Realme Buds Air 3 Review: Solid all-rounder at Rs. 3999

tech.hindustantimes.com:

I still remember the day when I first got to saw the original Realme Buds Air back in late 2019. TWS earbuds had become common in those days but nothing in the sub- ₹5,000 segment could offer the same experience as the Apple AirPods, which was considered the gold standard. The Buds Air looked great and was convenient to wear all-day. It had its fair share of issues though and reliability was one of the biggest concerns. The Buds Air 2 came last year with massive improvements but it wasn’t easily recommendable.

Hence, with the Realme Buds Air 3, expectations were high. Us critics simply wanted two things in the Buds Air 3 – good sound and better reliability. After spending over a week with it, I can assure Realme has done that and then some, making the Buds Air 3 the contender of being the best in its class. At Rs. 3,999, it is still affordable too.

Realme likes to copy Apple’s product designs and similar to its ancestor, the Buds Air 3 resembles the Apple AirPods Pro (at least from the case). You see the same pebble shaped case design and this time, there is a stylized “Realme logo” on top of it. The glossy white look nice but as with all earbuds cases, it picks up scratches easily. Realme still retains the pairing button on the side, and you have your USB-C port for charging. Sadly, Realme still skimps on the wireless charging feature.

Open the lid and you see the two earbuds waiting to be taken out. The weird shape of the buds makes it difficult to pull them out but you could get used to it. The stems are long and the silver accent certainly looks stylish. The silicon eartips help with the ambient isolation but they haven’t been helpful in enhancing the in-ear grip. In fact, with some rigorous jaw movement (laughing,