Realme Buds Air 3 Neo review: Great deal for budget earbuds

Choosing a budget-friendly true wireless earbuds has become quite a difficult task these days, especially with so many options from popular brands playing the game. To stand out and make place for themselves in this tightly packed competitive segment, Realme came up with some really appealing features like longer battery life and much more at a budget friendly price. The new Realme Buds Air 3 Neo was launched recently as an entry-level pair of true wireless earphones. Priced at ₹1,999, the earphones come with ENC, longer battery life, comfy design, Realme Link app support and some really cool features.

The wearables look extremely promising on paper with a good sound quality, call experience, touch controls, connectivity, battery life, ENC and super low latency for gaming. But does it live up to its promises off paper as well? Find out here

Realme Buds Air 3 Neo: Design

Realme Buds Air 3 Neo comes in a general retail box with TWS earbuds, a charging case, a Type-C charging cable, two pairs of silicone tips, and a user manual. The Realme Buds Air 3 looks pretty cool at first glance. It comes in a rounded capsule-shaped case with a matte finish look, a LED light at the rear and a Type-C charging port at the bottom. The top of the case has a translucent plastic build and the buds are partially visible through it. The earbuds’ stem design with a glossy metallic sign makes it look stylish. It is also comfy to wear.

I am highly impressed with the perfect fit of Realme Buds Air 3 Neo earbuds. They are pretty lightweight and super comfy to wear and didn’t fall while I was walking or running. I didn’t feel any kind of discomfort even after wearing it for hours. On top of all it comes with IPX5-rated water/sweat resistance which means use it during exercises or jogging.

Realme Buds Air 3 Neo is launched in 2 colours – Galaxy white and Starry blue and I have received the white one.

Realme Buds Air 3 Neo : Audio performance and Mic quality

Coming to the audio quality of Realme buds Air 3 Neo, the earbuds feature a 10mm dynamic driver equipped with PEEK+TPU polymer composite diaphragm combined with the Bass Boost+ algorithm to deliver a good listening experience. I have played hip hop songs to classical, and Bollywood songs and it delivers a satisfying sound quality. Though the sound gets a little distorted on playing the music at 90% volume, but keeping its price point in view, it can be ignored.

Moreover, the earbuds have a dedicated gaming mode that brings down the latency to 88ms and make the audio experience lag-free and clear. It also supports AAC HD audio codec on Realme Phone.

Now coming to the mic quality, it could have been better. During the calls, the receivers had to struggle to listen to my voice. The company claims AI ENC cancellation technology support, however, I won't recommend it to use in a noisy place or amid a crowd but i didn’t find it that much effective.

Realme Buds Air 3 Neo: Smart features and connectivity

The Relame Buds Air 3 Neo pairs up with Android phones at ease however, I did not test with iOS devices. The earbuds automatically go into pairing mode as soon as you open the charging case.

You just have to switch on your device’s Bluetooth and pair the device. The device features Bluetooth 5.2 support that provides a solid connectivity range of up to 10 meters. Additionally, the Realme Link app support lets you customize and control the features of the earbuds. You can also view the battery percentage of both the buds, however, it doesn’t show the case’s battery percentage. The app also shows firmware updates to keep the buds up to date. You can switch on the low latency mode while playing games.

After the initial pairing, the earphones get automatically connected to the phone by lifting the lid of the charging case. The dual channel transmission works in perfect sync. However, it lacks wear detection technology for automatic play/pause when worn or removed. The most impressive feature is its pretty active touch sensor. You can not only play/pause music or end/ receive calls but can also reduce or increase volume by just tapping on earbuds. You don’t have to do it via phone.

Realme Buds Air 3 Neo: Battery life

Well! Realme Buds Air 3 Neo does offer a great battery life that will keep you on go for hours. I have used it for 6-7 hours a day and it kept going for almost 2 and half days on a single charge. Though the earbuds promise 7 hours of battery life, you can get it charged by just putting it into the case. Its charging case adds almost 2 days of additional battery capacity on a single charge! Isn’t it great?

Realme Buds Air 3 Neo: Verdict

Despite tight competition in budget TWS earbuds space, the Realme Buds Air 3 Neo is a good deal at Rs. 2,000. Though it could have had better mic performance and there is no ANC, you can’t ignore its longer battery life, good app support, fast and stable connectivity, as well as comfortable fit, and most importantly an affordable price tag. The device is not meant for audiophiles, however, it’s best-suited for casual users who need TWS earphones with ENC and love bass more than anything else.

It’s also perfect for budget-conscious gamers.