Realme’s latest flagship wireless earbuds pack almost every high-end feature you’d want from a pair of TWS buds in 2024. The Buds Air6 Pro feature dual drivers, active noise cancellation (ANC) rated up to 50dB, and LDAC support for high-bitrate streaming.
Add in dual device pairing, 360 spatial audio, and an IP55 rating and you have a great pair of earbuds. All of this is wrapped in a sleek case that, combined with the buds, gives you up to 40 hours of playtime.
Realme Buds Air6 Pro
€89 at Amazon DE $99.99 at Amazon US
But how do the Buds Air6 Pro stack up against their key competitors, and are they worth the €89 / $100 price tag?
design
You’ll be hard-pressed to find any major design differences between the Buds Air 6 Pro and the Buds Air 5 Pro. The case and the buds have the same dimensions and shape as before, but you get two new colour options.
Our review unit has the liquid metal colour that Realme calls Titanium Twilight. It has a mirror-like finish that gets dull quickly, but it is also a handy little pocket mirror that you can carry around anywhere.
The case is compact enough to fit into my jeans pocket, and its oval shape is perfect for small pockets in your bag, jacket, or other clothing.
The stem of the Buds Air6 Pro also has a shiny titanium look, while the actual part that goes into your ears is a sleek dark gray color, similar to the “Nardo Gray” color option you’ll see on Audi cars.
Both the buds and their case feel lightweight which is always a good thing when it comes to wireless earbuds, especially if you plan on wearing them for long periods of time. Realme says the total weight of the buds and case is 47 grams and each earbud weighs just 4.5 grams.
The light weight of the buds is also paired with a great in-ear fit. I’ve been using the Buds Air6 Pro with the default size M silicone tips, and I didn’t experience any discomfort or accidental drops, even during runs and gym sessions. The upper part of the buds and their curvature make for a very comfortable fit in my case, but you should always try them out first if you get the chance.
Each earbud also has 3 microphones and touch controls. The buds are also IP55-rated against water splashes and dust. The retail package includes a USB-C cable and replacement silicone ear tips in small and large sizes.
Features and companion app
The Realme Buds Air6 Pro has a dual-driver approach with an 11mm dynamic bass driver and a 6mm planar tweeter. The advantage of having dual drivers is that the 11mm woofer has to deal with the low and mid frequencies while the tweeters focus on the high range frequencies leading to a more detailed sound output.
You get support for the legacy SBC and AAC codecs, as well as the high-bitrate LDAC version on supported streaming platforms like Tidal HiFi, Amazon Music Unlimited, and Deezer Premium.
The Buds Air6 Pro connects via Bluetooth 5.3 with dual device pairing, Google Fast Pair, and 55ms low latency mode.
You also get Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) rated up to 50dB and 4,000Hz frequency, and a dedicated noise-cancelling chip. The ANC is balanced with call noise cancellation, which claims to reduce ambient noise and deliver optimal voice pickup during calls. Realme has also added its D-Wind technology to help make calls in windy environments.
The Realme Link app offers a personalised audio algorithm with a tailor-made sound profile based on your hearing after a short five-minute hearing test. The app also brings controls for ANC intensity along with four noise cancellation profiles, a six-band EQ to tweak the sound output and the option to save your custom presets. You also get a bass booster slider and a Mindflow mode along with eleven modes for white noise.
Realme’s 360 Spatial Audio mimics a surround sound experience on supported content and completes the impressive feature set on the Buds Air6 Pro. As far as touch controls go, you can remap double and triple taps as well as the touch-to-hold gesture on each earbud, but there’s no way to incorporate volume controls, which is unfortunate.
The Buds Air6 Pro support in-ear detection, which pauses media as soon as you remove both earbuds from your ears and resumes playback when they are reinserted.
Display and sound quality
The Buds Air6 Pro deliver vibrant sound with a bright treble and strong bass out of the box. Depending on your preferences, you can tune the frequency response through the EQ tool of the Realme LInk app.
If you like that extra oomph in your music, Realme’s Dynamic Bass Boost feature is perfect for you as it automatically boosts the bass with its dedicated algorithm.
Once calibrated to our liking, the Buds Air6 Pro delivered great sound with ample detail and great separation between different sound frequencies. The mids came out balanced with vocals and instruments sounding just right, while the high treble was well-tuned as well. These buds also get quite loud.
The dual device pairing feature works almost flawlessly. The connection was solid and pairing was almost instant. There was a noticeable delay when switching between audio sources from my laptop and phone, and I had to pause media on one device and then start on the other manually, but this limitation is not associated with the buds.
Incoming calls were easily transferred to my phone while listening to music on the laptop, which is a great feature and not always available even on more expensive earbuds. We tested the Buds Air6 Pro with an iPhone 15 Pro and MacBook Pro 14. Connectivity was great during the review period and I didn’t experience any disconnections even when I was away from my audio source.
The ANC on the Buds Air6 Pro is great and suppresses a significant portion of background noise. This is probably due to the great fit for my specific ear shape and the six microphones spread across both earbuds.
As is often the case, the Transparency mode failed to impress, as it introduced a hiss-like sound that made voices sound unnatural.
The touch controls worked well, but I missed the volume controls on the buds. I would also have liked if the stems were touch-sensitive instead of just touching the top parts of the buds.
Call quality is great with the Buds Air6 Pro. People reported clear reception of my voice in all scenarios, even on busy streets with car traffic passing by. In-ear detection worked as expected, pausing and resuming media as soon as I removed or put the buds back in my ear.
battery life
The Realme Buds Air6 Pro is rated for 10 hours of battery life from the buds with ANC turned off, while the case extends the total battery life to 40 hours. In our usage, we got up to 7 hours from the buds with ANC turned on and an additional four 0-100% charges from the case. It takes about two hours to fully recharge the buds and the USB-C charging case.
Decision
The Realme Buds Air6 Pro come with high-end features like dual-drivers, LDAC support, and excellent ANC. All of this comes with great sound and a price tag of just under €90/$100. This price is a bit high as Realme’s Buds Air5 Pro match the Buds Air6 Pro in all categories, while competitors like the CMF Buds 2 Pro come with almost identical specifications at a 30% lower starting price.
The Buds Air6 Pro tick a lot of boxes by offering a great in-ear fit, dual device pairing, and customisable EQ that lets you fine-tune them to your liking. They might not be the best value at the moment, but we’re already seeing discounts here and there, so we can definitely recommend the Buds Air6 Pro to those looking for earbuds with a premium design, rich feature set, and good battery capacity.
