With the holidays (and holiday sales) upon us, it’s probably the best time to buy new devices. The challenge is finding the best one for your budget. When doing a quick search for earbuds, for example, you’ll easily get a hundred results, making it both exciting and confusing.
But if there’s any consolation, the intense competition, especially in the budget segment, has driven manufacturers to pack more features unlike a few years ago when you can’t buy a decent-sounding one for less than Php5,000.
Now they come with lots of appealing features like longer battery life, nicer design, better fit, and active noise cancellation feature.
This week we’ll be checking out realme’s Buds Q2s.
DEVOUR
Love that Bass
Good sound quality overall
Long battery life
Comfy fit
Affordable price
DISLIKE
Call quality could be improved
As the brand’s latest True Wireless Stereo (TWS) offering, the realme Buds Q2s promises to let you #GroveAllDayLong with its 30-Hour Total Playback time. Other key features include a 10mm Bass Boost Driver with Dolby Atmos Support; an 88ms Super Low Latency; an IPX4 Water Resistance, Environmental Noise Cancellation (ENC), a stylish Spacecraft Voyaging Case Design and a very attractive price tag of just PHP 1,490
So can these budget buds satisfy your inner Technivore?
I must admit, even I get confused with all the earphones and earbuds that are sent to us for review. So it helps that the realme buds Q2s has a transparent case which makes them easily identifiable from our stash.
UNBOXING: WHAT’S IN THE BOX
Let’s start with what’s inside the box! The realme Buds Q2s comes in a white retail box. On the front is a render of the earbuds with the branding. On the sides are some of the highlight features and printed on the back is the model number, customer care information, serial number a QR code that directs you to the realme environmental label information website.
Opening the box, there’s the realme Buds Q2s unit inside the charging case. It also includes a Type-C charging cable, two pairs of silicone tips (completing the S,M,L tips), and a user manual.
DESIGN: As soon as I opened the box, and saw the Realme Buds Q2s charging case, I was impressed by how unique it looks. It comes in a pebble-shaped case with a transparent lid on its top and a matte finish. It is available in Paper Green, Black and Paper White, which is the unit we have. The white I think is the safest bet to get if you are gifting it out, but personally I’d pick the green one as the best color option followed by the Night Black variant.
For those who are into sci-fi, the transparent futuristic arc-shaped case will likely remind you of an image of a spacecraft traveling through outer space, or one of those escape pods. It’s the first transparent case design I’ve seen and I won’t be surprised if other brands will come out with their versions. Its actually one of the simplests reasons to get the Buds Q2s if you are looking for something unique. My only complaint esp with the white one is that its prone to fingerprints and looks like it would easily be scratched.
The clear lid also seems to be of average quality and might break easily so I suggest putting it in a small pouch instead of just slipping them in your jeans pocket.
Due to the transparent lid on the top, you can see the buds and Realme branding without opening the case. Again I like the way it looks but let’s see how it holds out after a few drops.
The realme Buds Q2s has the standard USB Type-C for a hassle-free experience when being brought along with other devices that also support the same type of port.
The realme Buds Q2s carries the same design principle of its other Q siblings, the Buds Q2 Neo and Buds Q2. If you’ve been reading our other reviews, you, know I prefer this oval type of earbuds which have interchangeable eartips, because they are fit better and more secure in my ear. I am impressed with perfect fit of Realme Buds Q2s and it didn’t fall even while I was walking or brisk walking (I don’t run so I haven’t tried them while doing faster movements.)
It’s also worth noting that it has IPX4-rated water/sweat resistance so you can definitely use it while doing exercises or jogging.
The earbuds are quite lightweight weighing just 4 grams and are very comfy to wear. I’ve worn it for more than 3 hours straight and I barely needed to readjust their position and without any kind of discomfort.
Connecting with the realme Buds Q2s was very quick. You just open the case lid and the earbuds automatically go into pairing mode and you can connect it to your device via bluetooth. The device comes with Bluetooth 5.2 support that provides a solid connection range of up to 10 meters and makes the pairing process super quick and easy. To access even more options, download the realme Link app support which is available on both Google Play Store and App store.
With the realme Link app you can customize and control the features of the earbuds. The app also displays the battery percentage of both the buds and the case. You can also switch on the low latency mode or download firmware updates via the app to keep your Buds Q2 up to date.
AUDIO QUALITY: The realme Buds Q2s features a 10mm Dynamic Bass Boost Driver with Dolby Atmos Support that allows for a more immersive audio experience. Dolby Atmos expands existing surround sound systems by adding height channels, allowing sounds to be interpreted as three-dimensional objects. You can also choose matching ambient and scene sound effects according to different usage scenarios giving that “cinematic experience.”
The realme Buds Q2s also comes with an Environmental Noise Cancellation (ENC) which allows for emission of unwanted noise by separating background voices and noises in real-time via algorithms and the use of DNN (Deep Neural Network).
Realme’s audio line has often lived up to its promise and the Buds Q2s’ delivers an engaging listening experience whether you are watching movies or listening to music. Combine that with the Bass Boost+ algorithm and its like being transported right in the middle of the club dance floor—sometimes even at a spot that’s real close to the booming speakers. This is because in some tunes the bass tends to be quite heavy that you really feel the punch overpowering the mids and highs. But if bass is really what you are going for then the Buds Q2s will not disappoint. You might want to keep the volume at 90% volume to limit the distortion.
Ever experienced watching a movie and the audio is not in sync with the video? Well, you won’t have that problem with the realme Buds Q2s because it has a 88ms Super Low Latency. The dedicated gaming mode translates to a smoother experience with less lag time on audio-to-video sync when you are watching a movie or playing games.
The Instant Connection with Bluetooth 5.2 and 10m Connectivity Range of the realme Buds Q2s likewise guarantees better connectivity and low power consumption even when leaving the buds as far as 10 meters from your source device.
Call quality on the other hand is also ok although the mic quality is what you’d expect from this price range. On some calls, the person on the other line said they couldn’t hear me clearly even with the AI ENC cancellation technology support. So its best to avoid making or taking calls when in very noisy places or when with a large crowd.
BATTERY LIFE: I’ve been testing the realme Buds Q2s for more than two weeks now I’d say it pretty much lived up to its claim of seven hours of single playback time. True to its tagline, the realme Buds Q2s definitely lived up to its promise of letting you groove all day long. The 480mAh large battery gives you a total of 30 Hours Total Playback with the charging case and a standby time of up to 60 hours. A 10 minute charge is enough for 3hour playtime while total charging time takes over two hours.
FINAL WORD: The realme Buds Q2s is a good option for those who wants to spend a limited budget on their earbuds. The buds fit quite comfortably, the sound quality is as good or even better than other similar buds in its price range and the long battery life, low latency gaming and realme link support are additional bonuses. I do like the transparent case and I’m willing to see future buds with the same case design although I’m still concerned about the quality and the OC in me fears it’ll easily be scratched. Call quality could still be improved, but overall these are a pair of earbuds that will satisfy your budget bass loving Technivore.
