Realme Buds T200 Review: Plenty of audio bang & some premium touches for not too many bucks

This is the best time to get on the truly wireless earbuds (TWS) bandwagon, with the market being flooded with good-quality entry-level TWS options. Recent additions to this list are the Realme Buds T200. Initially launched at a price of Rs. 1,999, the buds are now available at a discounted price of Rs. 1,599 on various platforms. And they bring along a number of fancy features, including Dynamic Audio, ANC, and IP55 dust and water resistance. But even with these features, do the buds have a chance of making their presence felt in a very crowded market?

Realme Buds T200 Design: Green looks that might make some turn green with envy…or not!

We received the Realme Buds T200 in Neon Green color, which, in our opinion, is the least subtle and the most flashy color present in the lineup – there are three more (Mystic Black/Grey, Snow White, and our favorite, Dreamy Purple). The buds are also neon green. It is a color that will definitely turn heads, but we cannot confidently say that the heads that turn will always nod in approval. The inside of the case offers some relief from all the neon thanks to the black innards. Depending on your love for green, these buds are either a sight for sore eyes or stick out like a sore thumb.

Color aside, the Realme Buds T200 stick to a familiar TWS design template. They come in a rectangular case with rounded sides with Realme branding bang on the front. There is a small LED light indicator just under the logo, while a Type C charging port sits at the base, which is flat. The top is flat too, but the sides of the case are rounded, giving it a very comfortable hand-feel. Flip the case open, and you will find the buds vertically placed inside. The buds, too, have a very typical TWS design – a slightly ballooned top with plastic eartips and a small stem attached to the base. The stem has a small indentation to highlight the touch panel.

The case has a slight heft to it but is still light at around 38 grams, while each earbud is about 4.5 grams, which is pretty light too – the case will fit most pockets easily. The case flips open quite easily, even with a single hand, and has a satisfying snap to it. The buds fit snugly in our ears, and as they are light and comfortable enough, we could easily wear them for 3-4 hours at a time. There are three different-sized eartips in the package, so one can choose the one that suits one best.

Both buds and the case come with a glossy finish, which is quite prone to scratches – our case picked up a number of tiny scratches within a week of use. The Buds T200 are all plastic– both case and the buds – but bring an IP55 rating, making them dust and water resistant and good enough for runs and gym sessions. Overall, the design of the Buds T200 is nothing unusual or exceptional. Unless you get the Neon Green, that is.

Realme Buds T200 controls and app: Tappy touch is a smooth operator, but the app needs login

The Buds T200 do not come with a dedicated button for pairing. They support Google Fast Pair, so pairing them can be as easy as opening the case, but in case (pun intended) you are pairing them with a second device or a device that does not support Fast Pair (iPhones do not), the process gets complex. We had to take the buds out of the case, press and hold the command area on the stem of the buds to put the buds in pairing mode, and then select them from the Bluetooth device list on our phones or notebooks. While this works, it is not as smooth or seamless as just pressing the button or simply opening the case near your device to get them in pairing mode. The buds support dual connectivity as well, letting us switch between two paired devices without having to connect/ disconnect one.

The Buds T200 come with touch control panels on the stem. There are three options on both buds: double-tap, triple-tap, and press and hold. Double-tap is for play/pause, triple-tap moves to the next track, and pressing and holding the buds lets us choose between noise control modes. The controls work well, and because there are no single-tap gestures, accidental touches and commands get minimised. They can also be customised through the Realme Link app.

The app is pretty simple and a lot like the Hey Melody app that comes with OnePlus accessories. The app is pretty simple to understand and use. It has four basic presets and the option to customise equalizer settings. There are a number of modes, including Spatial Audio, High definition audio, Volume enhancer, gaming mode, and Mind Flow, which has some calming tunes. The interface is largely clean and does not feel too overwhelming. However, it required us to create a Realme account or log into an existing one to get access, even if we were trying to use the buds with a Realme phone. This can be irritating at a time when one is trying to use the TWS for the first time, especially as most other apps let you use paired buds without logging in to an account.

Realme Buds T200 Performance: Bassy sound, good calls, and LDAC support!

The Realme Buds T200 come with 12.4 mm drivers with Bluetooth 5.4 connectivity. They also bring SBC, AAC, and, at this price, a huge surprise: LDAC codec support. They also deliver a very good audio experience. The default preset is quite impressive and offers audio that is just slightly bass-forward but does not drown out other frequencies, giving us a very bodied audio output. Vocals turn out quite clear as well, and while treble is not as pronounced as the lower frequencies, the output in general is very pleasing. It leans towards being slightly warm, but as we said before, the bass does not overshadow other frequencies. Other presets in the app do make a slight difference, but they do not really leave a strong enough mark – we suggest going to the app and manually setting the EQ to your own personal preference.

One of the biggest highlights of the Buds T200 is that they bring features like ANC and Spatial Audio to the table at a very pocket-friendly price. Mind you, they tend to be more adequate than exceptional in both departments. ANC on the buds does mute out some noise, but can struggle in noisy conditions – we struggled to work with them in a noisy cafe. Transparency mode works very well, though, keeping us aware of our surroundings.
High Definition audio mode enables LDAC support, which does make a significant difference to clarity levels. Spatial audio did not really seem to make a difference, but the gaming latency mode on the buds reduced lag significantly in our gaming sessions, even though the earphones perform well in the gaming department, even in normal mode (the bass helps!).

Call quality on the buds is very impressive as well. We never had any complaints about how we sounded on call and nor did we face any issues in hearing the other person. This is again rather rare at this price point, where call quality is hit or miss.

Realme Buds T200 Battery: Very impressive for the price

Each of the Buds T200 comes with a 58 mAh battery, while the case brings another 530 mAh battery along. Realme claims that we can get about 50 hours worth of listening time without ANC, but this changes dramatically with LDAC+ ANC on. As per Realme, the buds can last 4.5 hours with LDAC audio and ANC, 8 hours with AAC audio and ANC, and 10 hours with AAC and without ANC (phew, we got that without messing up the abbreviations). We managed to get close to six hours during our mixed usage time (we used ANC a lot but not all the time) and at about 70 percent volume. This is quite impressive given the price of the buds. The earbuds can be charged fully in an hour in the case, while the case and the buds take two hours to charge completely. There is support for fast charging, which got us about 5 hours of audio with just 10 minutes of charging. These are good numbers for TWS, especially at this price point.

Realme Buds T200 Review Verdict: A rock-solid budget TWS with some premium touches

With a price of Rs. 1,999 and often retailing at much lower prices, the Realme Buds T200 are an overall impressive pair of TWS. They deliver a well-tuned audio experience with impressive battery life and call quality. They do not do very well in the ANC department, but given that ANC at these prices is of a very basic nature, its very presence is enough to make it a plus point. The buds also bring LDAC codec support, which is rare to see in this price band. The app experience can be a little irritating, but all said and done, the Realme Buds T200 are a solid proposition with no major shortcomings and many plus points – the design is good (choose Neon Green for maximum impact), and their performance is impressive. The Realme Buds T200 are a great option for anyone looking to start their TWS journey on a tight budget.

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