I’ve been using the realme Buds Air 5 TWS earbuds for over a month now and here are my thoughts on it. Just to let you know my perspective, I have been using the realme buds 2 wired earphone before buying this TWS and the reason I chose this particular one is the 50db ANC.
In brief:
The realme Buds Air 5 TWS sounds really good, the battery lasts 7 hours with ANC turned off and 4-5 hours with ANC turned on, the support for the Realme link app offers a suite of controls, and noise cancellation works great. But sometimes I have to deal with connectivity issues while switching between two devices. If you want an in-depth discussion, you’re welcome to go ahead!
Let’s talk about the design first.
Appearance and notable specs:
The realme Buds Air 5 comes in two color options – Arctic White (with glossy finish) and the one I have is called Deep Sea Blue (in matte as you can see). It weighs only 45 grams. At the bottom of the case, there’s a pairing button that you can use when you pair it for the first time or if you face any connectivity issues. It comes with a small Type-C cable as well.
Specifications:
12.4mm drivers with 50db ANC that are rated to run 7 hours on their own and 38 hours with the case. This product comes with 45-watt ‘ultra-low latency’ if you are interested in gaming. The earbuds support AAC and SBC codecs but not LDAC (suitable for Hi-Res audio).
Let’s talk about a common concern: What if they slip?
They won’t break unless you step on them after dropping.
The realme Buds Air 5 comes with 3 different sizes of ear tips (as usual) and from my usage, they never fall. Yes, they can slip from your fingers, while putting in the case or removing from it. It’s not like they will break if they fall (once the right one slept off from my fingers), they are quite lightweight. You just have to be a bit careful outside if someone steps on it just after you drop it. They don’t fall from the ears (at least never happened to me, they stick tight).
Also in this context, the ear tips are quite grippy on this pair of earbuds. So, you won’t lose the ear tips either (unless you switch between the three options regularly).
Let’s discuss battery life; sound is good anyway
In my personal usage, the earbuds reached 20% after 6.5 hours (my whole night) and recharged fully within my 20 minute break after that. So I could enjoy another super long session. And after at least 4-5 cycles like this, when you finally need to charge the case (the LED on the case blinks red when you open it and it’s at 20% or less), it takes around one hour to recharge.
Notably, if you use ANC at its maximum capacity, it lasts around 4 hours (I didn’t need it for that long session, it’s my educated guess). You can switch between the ANC strength levels through the Realme Link app. More on the controls below.
Noise Cancellation?
As I have said, ANC (Active Noise Cancellation) was the reason I bought these. Not much can be explained with words about this other than 50db, but here’s something you may be able to imagine. A not-so-smooth journey on a bus, and the only thing I could hear was the horn and a very faint noise of the engine that requires serious attention to notice, if you want. I was on normal volume (what I use indoors) and ANC set to ‘Max’.
In relatively quiet scenarios you can turn down the intensity of ANC, that will save battery. There’s a ‘Smart’ mode for ANC that is set by default, but you may want different results and you can change them from the app.
Let’s talk about the controls
Using the touch area on the earbuds you can control a bunch of options that include but not limited to:
- play/pause media
- change the volume
- Switch between noise cancellation modes
- trigger voice assistant
- trigger game mode
Using ‘Double-tap’, ‘Triple-tap,’ and ‘touch and hold’ on both the left and right ear bud, you can configure the controls to your choice.
With the realme Buds Air 5, you can also switch between 4 different sound modes from the app and you also get the option to create your own by customizing six different frequency bands.
Everything is great, except the connectivity
To begin with, this device does not come with a dual-device connectivity. It means if you want to switch between devices, you’ll need to put the earbuds in the case (disconnecting). Then you will turn off the Bluetooth on the first device and then reopen the case (connecting in the second one). Although, trying to connect on the second device while being connected on the first one also works (kind of). On the first attempt it gets disconnected from the first one and on the second attempt, it connects.
In short, it’s not a smooth experience if you want to switch between devices. Instead, I found myself resorting to sharing a link to the media I’m playing with the device the earbuds are currently connected to.
I faced some connectivity issues
Notably, I’ve encountered connectivity issues with my phone a couple of times, where I had to unpair them from my phone and then pair them again using the pairing button. I found that restarting the phone also works, even without touching the case or the earbuds. So, this could be an issue with my phone, or possibly a compatibility issue between the two. My phone supports Bluetooth 5.1, while the realme Buds Air 5 supports Bluetooth 5.3, so they’re not the same.
But the funny thing is, I never had connectivity issues with my desktop, which connects to the earbuds through the most affordable BT adapter I could find, using BT 4.2, I guess.
Pricing and verdict:
The realme Buds Air 5 is available at Rs. 3,600 here in India at the time of writing. Prices may vary in different regions and over time; for example, it was available for Rs. 3,300 a month ago.
In conclusion, the realme Buds Air 5 offers balanced and well-separated sound, cancels out noise better than most in its range, and looks appealing as well.
