Realme Buds T500 Pro review: good sound, great design, ridiculous value

2026 has been weird. On the one hand, you have good smartphones getting pricier this year, and on the other, you have good truly wireless earbuds getting cheaper. It used to be that finding TWS earbuds with good sound quality, ANC, and battery life meant spending upwards of Rs 5,000. But the Realme Buds T500 Pro is changing that narrative. The TWS earbuds offer a lightweight design, a cute, compact candy-box case, 50dB noise cancellation, 12.4mm Hi-Res audio drivers, and up to 56 hours of battery life, all for just Rs 2,799.

Is the Realme Buds T500 Pro design as fun as it looks?

The first thing that catches your attention is the case’s playful design language. Realme has given the earbuds a candy box-inspired rectangular case that looks delightful. Firstly, the flat sides mean you can place it lying down or vertically on a flat surface. Next, the size is wonderfully compact, allowing you to keep it in any pocket without creating an uncomfortable bulge, including the tiny one originally intended for pocket watches. 

The other aspect that’s sure to turn heads is the vibrant Lemon Cola colour variant we received for review. It has a bright yellow outer case and a black inner compartment for the earbuds. It’s the colour you want to choose if you want a splash of colour to show off. The Orange Mint has a silver outer case and an orange inner, while Liquor Chocolate has black on the outside and blue on the inside. These two are for those who prefer more understated options.

The Lemon Cola variant has a plastic build but a vegan-leather-like patterned finish that provides a nice grip and makes it less slippery to hold than a matte-finish case. However, this textured finish is likely to attract dirt from your fingers over time, which would be noticeable on a bright yellow colourway.

The case has Realme branding on the front, with an LED light just below it, and Hi-Res Audio and LHDC inscribed on the back plating, with a Type-C port below. You also attach a lanyard (provided in the box) to the side to style it further.

The earbuds are IP55-rated, so they can withstand light water exposure if you’re out in the rain or sweating during workouts.

Are the Realme Buds T500 Pro comfortable to wear?

The tagline for the Realme T500 Pro is “Nothing Weighs But Music”, which tells you that weight is an important feature here. Indeed, the case and the earbuds are extremely light. The case (including the earbuds) weighs about 50 grams, which is light enough for your pocket and for carrying in your hand with the lanyard. Meanwhile, each earbud weighs about 4.5 grams, making them light enough to wear for a few hours at a stretch before feeling uncomfortable.

The earbuds are equipped with medium-sized silicone ear tips, but you get a pair of small and a pair of large ear tips in the box to help you find the perfect fit. Overall, the Realme T500 Pro earbuds are extremely lightweight and comfortable to use, and the compact case is the cherry on top.

How good is the sound quality on the Realme Buds T500 Pro?

Let’s talk about the sound quality first, because that’s what you’re here for. I tested the earbuds primarily on YouTube Music on the Vivo X300 Ultra. Out of the box, the Realme Buds T500 Pro delivers a typical U-shaped sound on the default Clear Bass mode, with emphasis on bass and treble, leaving the mids slightly recessed, especially in parts of songs where you have the vocals and multiple instruments playing at the same time.

Lana Del Rey’s newest song, “First Light, ” for the upcoming James Bond game, is the best example of this. The song starts with her dreamy vocals, which sound quite clear. But as the song progresses and reaches the chorus, where her vocals and instruments reach a cinematic crescendo, the Realme Buds tend to suppress her voice, boosting everything else around.

I mostly stuck to the Nature Balance preset, as it gave me a more balanced sound profile for rock songs where I don’t want the bass guitar overpowering the vocals and guitars. U2’s latest song, “Scars”, sounded the best in this mode, as it provided a wonderful balance between Bono’s vocals, The Edge’s electric guitar, and Adam Clayton’s bass guitar, without the latter suppressing the former.

In a reggaeton song like NUEVAYoL by Bad Bunny, either the Nature Balance or Clear Bass preset works, with the latter likely the better choice for really enjoying the beats. It also gives a slightly better soundstage than the other presets.

Personally, I wasn’t a fan of the Bass Boost mode, which sounds too boomy and significantly overpowers the mids, and Clear Vocals, which emphasises vocals and drowns out everything else. The latter does work well for podcasts, though.

And while you can enable spatial audio, I wasn’t a fan of how it distorted the sound and, ironically, felt less spacious than when it’s disabled, especially in a space rock song like “Shine On You Crazy Diamond” by Pink Floyd.

All in all, the sound quality from the 12.4mm driver with LHDC enabled will appeal to most buyers. With an emphasis on bass, the earbuds deliver a sweet thump while listening, while keeping the overall sound fairly clean. For its price, I find it hard to fault the sound quality.

Does the 50dB ANC on the Realme Buds T500 Pro actually deliver?

