Huawei FreeBuds Review

If you're reading this review it's probably because, like me, you hate wires. They're messy. They're annoying. They feel unacceptable in the year 2018. And sure, you can get over-ear headphones that are wireless. But they come with their own set of problems. They're bulky and frankly a bit of a pain to drag around.

But are we ready to go without our wires and straps? The Huawei FreeBuds are the latest in a growing range of earpieces that say, "yes, we are". But after using them for a week, I'm not so sure.

An effortless experience

I wasn't always so uncertain about the FreeBuds. When they arrived on my desk it was love at first listen and here's why: they're so easy to use. I'm the type of person who hates learning how to use a new device. I want to get straight to the part where I already know how to use it. With the FreeBuds, that actually happened.

They come with an infrared sensor that detects when they are in or out of your ear, and pauses/plays your music to match. Logical, easy and it worked every time. They also have just one command to memorise – a double tap on the bud. Double tap right bud to pause the music, left bud to summon your phone's virtual assistant. And you can double tap either bud to answer a call or hit play on a paused track. That's it. That's all you have to learn.

Using the FreeBuds with my phone was equally effortless. Once paired, all I had to do was take the 'Buds out of their case and they would connect. And when I put them back in their case, they disconnected. This was extremely handy. I'm used to using over-ear Bluetooth headphones and I've missed way too many phone calls by taking them off and forgetting to unpair them.

Thankfully, charging the FreeBuds was intuitive. I'm constantly forgetting to charge my Bluetooth headphones. My brain just can't come on board with the idea that headphones would need charging. It doesn't compute so I don't do it. The FreeBuds charge when you put them in their case. That worked for me. Tiny earbuds make sense in a case. The fact that they charged once they were in there was just a bonus.

But what are they like as headphones?

The Huawei FreeBuds combine balanced armatures with dynamic drivers to deliver performance in treble, alto and bass frequencies, or so says Huawei. I listened to several bass-heavy tracks at a high volume and frankly I was really happy with the sound, especially considering these earbuds come in around the $200 mark.

The FreeBuds also come with ENC Noise Cancellation and four microphones that are supposed to filter out background noise. To be honest, I didn't notice that they cancelled out background noise any more than other in-earbuds I've used. But these have done a pretty good job of insulating me from the outside noise once music is playing, and the FreeBuds did too.

The Bluetooth range on the FreeBuds was impressive. I walked about 20 metres away from my phone and still had a crystal clear connection. The connectivity wasn't completely flawless, I had a couple of minor drop-outs. But frankly, I've yet to meet a set of Bluetooth headphones that didn't drop out for a second from time to time.

As for the battery, the buds can play for up to three hours without needing a top-up and the case provides 10 hours of total playtime charge before it needs to be connected to a power socket.

On the one hand, I love that you can have them charging in the case on-the-go. The case charges pretty quickly, providing 1.5 hours of playtime for every 15 minutes spent charging. On the other hand, three hours was a bit short for me, particularly when you consider that for $229, Apple's AirPods come with five hours of charge.

The FreeBuds are rated IP54 for water-resistance which means they're protected from water and sweat spray. But I wouldn't go dunking them in any buckets or wearing them in the shower. They're also Android and iOS compatible.

So, what was the problem?

They didn't fit me. And not for lack of trying. The FreeBuds come with four different sizes of liquid silicone ear-tips and I tried them all. Some were obviously a poor fit and so went straight back in the box. Others felt like they fitted at first, but then I could feel them slowly coming loose and so I would reach up to adjust them and accidentally set off the tap control.

I was constantly pausing my music by accident. And when I was on the phone to a friend I hung up on her by reaching up to adjust the buds.

This was an annoyance that just compounded over time. The more it happened, the more I would become aware that I shouldn't touch the buds. Which made me want to touch them. And the fact that I couldn't touch them made me paranoid that they were going to fall out. Which made me want to touch them. It was a vicious cycle that left me frustrated and nostalgic for wires and headbands.

Of course, this isn't something that will happen to everyone. I've always had problems finding earbuds that fit me. Where others just seem to be able to use whatever comes in the box with their phone, I'm always finding myself adjusting and catching buds as they fall out. I just seem to have weirdly shaped ear-canals that are hard to cater for. And I'm also a generally fidgety person which was definitely a bad mix with buds that you shouldn't fidget with.

On the other hand, with four different sets of ear-tips, I would have expected to find one that worked for me. Particularly because a good fit is really the only safety net that prevents these $199 buds from taking a potentially destructive tumble. And particularly because of the touch-controls.

So should you buy Huawei FreeBuds?

Huawei FreeBuds are some of the cheapest quality wire-free buds on the market right now. They're definitely the cheapest we've reviewed, but despite the low price-point they've actually outperformed other buds on some features. At $449, for example, we found Bang & Olufsen's Beoplay E8s a little overwhelming with too many gestural controls. At $229, Apple's AirPods impressed us on many scores but can't block out sound as well as in-ear buds like the FreeBuds can.

Although I had fitting issues, if you're the type of person who can just wear ear-buds and never end up with a fitting problem, I'd wager the FreeBuds could be fine for you. As for me, the poor-fit was a deal-breaker. So it's back to my old wires and headbands, I'm just not ready for wire-free earbuds yet. Or maybe wire-free earbuds are just not ready for me.

I don't want Huawei FreeBuds, what else can I buy?

Bang & Olufsen Beoplay E8

The Beoplay E8s are stellar wire-free earbuds with excellent sound quality, but they're also one of the priciest wire-free options around, retailing for $449.

Apple AirPods

Provided you're an iPhone owner, AirPods are the gold standard in terms of wire-free connectivity; they're almost flawless. They're not great at cutting out background noise, they only sound "good", but they win on convenience. AirPods just work. 

Unless you're trying to pair them with an Android smartphone: they lose of all of their connectivity magic, which makes them very prone to drop outs.

Jabra Elite 65t

If you don't want long buds sticking out of your ears, you might prefer the Jabra Elite 65ts' more conservative design. They come in at $299, sound good, and are reliable when it comes to wire-free connectivity.

Jacqui Dent

Editorial Strategist

Jacqui Dent is an Editorial Content Strategist at WhistleOut Australia, where she writes about mobile phone plans, NBN plans and everything in between. Over her ten-year career, she has worked to provide informed advice to the public, first in the sphere of writing and now in the world of consumer tech. Jacqui has also written about consumer telco products for Business Insider, Pedestrian and the 50Up Club.

Read full bio