realme Buds Air 8 Review – Budget Buds with Big Sound and ANC

Launched alongside the realme 16 Pro and the realme Pad 3, the realme Buds Air 8 wireless earbuds pack an exceptional array of features that would give higher priced earbuds a run for their money. 

realme Buds Air 8 review – Build and Design

Out of the box, the realme Buds Air 8 packs a minimum of extra kit that consists of a smaller and larger pair of ear tips and a medium pair of ear tips preinstalled on the earbuds. Oddly, they have omitted the usual charging cable that is typically issued with most earbuds.

Like the realme 16 Pro, the realme Buds Air 8 also enjoys an aesthetic revamp by the renowned Naoto Fukasawa to lend it a more premium look. The charging case itself uses what they refer to as an ‘Urban Wild’ aesthetic with our realme Buds Air 8 review sample coming in a shade of Master Grey. This works out to a brushed metal finish all around with a matte textured top lid emblazoned with the realme wordmark. 

At first blush, the charging case looks rather premium though its polycarbonate construction is apparent when held. The rear of the case has a USB-C port and the design lacks wireless charging capabilities though at this price point, it’s typically not an expected feature. The front has a single LED indicator light along with a notch to allow for easy one-handed opening. While it does feel plasticky, overall build quality is sturdy especially seeing its modest RM299 price point.

Popping the case open reveals the earbuds that feature the usual stem-shaped stems for control and a bulbous ear piece that terminates in a pair of swappable silicone ear tips, all of which come in the same grey finish save for the control surface which comes in a contrasting lighter gunmetal grey. Unfortunately, the finish looks rather plasticky though this is not a deal breaker as odds are that most people won’t notice it especially when it is stuck in your ear.

Belying its plasticky looks, the earbuds feature an IP55 dust and splash resistant finish which lets it survive a splash or two of water, sweat and a workout in the gym.  Where the realme Buds Air 8 impresses is what it has under the hood.

Each earbud packs an 11mm driver paired with a 6mm tweeter that utilises an N52 magnet that offers a stronger magnetic field than stock designs for brighter treble. On paper, the earbuds support the usual  SBC and AAC codecs as well as an optional Low Latency High Definition Codec (LHDC) 5.0  rated for Hi-Res Audio with up to a 96 kHz sample rate and up to 1,000 kbps transmission speed.

On paper, the earbuds even feature optional Spatial Audio capabilities that attempt to expand the audio beyond the usual left-right stereo into a more immersive 3D-like listening experience.

Each earbud also features three microphones that offer up to 55dB of active noise cancellation and a 62mAH cell rated for up to 8 hours of battery life with active noise cancellation on. The charging case has a 530mAh cell rated to offer up to 30 hours of battery life with ANC on. On average, 55dB of noise. The earbuds also  feature Google Gemini support to tackle general queries on weather, trivia and the like along with face-to-face as well as live translation support.

Realme Buds Air 8 Review – Setup and Performance

Getting it up and running is similar to the majority of other Bluetooth earbuds and it paired easily with a realme 16 Pro as well as the realme Pad 3 test review sample we have in for testing. It was also able to pair up with a Windows PC via Swift Pair support with realme stating that the earbuds support seamless switching with up to 3 devices at a time.

Getting about is via a series of taps on the flat control surfaces on each earbud with a double tap to play or pause music as well as end calls. A triple press lets you move to the next song while a press and hold gesture lets you swap between transparency and noise cancellation mode and to also reject calls. 

To gain access to its higher functions and some level of customisation, you’ll have to download the  realme Link app off the Google Play store. The realme Link app lets you customise these controls to some degree and allow you to add volume up and volume down controls to your setup for convenience.

It also allows access to many of the more powerful features available on the Buds Air 8 that are disabled by default out of the box and that require you to manually toggle them on. Among them include the option to activate Spatial Audio and audio playback in LHDC 5.0. The app also lets you create your own custom equaliser settings or select from a smattering of predefined ones.

The most unusual and arguably essential feature the app gives access to is its MindFlow mode that lets you listen to a selection of white noise. This was seen a few years back on the OnePlus Buds Pro 2 that we tested several years back but this time around they’ve downgraded it somewhat. 

Unlike the Buds Pro 2 which stored a copy of the white noise onto the earbuds so you don’t necessarily need to have it paired to a phone and can use it as a white noise generator, the version seen in our realme Buds Air 8 review sample needs the realme Link app for it to work.

What’s worse is that the white noise tracks aren’t as serene as they were before with bizarre background noises like footsteps, wooden floorboards creaking and crows cawing which ruins the immersion and also makes the track looping very obvious.

When put to the test, our realme Buds Air 8 review sample with its dual drivers proved surprisingly capable, especially considering its price point. On default settings with LHDC 5.0 and Spatial Audio disabled, the earbuds delivered decent detail, but the soundstage felt somewhat constrained and bass was underwhelming, while treble remained crisp and clear.

With some patience and custom equaliser tweaking, you can achieve noticeably better results. Once adjusted, Bear McCreary’s Prelude to War sounds more engaging, with its taiko drums gaining much-needed punch compared to the muted presentation on default settings. Vocals, such as in Aerosmith’s I Don’t Wanna Miss A Thing, also come through clearer and more balanced.

If you mainly listen to mainstream music and aren’t overly focused on maximising bass, the realme Buds Air 8’s sound profile is more than sufficient for everyday use.

The ANC was respectable, with our realme Buds Air 8 review sample competently quelling the background noise on a full train on the daily commute though a particularly loud couple a few seats away were still rather audible. It was also able to quell most of the street noise when strolling along downtown Bukit Bintang at noon though a high pitched busker managed to make themselves heard. While it doesn’t offer the best ANC on test, it does rather well for its price point.

In terms of battery life, the earbuds are able to offer a decent 5 or so hours of playback with ANC on though if you are particularly frugal and disable ANC and eschew the more demanding options like LHDC playback, you’re able to eke out close to 8 hours of music playback.

In practical terms, you’re looking at a midday top-up in the office after using it on the commute for the return trip home. Of note is that realme vouches that the battery will retain 80% of its original capacity after 1,000 charge cycles which ensures that it lasts a good couple of years of regular use.

Should you buy the realme Buds Air 8?

The realme Buds Air 8 is a surprisingly capable pair of wireless earbuds for what you pay for, offering modest active noise cancellation, fair battery life and decent sound performance thanks to its dual drivers.

It does need some tuning for best results and some of its features don’t seem fully thought through but it is otherwise a solid budget choice.

Realme Buds Air 8 Review – Specifications
Price RM299
Drivers 11+6mm dual drivers w/ 55dB noise cancellation
Microphones 6 (3 Per earbud)
Connectivity Bluetooth 5.4 w/ SBC/AAC/LHDC
Battery 8 hours / 62mAh (ANC on), 30 hours ANC on/ 58 hours ANC off; 530mAh (with charging case)

realme Buds Air 8 review sample courtesy of realme Malaysia. To purchase the realme Buds Air 8 please visit https://www.realme.com/my/more-products/realme-buds-air-8