Realme claims 50dB noise cancellation through ANC, and this holds up. The earbuds effectively reduce low-frequency engine noise and train rumbling while listening to songs, creating a more immersive experience. During my metro commute to and from the office, the Realme Buds T500 Pro effectively blocked out announcements and nearby chatter, allowing me to hear my music comfortably. 

The earbuds come with some AI smarts too. Realme claims the T500 Pro analyses you ear shape and wearing fit in real time to dynamically adjust noise cancellation on the go. Now, while it’s hard to test such a claim, I was quite pleased with the overall ANC performance, especially for a pair of TWS earbuds under Rs 3,000.

How do the Realme Buds T500 Pro handle voice calls?

The earbuds feature a 6-mic system (3 per ear) with AI noise reduction to intelligently suppress background noise and ensure clear voice calls. In reality, this works well most of the time, especially indoors. I had no issues whatsoever with indoor calls, which were clear not just for me but for the person on the other end of the line as well.

Outdoor call performance is decent as long as you don’t have strong winds passing by, as that can affect the clarity of your voice to the person you’re talking to.

How is the connectivity and controls on the Realme Buds T500 Pro?

Despite being sub-Rs 3,000 TWS earbuds, the Realme Buds T500 Pro is feature-packed, supporting Bluetooth 6.1, SBC, AAC, and LHDC 5.0 audio codecs, as well as triple-device connection. That’s right, the earbuds can seamlessly switch between three devices, if you’re into that. Personally, I’ve only needed earbuds to switch between my phone and laptop, and it does that just fine. 

You’ll need to download the Realme Link app and, unfortunately, create an account to add the T500 Pro and use a host of features, such as switching between various sound presets, enabling or disabling LHDC and game mode, customising the touch-sensitive buttons on the earbuds, running the earbud fit test, or playing one of the many ambient music under MindFlow, among other things. You’ll also find some AI-powered features in the app under AI Translate, such as a face-to-face translator and live translator.

Speaking of buttons, the top part of the earbuds lets you double-tap, triple-tap, or touch and hold to perform various functions, such as pausing and playing a song, moving to the next track, or switching noise control modes. 

Does the Realme Buds T500 Pro battery life live up to the claim?

I was never really concerned with the battery life of the Realme Buds T500 Pro. While Realme claims each earbud delivers up to 13.5 hours of playback, and the case adds a total of 56 hours, it’s tough to verify these claims because I, like most people, don’t wear earbuds for 13.5 hours straight. What I can say, however, is that I’ve used the earbuds for about a week now, with ANC and LHDC enabled, with an average of 1.5 hours of daily use, especially while commuting, and I still haven’t had to plug them in. I assume they’ll last about 10 to 15 days, depending on your usage, before you need to charge them. And that’s pretty impressive in my books.

As you can see from the table above, you’ll be able to eke out the most battery life with ANC disabled. So, if you’re on the move and the battery is low, switch off ANC to get some extra juice, at least until you can plug it in. Fast charging is supported, providing up to 10 hours of playback with just 10 minutes of charge. It takes about two hours to fully charge the earbuds and case, according to the brand.

Verdict: the best TWS earbuds under Rs 3,000?

The Realme Buds T500 Pro makes a strong case for itself at Rs 2,799. The candy box case is delightful, the earbuds are among the lightest I’ve used, and the sound quality, particularly with LHDC enabled, punches well above the price. The ANC is genuinely effective for a sub-Rs 3,000 pair, especially for commuters. Battery life is exceptional, and the feature set, including Bluetooth 6.1, triple-device connection, LHDC 5.0, and a capable companion app, is more than you’d expect at this price.

The U-shaped sound signature is for the masses who prefer music with some thump by default, and the Clear Bass default mode can suppress mids in complex, layered tracks. The textured finish on the Lemon Cola variant, as eye-catching as it is, might attract dirt over time and could lose its sheen. The Realme Link app account requirement is a minor but unnecessary friction point.

Those are small complaints against a very complete package. For most buyers looking for good-sounding, feature-rich TWS earbuds without spending more than Rs 3,000, the Realme Buds T500 Pro is the one to beat right now.

Editor’s rating: 8.2 / 10

Reasons to buy:

• Exceptional battery life, especially with ANC and LHDC disabled.
• Effective ANC for the price, particularly for commuting.
• Sound quality will appeal to most buyers.
• The candy box case design is fun and compact. The earbuds are lightweight and comfortable for extended wear.

Reasons not to buy:

• U-shaped sound signature suppresses mids in complex tracks. Not ideal for all music genres.
• Spatial audio could have been better, but it’s not a dealbreaker, especially if you’re not planning to use it at all.
• The Lemon Cola variant could attract dirt and make the case look dull over time.