If you remember last August, realme launched the new realme Buds Air 5 together with the realme 11 Pro series. Fortunately, we were given a chance to test the realme Buds Air 5. In this article, I will share with you our review, and let’s see if it is worth buying.
Unboxing Experience
The realme Buds Air 5 arrives with a yellow box that has the branding and image of the wireless earphones. The highlight features are written on the side of the box.
When you open the box, you will immediately see the wireless earphones, then under it are 6 ear tips of different sizes, a USB Type-C charging cable, and a user guide.
Design, Build Quality, and Comfort
I also love the design of this realme Buds Air 5 because it looks very stylish and lightweight. It is available in Deep Sea Blue and Arctic White colorways and our review unit here is the Deep Sea Blue. For me, the Deep Sea Blue colorway looks top-tier, although I haven’t seen the Arctic White in person yet.
The earphones have a glossy finish while its case has a matte finish. Both the earphones and case have good build quality. It includes IPX5 water resistance, so it won’t be damaged if accidentally splashed with sweat, water, or other liquid on it while using it.
I’ve been using this realme Buds Air 5 as my daily driver for the past few days but I never felt any discomfort. It fits my ears very well because I don’t feel that I’m wearing earphones, thanks to its well-designed ear tips. Besides, the fact that the earbuds are light also helped because each earbud only weighs 4.4g.
Sound Quality
As for its sound quality, I don’t have much to say because it sounds really good. The Buds Air 5 has a bigger audio diaphragm with a titanium coating, which allows for stronger and more precise audio quality. From the 10mm audio driver of the previous realme Buds Air 3, it now has a 12.4mm audio driver.
It’s nice to listen to music here because the bass, mid, and treble are also balanced. In addition, it also has a dynamic bass boost feature so if the bass is weak in the audio or video you are listening to, it can boost the bass without affecting the mid and treble.
These earphones also support Dolby Atmos which can deliver even more immersive stereo surround sound. But you can only enable it if you have a realme phone that supports Dolby Atmos.
In terms of microphone quality, the people I talked to during the calls said that the quality was good. Even when I’m whispering, my voice is clear and loud.
Active Noise Cancellation
Another feature that really impressed me is its 50dB Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) because it becomes very quiet when it is turned on. I can’t even hear my very noisy mechanical keyboard because of its noise cancellation, especially if you set it to Max.
Yes, you can change the noise cancellation level depending on the environment or what you prefer. You can set it to Mild if you are in quieter places like in your home or office, Moderate if you are in noisy places like streets and malls, and Max which is ideal if you are in very noisy places like airplanes and trains. Apart from those, it also features Smart Adaptive Noise Cancellation that automatically reduces noise based on your surroundings.
It also has two noise control modes which are noise cancellation and transparency. Like I said above, the noise cancellation eliminates unwanted sound or noise, then the transparency mode allows you to hear outside noise. But of course, you can also turn off any of the noise control so that you will only hear the original audio effects plus the battery life will be even longer.
It also boasts of its 4,000Hz Ultra-Wide Band Noise Cancellation that can give you an excellent music listening experience.
Additionally, even its microphone has noise cancellation. It features 6-Mic Call Noise Cancellation that basically cancels external noise like wind noise or other unnecessary ambient noise and then it enhances your voice, which is why I said earlier that it’s still loud and clear even if I’m just whispering in a call.
Connectivity and Control
When it comes to connectivity, it has Bluetooth 5.3 support that allows a more stable connection and less latency. Because of that, the Bluetooth-transmitted audio is compatible with A2DP, HFP, and SPP.
It is also very easy and quick to pair and connect to the device because it supports Google Fast Pair so it can detect and connect to your phone instantly.
When you are gaming, you may also enjoy low latency because it supports 45ms Super Low latency that can be achieved by activating Gaming Mode. This will allow a nearly perfect sync of audio when gaming. When it’s not activated, realme says the latency is 250ms.
For controls, It’s also very easy to play and pause, next track, or switch noise control mode because it has Intelligent Touch Control. You can even change the action with each gesture because it is customizable via the realme Link app.
Speaking of the realme Link app, this app allows you to personalize your settings not only the gesture but also the noise control, sound effects, and other settings like Game mode and earbud fit test.
Battery
It also has a long battery life because it can last up to 38 hours. According to realme, each earbud has a 43mAh battery capacity that can last up to 7 hours when normal mode and 4.5 hours when the noise cancellation or transparency mode is turned on.
If the charging case is included, when it is only in normal mode it can reach up to 38 hours and then up to 22 hours with the noise cancellation on.
As for the charging time, a 10-minute charge of the earbuds in the case can deliver up to 7 hours of total playback time (if at 50% volume and ANC turned off). The earbuds can be fully charged for about 1 hour in their charging case. Then it will take 2 hours if you fully charge the charging case that has the earbuds in it.
Conclusion
This new realme Buds Air 5 is one of the best wireless earbuds for its price. Even if it’s affordable, it can deliver 50dB Active Noise Cancellation, 6-Mic Call Noise Cancellation, and 4000Hz Ultra-Wide Band Noise Cancellation. Aside from superior noise canceling features, listening to music with this earphones is another level because of its 12.4mm Audio Driver. It’s perfect for people out there who love to listen to music anywhere. This realme Buds Air 5 is really worth buying because it can offer a lot of good features as we mentioned above.
realme Buds Air 5 Specifications
- Driver: 12.4mm Audio Driver
- Frequency Response: 20Hz-20KHz
- Microphone: 3pcs per side
- Battery: 460mAh (charging case), 43mAh (per earbud)
- Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.3, 10m wireless range
- Noise Reduction: 50dB Active Noise Cancellation 2.0, 4000Hz Ultra-Wide Band Noise Cancellation, Smart Adaptive Noise Cancellation, 6-Mic Call Noise Cancellation
- Colorways: Deep Sea Blue, Arctic White
- Weight: 4.4±0.2g (earbuds), 36.7±1g
- Others: IPX5 water resistance, Type-C port, voice assistant support, Google Fast Pair
Price and Availability
Buds Air 5 – PHP 3,499 | Shopee link | Lazada link
You can now buy the realme Buds Air 5 in any realme store nationwide as well as in realme’s official store on Shopee and Lazada for only PHP 3,499.
