Verdict
The Huawei FreeBuds 5 are a complete rethinking of the FreeBuds design language , with a rather unique look compare to the balance of the lawful wireless contest . It ’s not just a fashion option either , with a well-fixed open - ear fit , impressive audio performance and handy smarts . It ’s just a pity the battery life dwindle so much when the ( not quite successful ) ANC is dynamic .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
The Huawei FreeBuds 5 do n’t expect anything like theFreeBuds 4that came before them . In fact , the FreeBuds 5 do n’t resemble any of the most pop earbuds in 2023 , with a rather unequalled excogitation that ’s best described as a cross between organic and metallic .
It ’s a plan that puzzle out though ; the buds not only look incredibly fashionable but the open - auricle invention allows for a easy fit without going deep into the ear epithelial duct like some ear - tiptoe alternative . And , despite the undefended design , bass performance is still excellent .
It ’s just a shame that I ca n’t say the same about the Active Noise Cancellation ( ANC ) , which does n’t fuse well with the undefendable pattern of the buds and does little to quieten the environs .
Still , with other key features admit wirelessHi - Res audiosupport , a blue - latency mode for gambling and fast charge technical school , the Huawei FreeBuds 5 remain a fashionable - yet - capable option that costs less than Apple ’s third - gen AirPods .
Design
The FreeBuds 5 not only face totally dissimilar to the FreeBuds 4 , but practically any other plant oftrue wireless earbudson the market in 2023 . An AirPods dupe , these are surely not .
In fact , I ’d liken the oddly constitutive - yet - metallic look to Terminator ’s T2000 , looking more like liquid metal drops than your distinctive wireless earbuds . I adore the purpose and applaud Huawei for doing something different , and they ’re still funnily stylish . Everyone I ’ve show them to during my month with the bud complement the left design .
It also help that the buds are available in attractive colorful finishes including Ceramic White , Coral Orange and Frost Silver , with the bud run around a shining musing finish that adds to the exchange premium look – though it can also make fingerprints and smudges much more noticeable as a result .
The design is n’t only focussed on being stylish either ; the thick stem have the perfect channel for gripping the buds , making it a doddle to take hold of them out of the charging case and correct the fit in - ear without accidentally toggling the touch controls .
The open design of the buds mean you wo n’t find eartips here , and that might direct some to believe that the buds wo n’t be as untroubled as tip choice , but that could n’t be further from the the true .
avowedly , donning the bud for the first clip , I expected them to decrease out within minutes . They do n’t feel like they go in the spike , but rather sit down utterly balanced on the out edge of the ear canal . However , much to my surprisal , the buds always stayed perfectly in place regardless of what I was doing , even continue secure during a ( rare , and slightly sticky ) jog .
This also means they’remuchmore comfortable than tippytoe alternatives without that fatigue you feel after long listening session , and there ’s none of that ‘ bunged - up ’ feeling here either . In fact , they ’re so comfy that I ’ve used them to listen to the sound of rain to fall numb – and I sleep on my side . That ’s a feat that has been exclusive toApple ’s AirPods 3up until now .
When not in dynamic use , the FreeBuds 5 live in a pocket-sized egg - form charge case , making it instantly stand out from the sea of AirPod case befool not only in terms of look , sport a frosted finish matching the buds , but the overall intent .
The eyelid lifts easily , the buds are well-fixed to take out thanks to the upstanding stems and the eyelid snaps shut with magnets , helping keep them safe when stored in a pocket or rucksack . A single light-emitting diode on the front displays connectivity and available explosive charge , with a low button on the rightfulness to trigger Bluetooth pairing and a USB - century port on the bottom border for charging .
The bud areIP54 rated , so use in wanton rain or during exercise should n’t be an issue . That does n’t extend to the case , however , with no kind of piss electrical resistance on offer .
Features
When it come to smarts , the FreeBuds 5 offer all the staples of a subject pair of true wireless earbuds , including automatic swordplay / pause tech when removing and re - inserting the bud , ghost control and a comrade app for iOS and Android that countenance you customise feature and change the EQ too . It also tout a few rather unique features , like a low - reaction time audio mode great for mobile play .
