realme Buds T100 Review - Winner for PHP 1.3K?

At a glance

realme Buds T100

Pros - Compact and lightweight build, good battery life, balanced sound signature with good clarity, Quick pair compatible

Cons - small sound stage, You need the realme Link app for full features, silicone tips are hard and can cause fatigue early, It lags when switching between devices

Verdict

The realme Buds T100 is one of the Better value true wireless earphones in the Philippine market today.

It has an eye-catching and compact design that is built with lightweight materials.

The 10mm Titanium drivers deliver a balanced sound signature with good clarity. Our only concern is the smaller sound stage and the lesser-defined separation.

It offers nearly 6 hours of playback time per bud and can be extended to 28 hours of total playback with the case. However, it does take around 2 hours to charge the case and the buds fully from 0.

The Buds support Google's quick pair which makes it easy to connect to the Buds. It does however lag when switching between devices that were already paired.

Our major concern is that the silicone tips are hard on the ears which causes fatigue to set in earlier than we would like.

Overall, for the price, the realme Buds T100's performance is impressive.

Build/Design - 4

Comfort/Isolation - 4

Battery Life - 4

Features - 4

Sound - 4

Average - 4/5

Here's our full review:

Lifestyle tech brand realme recently introduced the super affordable realme Buds T100 in the Philippines for only PHP 1,299.

It features 10mm dynamic drivers with Titanium-plated composite dome diaphragms and is rated for up to 34 hours of use with the case. It connects wirelessly thru Bluetooth 5.3 with a latency of 88ms.

The buds are IPX5 water resistance rated and come in either Punk Black or Pop White.

It is expected to be available soon.

Let's have a look.

Unboxing/Accessories

Box

Unlike previous realme Buds, the Buds T100 comes in a white box with the render of the buds in front. Around the box are regulatory information, specs and key features.

Box inclusions

Inside, you will see the case with the earbuds in the inside, two more earbuds sizes, USB-A to USB-C cable, and the paper documentation.

There is no USB wall charger. You can simply plug its cable into your PC's USB port or low-powered power bank to charge the device.

Build Quality/Design

White case

The Buds T100 is mostly made of plastic for the outer shell of the buds and the case. It comes in either Punk Black or Pop White. Both the buds and the case has a reflective glossy finish that makes it a fingerprint smudge magnet.

Stylish plastic with some sort of water resistance!

In front of the case are the realme logo and the LED indicator light while at the bottom is the USB-C port.

Inside are the earbuds.

The materials also make the buds and the case to be surprisingly lightweight for their size.

Hinge

At the back of the case is the hinge.

The buds are made of the same material but have an IPX5 water resistance rating which makes them capable of surviving a sweaty workout or some accidental splashes of water.

Buds

These buds have a long stem that supports touch gestures.

The silicone ear cups are replaceable to fit the user's ears better. The Bud's heads are oval-shaped and are protected by a mesh cover that prevents ear wax from entering the Buds.

Comfort/Isolation

Comfort and isolation

Because the device has no sharp edges and because of the soft type of silicone ear tips, the initial use of the Buds is comfortable. Like other earphones in its price range, the silicone tips can cause the ears to tire out when used for an extended period.

We highly recommend getting the right size for the ear cups and maybe upgrading to foam ear cups to reduce fatigue

Unfortunately, there is no active noise cancellation available for the Buds T100. It does have a form of electronic noise cancellation that uses AI that will only work for calls.

Battery

Each bud carries a 40mAh battery while the case carries an extra 400mAh extra. This means that each bud can be used continuously for 6 hours of playback and be extended by an extra 28 hours with the case.

From our testing, each bud would last from 5 to 6 hours of continuous playback with some video calls in between. The case extends the play time up to 28 hours.

realme says that 10 minutes of charging can yield 120 minutes of playback. This is consistent with the charging speed of the case as it took under 2.5 hours to charge the case from 0 to 100 percent.

Features

Inside the case

Using the Buds T100 is very simple. You must first download the realme Link app to your phone and open the top of the realme Buds T100 case. A prompt should pop up to pair or connect with it.

It connects via Bluetooth 5.3 which gives the buds 88ms ultra-low latency while operating with less power.

In our experience, the connection to our phone and our laptop is stable with almost no lag especially when consuming video. The lips are always in sync with the audio. Our only concern with the connection is that it takes a while for the earbuds to switch from one device to another.

realme Link app

The realme Link app shows you the current battery level of the buds and the case while allowing users access to the settings that include game mode, volume enhancer, and button settings. In the button settings, users can customize the actions made with specific gestures.

The volume enhancer feature boosts the volume from 97dB to 102 which realme says improves sound quality while increasing the maximum volume. In our experience, it does improve the maximum volume but a loss of quality is apparent. 

The controls:

Double tap - Pause/Play

Triple tap - Next

Touch and hold - Volume Up/Down

Calls/recording:

It has a set of microphones that work with AI and deep learning that can identify human voices and mute ambient sound. In our experience, the callers never complained about the environmental noise during calls. This is for calls only.

Audio

Sound Quality

At the core of the Buds T100s is a 10mm driver on each side. It features Titanium-plated composite Dome Diaphragms that realme says deliver rich and powerful bass with crystal-clear mid and highs.

Surprisingly balanced audio performance!

In our testing, the realme Buds are surprisingly balanced. The bass, highs, and mids all shine equally. What surprised us was the clarity of sound for the price. The sound stage is small and the separation is decent. We can't complain too much because of its price.

In short, this is a good all-rounder that you could use for listening to your favorite tunes, calls, and even watching movies on the go or privately.

Overall, the Buds T100 is a good performing true wireless earphone with good battery life, good sound quality, and a compact and lightweight design.

realme TechLife Buds T100 Specs

Driver: 10mm dynamic bass driver + PEEK+TPU titanium-plated composite dome diaphragms

Microphone: AI ENC noise-cancelling microphone

Battery: Up to 6 hours (per earbud), Up to 28 hours (charging case), 10-minute charge 120 minutes of playback

Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.3, 88ms latency

Others: Tap control, Google Fast Pair, IPX5 water resistance, USB-C, Colors: Punk Black, Pop White

Price: PHP 1,299