seamlessly and painlessly. The Buds Air Pro then reconnects automatically with the paired smartphone.

realme Link App controls

Users can connect this way at first but will miss other features that the realme Link app offers. The app allows for deeper user control. Users can switch between General, Transparency, and Noise Cancellation modes. Users can also specify what the Double-Tap and Triple Tap do. 

The realme Link app also includes a low latency Game Mode, a volume pushing Volume Enhancer mode, and a heart-thumping Bass Boost+.

In terms of audio quality, the realme Buds Air Pro produces a super Bassy sound with a decently wide sound stage with price-acceptable separation and clarity. This is for people who love bass and not for people for audiophile-grade audio.

Active Noise Cancellation works but is not the best. It's good enough to remove some of the ambient noise. realme claimed that it blocks up to 35dB of noise.

It isn't as good as the more expensive Huawei Freebuds or the Apple Air Pods Pro but for the price, this is okay performing noise cancellation. 

While the microphone quality of the realme Buds Air Pro is acceptable for calls but because the microphone ports are not on the tip of the stem but on the earphone heads, it will not be the best for audio or video calls.

realme Buds Air Pro Specs

CPU: S1 Chip

Driver: 10mm dynamic driver

Microphone: Dual-mic w/ ENC

Battery: Up to 5 hours with ANC, up to 6 hours without ANC (per earbud), up to 25 hours (charging case)

Sensors: Optical Sensor for Wear Detection

Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.0

Others: IPX4 water resistance, touch controls, USB-C, Colors: Rock Black, Soul White

Price: PHP 4,990

Quick thoughts

realme Buds Air Pro

For its expected price, the realme Buds Air Pro proves to be good true wireless earbuds with proper Active Noise Cancellation. It has a lightweight polycarbonate build that offers decent sound quality and noise cancellation.

It connects via Bluetooth 5.0 and USB Type-C. The internal battery can last for up to 25 hours of continuous playback with the included charging case.

If you are a realme smartphone user, these are one of the best earphones to pair with your realme smartphone.

What do you guys think?