Jiří Filip In today's review, we will look at the FreeBuds 3 headphones from the Huawei workshop, which, thanks to their features, are hot on the heels of Apple's AirPods. So how did their direct comparison with apple cores, which are hugely popular in the world, turn out? We will look at that in the following review.
Technical Specifications
FreeBuds 3 are completely wireless earbuds with Bluetooth version 5.1 support. Their heart is the Kirin A1 chipset ensuring both sound reproduction and active ANC (i.e. active suppression of ambient noise), very low latency, reliable connection, control via tapping or calling. The headphones have a very decent battery life, where they can play for four hours on a single charge. You will also enjoy the same time during a phone call, where you will also appreciate the integrated microphones. A charging box with a USB-C port on the bottom (but also supports wireless charging) is used to charge the headphones, which is capable of recharging the headphones from 0 to 100% approximately four times when fully charged. If you are interested in the size of the headphone driver, it is 14,2 mm, the frequency range is 20 Hz to 20 kHz. The headphones weigh a pleasant 58 grams with the box and are available in glossy white, black and red color variants.
Design
It makes no sense to lie that Huawei was not inspired by Apple and its AirPods when developing the FreeBuds 3. These headphones are indeed very similar to AirPods, and the same is true of charging boxes. When comparing the FreeBuds 3 and AirPods in more detail, you will notice that the headphones from Huawei are overall more robust and can therefore feel more massive in the ears. The main difference is the foot, which in FreeBuds does not connect smoothly to the "head" of the headphones, but seems to stick out of it. Personally, I don't like this solution very much, because I don't think it's even remotely elegant, but I believe that it will surely find its supporters.
Since the FreeBuds 3 are very similar in design to the AirPods, they also suffer from the problem of "incompatibility" of the ears. So if your ears have a shape that makes the headphones not fit in them, you're out of luck and forget about them. A reliable solution to force headphones to there is simply no way to comfortably stay in an incompatible ear.
Briefly, let's stop at the charging case, which is not cuboid with rounded edges, as in the case of AirPods, but circular with rounded edges. In terms of design, it looks quite nice, although it is perhaps unnecessarily large for my taste - that is, at least with regard to what it hides inside. Worth noting is the Huawei logo on its back, which distinguishes this Chinese company from competing headphones, including Apple.
Pairing and getting to know the features
You can only dream about pairing with an iPhone à la AirPods with FreeBuds 3. You have to properly "take care" of connecting them to the Apple phone through the Bluetooth interface in the phone's settings. First, however, it is necessary to press the side button on the headphone box for a few seconds and wait until the signal diode flashes on it to show that the search for a nearby Bluetooth device has started. Once that happens, just select the FreeBuds 3 in the Bluetooth menu on your iPhone, tap them with your finger and wait a while. A standard Bluetooth profile is created for the headphones, which serves to connect them faster in the future.
Once you connect the headphones to your phone, you will see their charge level in the Battery widget. You can also check this in the phone's status bar, where you will see a tiny flashlight showing the level of its charge next to the icon of the connected headphones. Sure, you won't find AirPods-like icons in the widget, but that probably won't break your nerves. The main thing is, of course, the battery percentages, and you can view them without any problem.
While on Android you can have a lot of fun with the FreeBuds 3 thanks to a special application from Huawei, in the case of iOS you are out of luck in this regard and you have to make do with only three non-configurable tap gestures - namely a tap to start/pause a song and a tap to activate/deactivate ANC. Personally, I think it's quite a shame that an iOS application for better management of headphones has not yet arrived, as it would certainly make them more popular among Apple users - especially when the tap gestures work really well. I wouldn't even be afraid to say that maybe even better, since the feet of the headphones are slightly more sensitive to tapping than the AirPods. So if you're a passionate tapper, you'll be happy here.
Sound
Huawei FreeBuds 3 definitely can't complain about low-quality sound. I compared the headphones mainly with the classic AirPods, as they are really close to them in terms of design and overall focus, and I have to admit that in terms of sound reproduction without ANC turned on, the FreeBuds 3 won when playing music. We are not talking about an overwhelming victory here, but the difference is simply audible. Compared to the AirPods, the FreeBuds 3 have a slightly cleaner sound and sound more confident in the lows and highs. In reproduction of the centers, the headphones from Apple and Huawei are more or less comparable. As for the bass component, I didn't hear any significant differences here either, which is probably not surprising given the construction of both models.
I was really looking forward to testing the ANC with the FreeBuds 3. Unfortunately, as pleasantly as the headphones surprised me with their sound without ANC, they surprised me exactly the opposite with ANC. As soon as you activate this function, a rather unpleasant, albeit quiet, noise starts creeping into the playback sound and the volume of the sound increases slightly. However, I didn't really notice that the surrounding noises would be significantly muffled, not even in one of the many situations in which I tried to get to the bottom of this gadget. Yes, you will notice a slight dimming of the surroundings when ANC is active, for example when music is paused. However, it is not something that you would be really excited about and why you would buy the headphones. However, this was probably to be expected with regard to the stone construction.
Of course, I also tried using the headphones to make phone calls many times to test their microphone in particular. It picks up the voice really well and you can be sure that the person "on the other end of the wire" will hear you clearly and distinctly. You will also enjoy the same in the headphones, as they have mastered voice reproduction to perfection. For example, during FaceTime audio calls, you feel like you can't hear the other person in the FreeBuds, but that they're standing next to you. However, it is necessary to take into account the fact that calls also depend a lot on what they are made through. So if you travel via GSM and without VoLTE activation, you will probably hear the other party in poor quality with any headphones. On the contrary, FaceTime is a guarantee of quality.
Summary
If you're looking for wireless headphones with very good durability and really good sound, I think you can't go wrong with the FreeBuds 3. At least in terms of sound, they surpass AirPods. However, you have to come to terms with the fact that they simply do not fit into the Apple ecosystem as well as AirPods, and therefore certain compromises will have to be made when using them. But if you're not into the ecosystem and just want great wireless headphones, you've just found them. For the price of 3990 crowns, I don't think there is much to think about.
