It is not every day that you come across a skateboard-fall-proof audio device with the necessary features and a price that won’t wound one’s wallet.
For this review, the author unboxes, in words, the realme Q2s–an entry-level audio device with mid-range punch and performance. With skateboarding as a counterpoint, the Q2s is a successful balancing act of performance, function, and price.
Design, construction, and comfort
When you first open the box of the Q2s, you’re greeted with the oval-shaped case, and the earphones peering through the transparent top, and upon closer inspection, you’ll find the LED indicator and USB-C charging ports in the matte-finished underside of the case.
The overall shape and design of the case itself are a far cry in the sea of vertical, rounded rectangle-shaped TWS cases; though whether or not the design is up to your personal preference.
The lid opens and shuts with a satisfying snap, and the joint that connects the lid to the underside feels tough enough to survive regular wear-and-tear. The transparent upper looks as though it’s prone to scratches, and in my three weeks of testing, it did end up with a few small but noticeable scuffs from regular use. The matte underside fared better, with no noticeable scratches in the paint. I’d suggest using a cloth carrying case, or something of the like if the scratches on the transparent upper are a concern.
The earphones themselves are made of the same matte plastic found on the case and have a glossy, almost glass-like finish to their touch controls. They provide a nice break in texture because of their contrast to the matte body and silicone. Scratches on the touch controls were a concern of mine at the beginning, but in my testing, they didn’t scratch at all with regular use.
The earphones feel light but solidly constructed in hand, and even more so when in-ear.
They have a comfortable, but snug seal, which I found to be enough to deal with plenty of external noise, even when outdoors. The Q2s come with three sizes of silicone tips, for different ear canals. I found the medium size they come in stock with was a perfect fit for my ears. They stayed comfortably in my ears even during heavy activities such as skateboarding, or, in more extreme cases, falling off my skateboard.
Pairing and software
Upon opening the case for the first time, the Q2s immediately set themselves to Bluetooth pairing mode. From there you can pair with them from your device’s Bluetooth menu — after which the buds will automatically connect whenever you open up their case.
Adding other devices to pair with was as simple as disconnecting your current connected device, holding both touch controls for a few seconds, and pairing your new device. The buds remember your latest device connection and will prefer to connect to that device the next time you pop them out of the case. Unfortunately, there are no quick controls included for switching between available devices.
realme has some optional software called ‘realme Link’, available on both Android and iOS, to provide additional features and customizations to your Q2s. I consider the software mandatory for a proper experience with them, as it allows you to customize your touch controls, sound profiles, and activate Game Mode. Do note that there isn’t any option yet for volume control through touch controls — though this may be updated through software or firmware of the buds later on.
Without the realme Link app, the earphones default to pretty standard touch controls: double tap to stop, triple tap to move to next/previous songs, and long press for voice assistant activation, while long pressing both earphones activates Game Mode.
Features
The realme Buds Q2s feature 10mm dynamic drivers advertised to provide ample bass in the earphones. They feature no active noise cancellation (ANC), a step down from their predecessor, the Buds Q2. They run Bluetooth 5.2, AAC, and SBC codecs, and have a respectable range of around 10 meters without obstructions, and a little over 5 meters with a wall or ceiling between the buds and the source.
They also feature IPX4 water resistance, meaning they withstand sweat, light rain, or splashes of liquid — making them a good option for TWS earphones for exercise. A step down from the predecessor, which had an IPX5 rating.
Sound and performance
On to the meat of the Buds — their sound. realme advertises powerful bass through their 10 mm drivers — and it delivers. The bass is deep and thumping, which, paired with the tight seal, makes for some really heavy lows. This isn’t, however, always a good thing.
The realme Link app allows you to choose between three sound profiles: Bass Boost+, Balanced, and Bright. The Bass Boost+ mode does exactly as advertised; bringing a big boost to the thump of the lows and bass, without much care to maintain the mids and highs.
Hardcore bassheads may find this to their liking, but it was a bit much for me. On the Balanced profile, the bass is still heavy, but the mids and highs are muddy, and unclear — making the vocals and lead of many songs sound muffled.
On the Bright sound profile, the muddiness from the mids and high are removed, and you still maintain a respectable amount of the bass and lows, but some of the highs can be a little on the sharper side — but very rarely to the point of being outright unpleasant. It’s in bright mode that the instrumentation and detail of songs can really begin to shine. Overall, the soundstage isn’t too wide, but that’s to be expected for earphones at this price range and is something an external equalizer app can help address.
The volume levels on the realme Buds Q2s are exceptional — I’ve never had to go over 50 percent volume, even while skating through busy streets with crowds and vehicles, in part thanks to the seal of the earphones. Even without ANC, the volume and clarity can shine through in those situations.
The low latency works well enough that there isn’t much noticeable lag in audio when watching videos, or streaming content, and Game Mode allows the buds to bring the latency down a solid 88 ms.
As is standard, the Q2s come with an onboard mic for calls. The quality of the mic isn’t anything stellar — it does okay indoors, but has problems with ambient noise spilling into your calls in outdoor environments, even with the featured AI noise cancellation.
Battery
The realme Buds Q2s claim to have an battery life of 7 hours, with an extra 23 hours from the case, for a total of 30 hours of playback.
My experience was exactly as advertised, being able to have a full night’s sleep and wake up to my tracks still playing through the earphones, and then getting through another full day by charging them in the case, for a total of around 26 hours — and they still had some juice left in them. Impressive figures for a pair of budget TWS earphones.
The case takes around 2 hours to fully charge using a USB-C charger. The buds also support fast charging; only needing 10 minutes of charging for 3 hours of playback
Conclusion
Overall, the realme Buds Q2s are a pair of entry-level, and affordable pair of TWS earphones. They are no-nonsense, yet without extra features, at that.
It is a worthy successor to the realme buds Q2, but with a lower price point, and some features stripped off to match their new SRP. Being able to pick one up at an SRP price point of P1490, they provide a good budget option if you absolutely need the savings. Having established its merits for its price and features, it is unfortunately overshadowed by other options only a few hundred pesos away.
