realme Buds Q review - Surprisingly good sounding for under PHP 1,500 TWS earbuds

realme Buds Q just got officially available in the Philippines along with the realme 7 and realme 7 Pro. 

realme Buds Q in Quite Black colorway

It's no surprise that we are getting the best deals from realme with their latest offerings. Finally, after our team has experienced and played with realme buds Q for almost two weeks without your knowledge, we are now ready to share with you our full review.

Read: realme Buds Q Unboxing and First Impressions

Let's check it out!

Comfort/Isolation

Its silicone ear tips come in three sizes, the medium size fits my ears well

As mentioned, realme Buds Q has silicone ear tips attached to it out of the box. Aside from the build of the earbuds itself, these ear tips contribute a lot to the comfortability.

Superb comfortability!

Even if I tried to shake my head, the earbuds stayed put. Even if I tried jumping and jogging, realme Buds Q felt secure. It has IPX4 water resistance so you don't have to worry frying these earbuds with your sweat while working out. 

I didn't expect it to block the noise around since it has no ANC feature but thanks to the silicone ear tips, they kind of give me a little noise cancellation and it worries me not that I may disturb anyone else.

Charging case face of the realme Buds Q

Overall, the realme Buds Q is comfortable to the ears and can pretty isolate you when you feel like it.

Battery

It has an estimated total battery capacity of 480mAh

Each earbud has 40mAh built-in battery with a large 400mAh battery on the charging case. In total, realme Buds Q has 480mAh of battery capacity.

When you check realme's website, it says it can last up to 20 hours but in reality, the Buds Q can only last up to 4 hours of playback.

There's this tricky thing that I need to note. Even if the buds are fully charged, the charging case is kind of continuously charging them.

This results in the drastic drain of the stored battery on the charging case. I don't know what happens inside but I tried to just leave the buds out of the charging case (as soon as they're fully charged) and just as expected, the charging case didn't drain itself. 

realme Buds Q takes an hour to charge from flat to full. The same way goes for the charging case. 

As mentioned earlier, realme Buds Q does not support Qi wireless charging.

Features

realme Buds Q works independently

If you have been reading my past TWS earbuds reviews, you might know already that I am using my iOS devices every time I review these non-AirPods accessories. 

With the different TWS earbuds that I have tried and tested, I didn't have any issues when it comes to connectivity. However, for the realme Buds Q, I have this little issue when it comes to pairing.

Since the charging case has no pairing/power button, I kind of guessed how to pair these earbuds with my devices. I tried to take it off the charging case and opened the Bluetooth, but the devices don't seem to find the realme Buds Q.

The user guide tells me to take the realme Buds Q out of the box and wait for 15 seconds to pair, but obviously, that didn't work. 

The second option helped me connect the realme Buds Q with both my iPhone and MacBook. You might want to save this for future use: 

How to connect realme Buds Q?

1. Open the Bluetooth on your device.

2. Open the realme Buds Q charging case with the TWS earbuds on it.

3. Press and hold the touch area on both earbuds for 5 seconds.

4. Your device will be prompted when it finds the realme Buds Q.

5. Start & enjoy using your realme Buds Q. 

When the earbuds connect, there's a two-tone drumbeat sound that prompts you or confirms that the Buds Q are paired with your device. 

realme Buds Q also easily recognizes gestures. In case you're wondering where is the "touch area" I am talking about, it's where the "R" logo of realme Buds Q lies.

realme Buds Q arrives in a clean, bright golden-yellow box

In terms of what you can actually do with the touch area, here's a list:

• Double tap either earbud for play/pause.
• Triple tap the left earbud to go back to the previous track.
• Triple tap the right earbud to skip to the next track.
• Press and hold on both earbuds or 2 seconds to toggle Game Mode.

These gestures can be customized using the realme Link app which I haven't tried because the mentioned app is not available in the Apple App Store. 

realme Buds Q also works independently. Even if you remove the other earbuds off of your ear, the remaining earbud will continue to do its job.

Stable connectivity. Period.

Connectivity-wise, after getting through that pairing "issue," the realme Buds Q stays connected even if I go around my house leaving my device in my workroom. Bluetooth lag is nonexistent, and it is very stable.

Call quality is great, too!

It has no ANC both in and out of voice calls, and music.

Audio

These lovely earbuds sound crazy for its price point!

realme Buds Q is equipped with 10mm Dynamic Bass Boost drivers and these are what to blame for its good sound performance. To start off, I am surprised at how the Buds Q delivers audio given its price point. 

For an under PHP 1,500 earbuds, the realme Buds Q's sound quality is CRAZY!

I managed my expectations before trying these earbuds but realme Buds Q totally surprised me! The sound does not get distorted even if I toggle the volume to the maximum level. It has plenty of highs and lows. 

Do not expect the sound quality to be on the level of the higher priced TWS earbuds, but for an under PHP 1,500 earbuds, the realme Buds Q's sound quality is crazy! 

This may not be for an audiophile but it has a more balanced type of sound that is suitable for most listeners.

Pros - Lightweight, comfortable fit, good sound, stylish design, battery capacity

Cons - No ANC, no wireless charging, micro-USB, pairing issue

realme Buds Q Specs

Driver: 10mm Dynamic Bass Boost
Microphone: Yes
Battery: 27mAh (per earbud), 400mAh (charging case)
Sensors: Touch sensors
Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.0, SBC, AAC
Others: IPX4 water resistance, double-tap control, press and hold, touch control customization, micro-USB, Colors: Quite Black, Quite White, Quite Yellow
Dimensions: 19.8 x 17.55 x 22.5 mm (per earbud) 59.8 x 45 x 29.9 mm (charging case)
Weight: 3.6 g (per earbud), 28.2 g (charging case)
Price: PHP 1,490

Verdict

The realme Buds Q is really good given its price point. They are comfortable, the controls are consistent, and above all, the sound is good.

If you have been meaning to buy yourself or someone pretty good earbuds with a budget of less than PHP 1,500, then it would be safe to say that the realme Buds Q might be for you.

At this price point, realme Buds Q is arguably and indeed, surprisingly good sounding for under PHP 1,500 TWS earbuds.

Build/Design - 4

Comfort/Isolation - 4.75

Battery Life - 4

Features - 4.5

Sound - 4.75

Average - 4.4/5

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