Buds T100 Buds T100

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realme Buds T100 Review

Has one weird quirk

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realme has a rather confusing line of TWS earbuds. Just a while back we had the realme Buds Q2. And now here comes the realme Buds T100. 

Both are priced relatively close to each other with the Buds Q2 selling for PhP 1,490 and the Buds T100 coming in at PhP 1,299. Other than the price, the obvious differences are the overall design and packaging. 

The Buds Q2 has a rounder, more compact look to it. No stem whatsoever. Kind of like the Galaxy Buds Pro and, to a certain extent, the WF-1000XM line from Sony. The case also looks different and kind of premium for its asking price. 

Meanwhile, the Buds T100 has a stem design – think AirPods Pro – for easier reference. Even the case is reminiscent of Apple’s own TWS earbuds. 

We spoke glowingly of the Buds Q2’s sound considering its price. And the Buds T100 isn’t too far off, save for one real quirk. But we’ll get to that in a while. 

First, here’s a look at everything inside the box.

Buds T100
To list, you’ll find: 

  • The Buds T100 – Charging case and earbuds
  • A yellow USB to USB-C cable
  • Warranty Card
  • User Guide
  • Ear Tips (not in photo, but they’re there. Trust us). 

Unbalanced sound? 

Buds T100

Okay, so about that quirk. One thing we quickly noticed is how the left and right earbuds don’t produce the same sound. Granted, this truly is the case for some tracks. But even for some that aren’t, the left sounds significantly heavier than the right. 

What we mean is that the lower frequencies all come from the left, while the higher one’s come from the right. This makes for a generally uneven listening experience. You’ll probably get used to it after a day or two, but it will remain noticeable regardless. 

LE SSERAFIM’s Kim Chaewon sounds good no matter how you listen to her

We thought this could be changed in the settings on the realme link app. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. You only get basic equalizer changes: Balanced, Bass Boost, and  Bright. As you may have guessed, changing the setting to either Bass Boost or Bright only increases the imbalance as it emphasizes the high and low frequencies difference on each earbud. So, if you end up grabbing these, it’s best to stick to Balanced. 

Overall, the sound isn’t terrible. It just has that weird quirk. And it certainly beats buying the generic sub-par, wired ones for half the price. 

Easy controls 

realme Buds T100

This is where the stem design comes into play, we think. The controls consist of multiple taps or a touch and hold. You can customize this on the realme link app. 

By default, you tap twice to play/pause, thrice to play the next track, touch and hold the right earbud to up the volume and do the same on the left to turn it down. There’s also an option to add a touch and hold both left and right. You can assign anything, but we left it blank since that kind of looks silly in practice. 

The absence of a single tap makes sense because the sides of the stem seem to be pretty sensitive. This way, there won’t be any accidental taps that disrupt your listening sessions. 

The volume control was a curious choice though. We thought for sure an up and down motion on either earbud would be the volume control. But that isn’t the case. 

Battery as good as advertised

The charging case is standard issue for most TWS earbuds.

Each bud has a 40mAh battery and the charging case adds an extra 400mAh. It promises up to 28 hours of total playback. For the most part this is true. A week since receiving the unit, we haven’t really had the need to plug it in since juicing it up all the way to 100% prior to using it. 

It’s still going strong after a few hours of jamming to some animé soundtracks and bouncing between TWICE’s Between 1&2 and LE SSERAFIM’s FEARLESS. 

Battery life will depend, obviously, on your frequency of use. On our part, we probably averaged around an hour and a half for seven days. That’s pretty good. 

Noise Cancellation and other features

The Noise Cancellation feature isn’t as pronounced as others in the higher end side of things. That said, it does a good enough job of making sure you hear what you’re trying to listen to even in a crowded environment. But on standby, you barely feel it.

Also worth noting is that it is IPX5 rated, meaning it is sweat and mini-splash proof. You can take this baby to the gym without worries. 

Is this your GadgetMatch? 

For its price, the realme Buds T100 is fine. The left and right sound quirk is odd but it’s not a deal breaker. And it works as advertised everywhere else. It’s just hard to pick this one over the Buds Q2 which is only a couple of hundred pesos more and without any of the quirks mentioned. 

It’s neither excellent nor really bad. It’s just okay but not something that would be on top of our recommendations.

