Realme Buds Wireless 2: Fancy noise control, but battery issues remain

 Sound quality has certainly improved, so has the mic, but the earphones leave much to be desired in terms of battery and design

The market is flooded with low-cost Bluetooth earphones with collar bands these days. Such is their appeal that Realme had to go ahead and launch an ultra-low-cost brand, Dizo, so as not to miss out on the opportunity. With this new brand launch, Realme also upgraded its wireless earbuds. When the phone manufacturer launched its first iteration of buds, there were only a few competitors in the space. The stylish design and battery life ensured that Realme stayed ahead of the competition. The company’s new offering seems to build on the previous gains.

Design

One thing that Realme had going in its favor with the first earphones was design. It had made the buds lightweight and attractive. While the company has kept to the color aspect, the design element has been revised. Personally, the earphones have been made to look bulkier. Even though they are still lightweight and ergonomically better than the previous model, the bulky design makes them stand out, and not in a good manner. The buttons are neatly placed on one side and are customizable — that’s a big plus. And, there is a USB-C charging port. The earphones also have a magnetic lock, which stops the music from playing.

Fit

The ergonomics of Realme earphones have certainly improved. The fit is much better than the previous model once you find the right eartip, but changing the eartip, as usual, remains an issue. It takes a lot of patience and perseverance to change the eartips. With the right ear tip, the earphones sit comfortably in your ears for hours and even during intense workouts.

Latency issues are very limited. I did experience some latency in some cases, but it was resolved with regular use. The Realme link app provides options to switch between the active noise cancellation and transparent modes, but this comes out with a lag. There were an avoidable lag in switching among Bass, Dynamic and Bright modes as well. Overall, there were no connectivity problems with smartphones, but there was some issue though with device switching (multiple Bluetooth connections). OnePlus certainly takes the cake in that department.