Huawei FreeBuds Pro review: TWS headphones that are enough

Finding the perfect headphones is not an easy task. And even more so for specific cases: listening to music from a computer, listening to music at home, on the street, on the subway, on flights – a specific model is suitable for each of these scenarios, but even then it is not a fact that it will be ideal. And finding the perfect TWS-headphones is not at all possible: they must be compact, comfortable, work for a long time, have noise reduction (without this, excuse me, nowhere). Of course, do not forget about the sound and cost: $249 for AirPods Pro is already a bit too much, to put it mildly.

And now Huawei releases FreeBuds Pro. The previous model of Huawei FreeBuds 3i turned out to be an extremely successful solution with excellent sound.

These are great headphones. But FreeBuds Pro cost €199 at Huawei. Does it make sense to overpay $100 for a Pro console? Or is it worth saving?

Appearance and equipment

The box does not evoke any emotions: it is quite ordinary and does not differ much from the packaging of the same FreeBuds 3i.

But here I want to complain a little: I have headphones in a cool gray color. And for some reason on the box are white FreeBuds Pro. I want to see what I buy! Moreover, this is kind of like the most top-end headphones, I want lukhari and shine throughout the steppe. For example, deep black with only one inscription in the color of the headphone case: Huawei FreeBuds Pro. That would be top-notch.

In the box, in addition to the case with headphones, you will find two sets of ear pads and a USB Type-A to Type-C cable:

The case is quite large. But the work on the FreeBuds 3i bugs is done – it has become much narrower and now fits into a jeans pocket without any problems. Looks like a weird little slab, but it fits!

The biggest drawback of the Huawei FreeBuds Pro is ergonomics: they are very difficult to get out of the case. It is most logical to grab the internal microphone (black circle next to the ear pad) and the outer flat edge.

There is a glossy surface, it clings well to the fingers only if they are dry and as clean as possible. But if your fingers are a little wet, then they can either slip off, or the earpiece will fly off somewhere.

The edges of the headphones are touch-sensitive, they also respond to compression, during which a small click is heard. Do not be afraid of this sound, this is just an imitation of pressing. The sensor allows you to adjust, for example, the volume. It sits on the surface labeled Huawei. But the two adjacent sides react to compression.

The control is convenient, you don’t experience any difficulties with it. At the same time, in the application you can customize all these clicks. But there is one “but”.

Application and connection

It only works on Android. And while on Google Play it does not have an up-to-date version. The instructions included in the box contain a QR code, by clicking on which you can download Huawei AI Life and bind headphones through it.

In the application, you can find out the charge level of the case and each earphone, set up and study the control of the headphones, activate the power of the noise reduction, check if the selected ear pads are suitable for you, and also update the headphones if a new firmware has arrived for them.

With your Huawei smartphone, everything works even more pleasantly: just open the case, if the headphones are not tied anywhere yet, a window will pop up on your smartphone prompting you to connect the headphones.

After that, in the Bluetooth settings, you can carry out the initial settings of the headphones, but, as is the case with other Android smartphones, the AI ​​Life application opens up full scope for creativity. Its current version for Huawei smartphones can be downloaded directly from the AppGallery.

But with the iPhone, the situation is different: there is no application. That is, you will not be able to change the level of the noise reduction, change the control, update the headphones, and so on. Huawei, please give me an iPhone app!

At the same time, the company carried out work on the errors, and Huawei FreeBuds Pro connect to the iPhone with lightning speed. And, which is very nice, in my possession these are the first headphones that allow you to watch videos without problems, without being distracted by insane delays. Of course, they are, which you can notice in the videos if they show, for example, a drummer. But you will notice this only if you look closely, and many, I am sure, will not even be able to see it. It’s top-notch.

At the same time, the headphones can be connected to three different devices (although for some reason two are declared) and can quickly switch between them at the user’s request. Conveniently, if you have a trinity of smartphones / tablets / laptops – a very pleasant experience.

Active noise reduction

Huawei says active noise cancellation will reduce ambient noise by up to 40dB. Shumodav works in two modes: active and transparency. With that, you can adjust the sound absorption to three levels: comfort, normal and ultra. They depend on the volume of the surrounding noise. Don’t want to constantly go into the application and change these settings? Then your choice is the “Dynamic” mode of noise reduction, which automatically adjusts to the environment.

You can also add a voice enhancement function to the transparency mode and hear everything that is said to you – for example, at the checkout in a store.

The noise reduction pays the most active attention to low frequencies: it just so happened that we went to a distance and I listened to these headphones mostly at home. And they coped with the roaring vacuum cleaner perfectly: coupled with the playing music, I heard only a faint squeak of a powerful vacuum cleaner. I think this is a decent result.

By the way, there is good passive sound insulation: having put the music on pause and turned off the noise reduction, I sat and listened to silence. Then I took off my headphones and found that the builders restoring the neighboring house had not gone to lunch, but were actively working, some loud rattle was buzzing outside the window, and the wind was howling quite strongly. I did not hear all this in headphones with the noise reduction turned off.

Sound

These headphones are about good bass. There is a lot of it, it envelops, envelops you, but does not suppress other frequencies. There is a very pleasant scene in the mix – it is not narrow or too wide.

I’m trying to find fault with the sound of the headphones, but I can’t. Fans of objective frequencies may not come across that bass often prevails here, but the time is like this: it is difficult to imagine modern music without this bass base, which for some reason increases when an active noise reduction device is turned on. I would still like the noise reduction to have no effect on the equalization of the songs. There are good tops here, which are enough.

Outcome

I think I found the main word to describe these headphones: enough. If you are looking for headphones for every day, which are convenient at home, on the street or on the subway, then Huawei FreeBuds Pro is definitely worth considering for buying: they sound great, they have a great stage, and they have a working noise canceling, wireless charging and a case on board. Giving 30 hours of music playback.

This joy will be especially clear to users of Android smartphones where there is an application. Although Huawei’s website says the app is “not yet available on iOS” – and that “for now” gives me some hope. So I’m waiting for him and I hope that one day I will be able to safely plug in headphones, update and configure them, no matter what operating system I’m on!

7.5 Total Score
Excellent

I think I found the main word to describe these headphones: enough. If you are looking for headphones for every day, which are convenient at home, on the street or on the subway, then Huawei FreeBuds Pro is definitely worth considering for buying: they sound great, they have a great stage, and they have a working noise canceling, wireless charging and a case on board. Giving 30 hours of music playback. This joy will be especially clear to users of Android smartphones where there is an application. Although Huawei's website says the app is “not yet available on iOS” - and that “for now” gives me some hope. So I'm waiting for him and I hope that one day I will be able to safely plug in headphones, update and configure them, no matter what operating system I'm on!

SOUND QUALITY
8
ISOLATION / ATTENUATION
6.8
ACTIVE NOISE CANCELLING
7.5
DURABILITY / BUILD QUALITY
7.5
VALUE
7.5
DESIGN
8.5
CONNECTIVITY
5.0
PORTABILITY
9.5
PROS
  • Good sound quality
  • Great active noise cancelling and insulation
  • Quick dual pairing
  • Touch volume controls
  • Long battery life
CONS
  • Cramped charging case
  • Relatively expensive
  • Some features exclusive to Huawei phones
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