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CASETiFY Match: Finding the right case for your Galaxy Z8 Series phone

Cases that match your personality

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CASETiFY cases for Galaxy Z8 series phones

A phone case can be more than protection. It can also be a way to show off your interests, personality, and the little things that make you, well, you.

For our CASETiFY Match for the Galaxy Z8 Series, we asked the team one question: Why was this CASETiFY design your Match?

From Spider-Man fandom and capybara obsession to feline-inspired art and snake motifs, here are the designs that found their way into our team’s everyday carry, plus a couple of bonus picks worth checking out.

Rodneil: A little New York energy for a certified web-head

If it wasn’t obvious enough, I’m a certified web-head. I love anything and everything Spider-Man, especially the iconic red-and-blue motif. Though, if we’re being honest, I’m more partial to the red.

I had my eyes on the Spider-Man suit design for the Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra and the Spider-Man Mask Snappy Grip Stand. Unfortunately, those designs aren’t available for the Galaxy Z Fold8.

So, I went with a design that gives off a bit of New York energy instead. It still pairs nicely with the Spidey Snappy Grip Stand, letting me bring a little of that Spider-Man vibe to my everyday setup.

V: Keeping it cool with capybaras

I’ve been a capybara stan since 2020, long before the world finally caught up with just how cute and chill these animals are. Seeing them get the recognition they deserve has been a source of much excitement.

Finding cool and cute capybara cases and accessories for the phones I use every day, however, hasn’t always been easy.

That’s where Deville Dewil’s capybara collection comes in. It fills that gap while making my Galaxy Z Fold8 feel like an even more personal accessory.

At this point, I’d like to identify as a capy/bara.

Luigi: A cat design that’s playful without being too loud

There’s no shortage of cat-themed cases out there. If you’re a cat lover like me, chances are you’ve considered one at some point.

The tricky part is finding a design that isn’t too whimsical or loud. I love the little furballs, but I still want something sleek and clean.

CASETiFY’s cat collection speaks to that balance. In particular, this design by Catwheezie blends artistry with a touch of whimsy. It lets me show off my personality without being too flashy.

MJ: A little reputation energy

I’ve always had a soft spot for snake motifs, and CASETiFY’s Transparent Kingsnake case gives me Taylor Swift’s reputation era energy.

I love how snakes symbolize transformation. As someone who’s always evolving and never afraid to reinvent himself, that meaning feels personal.

The black-and-white design also brings a sleek, rebellious edge. Paired with my Galaxy Z Flip8, it’s giving statement accessory with a little bite.

Bonus Match: Sunglasses at Night

Sometimes, keeping it simple is the way to go. The Sunglasses at Night design is tasteful and understated, letting me show off the actual color of my phone without competing with it.

Bonus Match: Pink Weekly Planner

For the girls (and gaes) who plan their days–and life–ahead. And of course, for when they need to keep their Wednesdays pink.

Find your Match

There’s no single way to find a phone case that feels right. It might be a favorite character, an animal you’ve loved for years, a piece of art, or a symbol that means something to you.

For our team, the right CASETiFY design is the one that brings a little more personality to a device we carry every day.

So, which design would be your Match?

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Bose acquires Skullcandy

But both are still separate brands.

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As one of the wisest sages of the 2000s once said, “He was a punk, she did ballet. What more can I say?” Sometimes, opposites attract. Now, two of those opposites in the audio space are coming together: the punk Skullcandy and the ballet-loving Bose.

Today, Bose has announced its acquisition of Skullcandy. The latter will continue to operate as a separate brand but now officially under the Bose umbrella. Although, it’s not a new collaboration as the two brands have previously worked together on devices before. Skullcandy will just have more access to Bose’s technologies moving forward.

Alternatively, Bose will now have access to Skullcandy’s more varied audience. Compared to Bose’s focus on premium products, Skullcandy caters to more alternative lifestyles. Though the brand has since mellowed from its more radical roots, it is still known as one of the alternative brands.

Bose, on the other hand, is still a household name for home audio and noise-cancelling headphones. The new relationship between two polar opposites might be seen as a weird one, but it’s ultimately beneficial to both parties. Besides, both brands were very strong in the 2010s. Keeping both brands going is a boon to audiophiles of the past decade.

