Meet realme Buds Air 3 - Real great!

If you're looking to get a pair of TWS earbuds, make sure that you get one that has stacked features that will make your work/play digital life a better experience.

Great on a budget?

With a market flooded by brand collabs, great design cues, exotic build materials, and "patented & proprietary technologies," it's so easy to get on the hype train and lose out on what you really need from a daily driver TWS.

A case in point is the unassuming realme Buds Air 3. If you dismiss it at first glance, you’d be missing out on what this pair has to offer at a competitive price point of fewer than four thousand pesos.

I've had extensive time with Air the 3, connected to my laptop for work, my phone, and my tablet for video consumption and some gaming.

Meet realme Buds Air 3 - Real great!

Everything inside

Let's start with what's in the box. Realme's Buds Air 3 comes in a square white box, with a photo of the device and the model name. Printed at the back are the key product features. Inside you'll have your charging case, the earbuds, 3 pairs of soft ear tips, your USB-C charging cable, and the requisite product literature. Everything is clean, tight, and tidy.

Let’s take a look at the charging case. The charging case is around 6cm wide, 5cm high, and a shade under 2cm thick. These dimensions plus its all-around curved form factor give you a real compact charging case.

As such, the case will not "stand" on your desk. It's made of tough and smooth plastic that reflects the price point. You have a choice of 2 colors, "Starry Blue" or "Galaxy White".

LED light

USB-C port

realme logo

On the front is a small charging light, USB-C charging port at the bottom, and on the right side is the pairing button. The pairing button is the same color as the case and is built flush into the case itself. So, it will be easy to miss. To perhaps offset the minimalist design cues, the realme printed their brand on the top of the swivel case cover and enclosed it in clear plastic to give it a quasi-3D or floating effect.

Opened case

The minimalist design language is carried on into the earbuds themselves. You have a stem mated into an earpiece. I appreciated that even the ear-tips are the same color as the earbuds. In this case, we had the "Starry Blue" variant. Personally, I liked the sleek and minimalist look.

Opening the charging case, and depressing the pairing button will take you through the pairing process. Part of the process is the need to download and install the "realme Link" app on your device.

Don't skip this step since the app will let you maximize your Air 3! Once paired, they connect automatically and quickly. A great product feature is an ability to connect 2 devices at once. Realme calls it "Dual Device Connection". With this feature enabled on the "realme Link" app, you can use your phone for voice calls, and your tablet for work or entertainment.

Battery life on the buds is at a respectable 5 hours with ANC enabled. This is boosted to 30 hours with a fully charged charging case. Of course, actual battery performance will vary if you have ANC active.

The real fun starts after pairing!

If you're still on the fence because of the realme Air 3's looks, the sound will be your deal-maker. Proudly sporting a pair of 10mm Bass Boost Drivers, these buds play loud!

Loud yet controlled audio!

However, it's the kind of loud that's controlled, managed and disciplined. Playing through my latest Spotify playlist, the Air 3s, displayed a preference for the mid to upper bass and the midrange.

On the remastered versions of OMD's "Enola Gay", Talking Heads' "Burning Down The House" and Blondie's "Heart of Glass", the Air 3s presented a fun, in-your-face, party sound.

I chose these 3 songs specifically because they had short and quick instrument bits and enhancements in the background that gave a ton of texture and depth to the overall sound of the songs. The Air 3s managed to convey these, so driver coherence is above-average. The soundstage is narrow and tight, which is precisely what you want for a mobile device.

This capability is even more important when watching videos. In the tunnel scene from the "Terminal List", the audio of the Navy SEALS infiltrating through a flooded tunnel, the subsequent ambush, and the IED detonation was enjoyable.

The Air 3s managed to easily transition from whispering, to the soft splashing of water, and to an all-guns-blazing firefight. In dialogue-heavy content like "Extraordinary Atty. Woo", the Air 3s made Attorney Woo’s staccato courtroom cross-examinations sound more convincing and sharper than they already were. Dialogue and sound effects placement relative to what was being shown on the screen was accurate.

This immersive audio experience is helped by the excellent implementation and performance of realme's ANC circuitry. With a proper ear seal and the lightweight and comfortable fit of the A3s, you can really lose yourself in the content you are consuming.

As a work device, the A3s gives excellent value too. Again with ANC activated, my voice came in clean and clear during numerous discussions on Zoom and MS Teams. Of course, the clarity gets jacked up without ANC.

Realme says their current ANC tech is an industry leader. With 42dB noise cancellation and a dual microphone set-up, one for feedforward and another for feedback. All of these look good on paper but based on my experience with the A3s, I would not contest this.

Personally, I prefer TWSs that come with an app simply because it allows me to customize the sound and controls. It also simplifies firmware updates. Updates that can activate additional features and even extend battery life.

The realme Link app packs a ton of features that allow you to maximize your A3s. From the app, you can easily select between ANC, Normal, and Transparency modes. A nice plus is the "Wind Noise Reduction" circuit. This was especially useful for me since I have an electric fan next to me when working from home. It works as described, just make sure that there are no other noises in the background.

For music, you can toggle between Bass Boost, Balanced, and Bright. There is also a "Customised Audio Tuning" option. However, before you can use this you need to perform a series of pink noise tests. The app then analyzes the results and gives you a recommended tuning that is saved on the app itself. You can then apply this tuning by activating the Custom feature. In my case, the app gave me my preferred tuning of elevated mids and highs. I would have wanted a slightly boosted bass, but it works, and it’s not some useless gimmick. The bottom line is that there is an actual use for this one.

The app also let's you customize the touch controls on both earbuds. Last but not least, a "Game Mode" setting improves latency for hardcore mobile gamers. Low latency plus the A3s audio performance is a killer combination.

Needless to say, the realme Link app is a powerful and necessary tool for the A3s.

Pros - great, fun sound, excellent ANC, good battery life, a feature-packed accompanying app that is actually useful!

Cons - Simple design and form factor (but then again this is subjective)

Our thoughts

Priced at PHP 3,990, we can say that real Buds A3 should be at the top of your list if you're looking to get a pair of TWS earbuds.

The value proposition is just too solid to ignore.