Review: Huawei FreeBuds – Enjoy the wireless freedom

FreeBuds are Huawei’s answer to the Apple AirPods and boy do they put up a serious fight. The bluetooth earphone market has exploded recently as they’ve become more socially acceptable to wear – less “douchey businessman” and more “practical utility”. Whether in the gym, going for a run or just cruising around the local shopping centre, bluetooth earphones are incredibly practical.

The good

• Very comfortable in ear.
• Long lasting battery to get through a solid day.
• Bluetooth range is unbelievable.

The bad

• Expenses vs wired earphones of the same quality.

The verdict
The Huawei FreeBuds are an excellent piece of tech that I can’t go without. Having experienced the wireless freedom of these bad boys – I quite seriously cannot go back to normal earphones. Retailing for $199 I found these bad boys worth every dollar.

SOUND QUALITY

Similarly to the way I described the Logitech G560’s, at the top end of speakers and earphones, 99% of the population won’t notice the subtleties or differences in quality. Once we get up into the range the Huawei FreeBuds operate in, the quality is exceptional.

As far as the general sound is concerned, they’re relatively big in the bottom end – putting out a bass heavy sound. However the physical bass isn’t as strong as other earphones in the market. That’s by no stretch a bad thing, a common feedback from earphones with excessive bass is their ability to give crippling headaches over time… which is why it’s nice to have a set like the FreeBuds that allow you to listen for hours.

BATTERY LIFE

Huawei boast that the FreeBuds have 10 hours worth of listening time when fully charged (inside the case), which is more than sufficient for a days use. Outside of the case, they’ll last for 3 hours on a single charge. The buds charge when in their slick, small black charging case.

Charging is indicated by the small green LED you can see at the front of the case, with charging taking place via a USB-C port at the back of the case.

TAP CONTROL

Double-tapping the FreeBud/s will toggle different functions. Double-tap the left earbud and it will either activate your voice assistant or answer/hang-up a phone call. Double-tap your right earbud and it will pause/play your music.

All of these are helpful features and ones I found myself incorporating into everyday life.

MISC

The first of a few things to note about the Huawei FreeBuds would be the insane bluetooth range. And I mean insane… We’re talking over 10m away through multiple soundproof doors and walls…

The FreeBuds are also water resistant and will pause your music if you take one of them out, which is groovy. Sadly however I did note that they occasionally dropped out very infrequently in different circumstances.

The Huawei FreeBuds are being offered in bundles with the Huawei Nova 3i, however will soon be available in-store for $199 outright.