Realme unveiled its latest audio wearable, the Buds Q2, with little fanfare. The true wireless earphones have the same design as the original Buds Q, but they have a better game mode, IPX4 water resistance, a fancy design, and a feature called Environmental Noise Cancellation (ENC). The latter is only useful for phone calls and does not provide the much-desired active noise cancellation.
The Realme Buds Q2 retained some of its predecessor’s impressive features, including a 20-hour total battery life with a 10-minute charging time that adds 2 hours of playback. Unfortunately, the case still has a micro USB port (yes, really). The company also decided to stick with the same tight-fitting 10mm bass boost driver.
The accessory’s single bud weighs only 4.1 grams, which is extremely light in the TWS world. Each of them has a touch panel that allows for gestures such as play/pause, answering calls, and turning on/off Game Mode.
When it comes to Game Mode, Realme has made significant progress. The feature is activated with a long press on both buds at the same time, and while it reduces battery life, the latency is only 88 ms, which is 50% faster than the original Buds Q.
The Environmental Noise Cancellation function is only active during a phone call. An algorithm filters out external noise, which is especially useful in noisy environments such as the supermarket, public transportation, or the workplace. You must rely on the tight fit to provide passive cancellation for the audio you enjoy.
The Realme Buds Q2 can connect almost instantly to any Bluetooth device, though some gestures can be customized using the Realme Link app. They are available in black or blue and are already on the market in Pakistan. In the Asian country, the price is PKR3,999 (down from PKR5,999), which is about $26/€21.
