Design and Comfort
The Realme Buds Q are built completely out of polycarbonate and the design is inspired by pebbles or cobbles and hence the rounded finish all over. We like the design on the Realme Buds Q since there aren’t any sharp edges or corners. The way it is designed makes the case look smaller than it actually is and it’s also easy to pocket. The Realme Buds Q also manages to be sturdy and there’s not a lot of wiggle at the hinge when opening or closing the lid. Moving on to the buds themselves, the cobble design we talked about earlier continues here too. The ear tips are angled and have a yellow accent that gives it a nice touch. The earbuds attach magnetically inside the case and start charging automatically. The earbuds are small and hence feel comfortable even when worn for longer durations. The fit is nice and tight and they don’t seem like they will fall off easily even while exercising.
Speaking about exercise, the Realme Buds Q are IPX4 rated which means they’re sweat resistant. One aspect about the fit of the Realme Buds Q that we really like is that it sits almost flush with your ear and does not jut out too much. Going back to the case, there is a small LED that indicates the battery level.
Sound Quality
In terms of sound quality, we had two different experiences. Right out of the box, the Realme Buds Q sound very bass-heavy because of which the higher frequencies go for a toss and the vocals also sound slightly muffled. However, if you manage to tweak the equalizer using a third-party app like Wavelet, you can bring down the bass levels and control the overall sound signature, and then that’s when the Realme Buds Q start to shine. With a custom EQ, the vocals sounded much better and the instrument separation as well is very good. The good soundstage also makes the Realme Buds Q the best sounding TWS earphones under the price tag of Rs. 2,000. They get ample loud as well which when combined with the in-ear design provides good isolation. If your primary use case is to make calls, the Realme Buds Q are slightly above average and if there’s a lot of environmental noise, the other party will also be able to hear it.
Functionality
The Realme Buds Q have capacitive touch controls on the face of each earbud which can be used to play/pause music, answer calls, skip tracks, trigger the gaming mode, etc. These controls can be customized using the Realme link app. The fact that the Realme Buds Q can be controlled via an app even at this price point is commendable as there’s no such support on the Redmi Earbids S. The touch controls, however, are a hit or miss since the capacitive surface is quite small so you need some getting used to, to the right spot every single time. There’s even a gaming mode on the Realme Buds Q which claims to reduce the latency to 119ms and while they’re still not as reliable as a wired pair of headphones, you can use them for a casual game of PUBG without any issues.
Battery Life
On a single charge, the Realme Buds Q can last anywhere from 3-3.5 hours based on the volume levels you’re listening at. The case can top up it up 4 more times which means you’re looking at approximately 18-20 hours of battery life when you charge the case once. In our usage, we charged the Realme Buds Q just once when we received it five days back and it’s still going on with the case’s juice. The Realme Buds Q charge through a micro-USB port on the rear and take about 2 hours to charge completely.
Verdict
The Realme Buds Q have a nice and subtle design, they’re comfortable, the sound quality is good (provided you use a custom EQ), and the battery life is also best in class. If you listen to music with a lot of bass instruments, you’re going to like them even more. For a price of Rs. 1,999, there aren’t any major flaws in the Realme Buds Q except for the fact that call quality isn’t the best. The Realme buds Q are the new go-to pair of TWS earphones under Rs. 2,000.