SEE ALSO: Sony unveils three premium Walkman music players

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Fujifilm’s new instax Pal 2 and Link WIDE 2 make room for more creative memories

A new pocket camera and a collage-making printer join the instax family.

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Seeing a memory take shape beyond your screen changes how it feels. A favorite photo becomes a print you can tuck into a journal or pin beside your desk, and the everyday moments you capture get a little more room to live.

That was the spirit of Fujifilm’s instax Playhou2e launch in Makati, where visual artist Jill Arteche brought her signature illustrations into the event space.

Her artwork surrounded the latest additions to the instax family, the instax Pal 2 and instax Link WIDE 2. Both devices treat photography as a form of personal expression, from the snapshots you take throughout the day to the printed memories you want to keep close.

A pocket-sized camera that goes wherever you do

The original instax Pal made the case for carrying a camera without a full-sized setup. Its successor, the instax Pal 2, builds on that with a refreshed design and improved image quality.

The palm-sized camera is built for everyday adventures and can capture angles that are awkward to get with a smartphone. Its compact body also makes it easy to bring along if you like documenting your day as it happens.

Fujifilm gave the Pal 2 a semi-matte finish. A new monitor on top lets you review shots right after you take them, and the added viewfinder, control dial, and lever give it a more tactile feel to shoot with.

The specs have moved up, too. The Pal 2 captures 10-megapixel images, double the original’s five megapixels, and its internal storage holds up to 100 images compared with 50 before. A separately sold microSD card adds more room.

The creative options are where the Pal 2 gets playful. It offers 30 effects, so you can give images different moods without editing each one from scratch. Its instax Animation mode strings up to 10 consecutive shots into a flipbook-style animated video.

Transferring your photos is straightforward. The Pal 2 supports wireless Bluetooth transfers, and a USB Type-C connection offers faster transfers to compatible smartphones. From there, you can edit the images and post them to social media or keep them in your camera roll.

Because the Pal 2 is part of the instax ecosystem, its digital photos can also be printed on instant film through compatible instax printers. That means you can shoot first and decide later which moments deserve a physical copy.

Turning your camera roll into something worth keeping

Taking photos is only half the fun. The other half is deciding what to do with the hundreds of images that pile up on our phones.

The instax Link WIDE 2 is Fujifilm’s answer for anyone who collects travel photos or documents celebrations. As the brand’s WIDE-format smartphone printer, it prints at twice the image area of the instax mini format, which leaves more space for group photos and landscapes.

Its biggest new feature is Photo Mixer, which builds scrapbook-style collages from multiple images you pick in the dedicated app. Instead of printing a single photo, you can combine highlights from a trip or a gathering into one larger keepsake.

The app suggests layouts based on your chosen photos and adjusts image sizes, angles, text placement, and fonts to keep the design cohesive. You can then add your own text and stamps. A cutout function identifies people and objects in your photos so you can layer them into the collage.

With Photo Mixer, printing becomes part of the creative process, and your camera roll turns into material for building a visual record of an experience in a single print.

The Link WIDE 2 also gets a design refresh, with two-tone finishes in Duo Beige and Duo Blue. The light and dark surfaces give it a polished look on a shelf or desk, and an illuminated instax logo glows while it prints.

Connectivity has expanded, too. Beyond smartphones and tablets, the printer works with PCs, Fujifilm X Series cameras, and the instax Pal 2, so digital artwork and other compatible images can become physical prints.

A more personal way to keep your memories

The instax Pal 2 and Link WIDE 2 share the idea that photography is a way to express yourself. The Pal 2 makes it easy to capture moments as they happen, and the Link WIDE 2 gives those images a place in the physical world.

Jill Arteche’s artwork at the launch backed that idea up. Her illustrations filled the space with personality and showed how photos and art can make an environment feel more personal. The event also made a case for revisiting and reinterpreting the images we collect.

Taking a photo takes seconds, and printing one can make the memory feel more special. The instax Pal 2 and Link WIDE 2 bring that into everyday life and give your snapshots room for creativity, from the moment you press the shutter to the moment you find a place for the print.


In the Philippines, the Fujifilm instax Pal 2 retails for PhP 10,599, while the Fujifilm instax Link WIDE 2 is priced at PhP 10,999. Both devices are now available on Fujifilm’s authorized stores and retailers nationwide.

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