The realme Buds Clip were a surprise in my mailbox after spending some time with the realme GT 8 Pro. Introduced as a perfect pair, I clearly needed to take them on during my review period with the phone. I have to say, even though I was reluctant, my time with the realme Buds Clip was overall positive, and may have changed my mind on the whole “clip” earbuds experience.
Being introduced as a perfect pairing to the smartphone I am using, I was disappointed to see that the realme Buds Clip did not come in the same finish as the GT 8 Pro. The buds are available in Titanium Black or Titanium Gold, neither of which pair well with the Diary White and Urban Blue of the new smartphone line. I’ve never been a fan of gold anything, but alas, this is the device I received, and honestly, in photos, they have a certain premium look.
Just because the gold isn’t my favourite doesn’t mean these earbuds don’t have a great design. With a mix of frosted and glossy finishes across the buds and case, they are quite pretty to look at. And the thing that wins me over with their style is the sprayed matte case, which hides fingerprints. Finally, someone has been listening! We hate fingerprints! It also features IP55 certification, so feel free to sweat, but maybe don’t go swimming.
“My time with the realme Buds Clip was overall positive, and may have changed my mind on the whole ‘clip’ earbuds experience.”
On ear, however, I really wasn’t impressed with the realme Buds Clip aesthetic. As someone who has spent her whole life hiding her ears, these earbuds accentuate them, hanging off the edges of your ears. I feel like I am wearing something out of Star Trek. Luckily, my hair covers my ears, but when I tried them on my husband, he looked rather silly. I don’t think we need extra bulk added to the outside of our ears. The review materials even mentioned adding charms to the realme Buds Clip for added style, but I don’t think that is anywhere near in my wheelhouse.
That being said, I am a bit more timid when it comes to style—I used to hate how I looked in headphones too. The design of the realme Buds Clip offers something no in-ear earbuds do: literally all-day wear without any fatigue. The way these earbuds clip to your outer ear and sit lightly inside, I forgot I was wearing them more than once. They only weigh 5.3g each, so it makes sense.
During a constant 4-hour wearing session, I never needed to adjust them, and even while moving around, they didn’t budge in my ears. The best part is that they have that security on my ear without even feeling that they are there at all. The realme Buds Clip are the most comfortable earbuds I own, and it’s not even close. Usually, as a woman, I am sacrificing comfort for fashion, but here I might just be sacrificing fashion for comfort.
My worry about the way the buds sat in my ear is that the sound would be fainter than with standard earbuds. I am very surprised to report that even though the realme Buds Clip earbuds are not in-ear, the sound is still powerful. Of course, these are not meant to supply any Active Noise Cancellation; in fact, the complete opposite. The Buds Clip consider being able to hear the world around you a feature. Working from home, I could have music or videos playing for work, but still be able to hear my family if they needed anything.
The powerful sound doesn’t just require you to crank your music either, though if you do, those around you can hear it a little. Even on lower volumes, I still found the buds to have a rich sound that didn’t sacrifice quality for its design. I would argue that the realme Buds Clip are a bit bassier by default than other earbuds, but I’d argue that is part of that great sound profile.
There is Bass Boost+ that you can turn on or off in the realme Link app, as well as Dynamic Audio that allows you to adjust frequencies. You can choose your own EQ Mode, Clear Vocals, Natural Balance, Clear Bass and Bass Boost, plus your own custom equalizer if you so choose. You can only adjust it while connected to the app, though, so if you are on another device, you are stuck with what you set it to last.
The app has a few other options, like Game Mode and Spatial Audio. I can’t say I really noticed a difference with either enabled, however. MindFlow Mode can be found within the app as well, which plays various relaxing sounds like white noise, storms, etc. An unnecessary but nice addition. There is a section for AI-translate here, but it only translated to text in the app, and I never heard anything in the buds, even though I was wearing them and in the section of the app dedicated to them. The translation was fairly inaccurate, too. It feels like trendy features were added just to keep up with other brands, but never perfected.
You can also turn on dual-device connection in the realme Link app, which seems strange, having to be toggled on. Most devices just do this by default. It is important to note that you can really only hear calls while connected to two devices. I was not able to listen to music on my PC and hear a game on my phone, or the other way around. The app also tells you how long you’ve listened to each earbud and the “Find My Earbuds” feature, which plays a ping so you can find them. Lots going on in the app, some useful, some not so much.
“The realme Buds Clip are the most comfortable earbuds I own, and it’s not even close.”
On board controls rarely impress me on earbuds, with double and triple taps often causing problems. Sadly, the realme Buds Clip are in the same boat. With only the option for double or triple taps, no singles, it was very rare that I was able to get the buds to do what I wanted. For three taps to reject a call, I would never dare try; it is too likely to fail and accidentally answer instead. You can change what these taps do, but not the number of taps, so if I were you, I wouldn’t even bother.
Luckily, the battery is another place where the realme Buds Clip were able to redeem themselves. Each bud has a 45mAh battery, and the case features a 530mAh battery. In an almost six-hour constant session, the realme Buds Clip were still sitting at 40% battery. That can rival some of the most expensive earbuds out there today. The review kid boasted seven hours, but I was way ahead of that. The case itself offers another 36 hours, and placing the buds inside it for just 15 minutes brought them from 40% to 80%. I am thrilled with the battery here.
The realme Buds Clip seem to be trying to meet a bunch of needs that aren’t really necessary. What we need in earbuds is long-term comfort and great sound; the rest is just extra. If they hadn’t tried to cram a bunch of extra features into the realme Buds Clip, they would have had something near perfect, since style is subjective.
The price has not officially been announced at the time of writing, and will be revealed at realme’s launch event, but I did find them listed on AliExpress for under $100. If this is even close to correct, I would urge you to purchase a pair. The realme Buds Clip will be my earbuds going forward, so long as I am not in a situation that requires ANC, like sleeping on a plane. I might even use the MindFlow Mode while trying to work. There is a lot that works with these earbuds, even if there are some things that just don’t.