Let ’s lead off with those touch controls ; you could double - wiretap to act or suspension medicine , recollective - press to wheel between transparency and ANC modes and purloin up and down to ascendancy volume . The gesture controls are n’t quite as sensitive as Apple’sAirPods Pro 2 , occasionally miss a swipe input , but such incident were few and far between . Most of the time , the bud did on the button what I wanted .
If you want to customise those shortcut , you ’ll involve to download the Huawei AI Life app . It can be a bit of a pain to establish on Android since its shift from Google Play to Huawei AppGallery , but it ’s a one - time incommodiousness .
Once installed , the app is dewy-eyed to use , quickly connecting to the buds and cater the ability to not only tailor-make the gesture control of the buds but interchange the predetermined eq , or for those with a turn more noesis , create a custom 10 - level EQ to tailor the heavy output to your preferences .
The app is also where you could enable ANC as well as quality the ANC profile , crop from General ( maximal cancellation ) to Cozy ( minimum cancellation ) with active ( automatic switching based on ambient noise ) offering the good of both worlds .
The FreeBuds 5 can also relate to multiple devices at once , leave you to unite to , say , a smart TV and your smartphone and switch between the two depend on which screen you ’re presently using . It ’s well-heeled to do too ; just pause playback on one connect gimmick and start it on the other . The buds will straightaway switch input , no manual reconnection required .
Three microphones grant for becoming call timbre too , with the recipients of most call having no complaints about hearing my vox – a nice alteration from theNuraTrue Pro , which I get complaint about all the time . However , it was apparently just as easy to hear my environment , leading me to believe that Huawei has more work to do on its background disturbance simplification algorithm .
Sound Quality
The FreeBuds 5 are belittled and mighty , sporting 11 mm dual - magnetized dynamical driver unit offer a wide frequency range of 16Hz to a whopping 40kHz , much more than the average 20Hz – 20kHz range you ’ll find on much of the similarly - priced competition .
hear to Ex ’s & Oh ’s by Elle King , the bud offer a well - rounded experience with a great balance between the basso , mids and treble with a wide spatial soundstage . The latter can further be improved byDTS : XorDolby Atmos , though that will depend on the smartphone you connect the bud to – it ’s not a feature of the buds , but rather the phone playing the euphony .
The freshwater bass , in particular , is impressive despite the open - ear design of the buds , with herculean bass usually require a complete sealing wax around the ear canal – it for sure sounds like Huawei ’s proprietary Bass Turbo tech and expanded frequency mountain range are doing their job well . If anything , it makes me inquire how wonderfully bassy the FreeBuds 5 could be if they had eartips like the FreeBuds 5i …
It ’s not just focused on bassy , upbeat tunes though ; Bob Marley ’s vocals in Buffalo Solider were percipient and laconic with nice sound separation from the rest of the track , and the relaxing backing track of Tracy Chapman ’s debauched Car really showcased how lovesome the acoustics can be .
It ’s an exquisite experience at a cheaper price point than Apple ’s £ 169 / $ 179 AirPods 3 , staring with Hi - Res Audio reinforcement at up to 990kbps via theLDAC codec , though that ’ll ask aSnapdragon 8 + Gen 1orSnapdragon 8 Gen 2 - fit phone to take advantage of .
The FreeBuds 5 also sport ANC capabilities – a bit of an oddity considering the open - capitulum excogitation employed by the bud encourage exterior auditory sensation to leak in . In fact , I ’d fence that it ’s not really that noticeable in workaday use and , as such , I had it disabled for most of my examination in a bid to get as much battery life from the bud as potential .
I did pick up a slight dulling of sure down in the mouth frequencies , like the hum of a nearby fan , but I could still quite understandably hear most of what was going on around me .
Personally , I do n’t find that much of an issue as I love the fact that open - ear buds like the FreeBuds 5 and Apple ’s AirPods 3 give up me to still be aware of my milieu while listening to my favourite melodic phrase , though it does become a challenge using the buds in exceptionally loud environments without cranking the volume up .
If you really do want something that ’ll benumb the audio of the morning commute , you ’ll obtain much better results from in - spike bud like the AirPods Pro 2 or Sony ’s popularWF-1000XM4 .
Battery life
When it comes to assault and battery life , the FreeBuds 5 do little to stand out from the competition with a rather received five hours of playback before requiring a top - up from the charging case , however that does degenerate to around three minute if you ’ve mother ANC active – almost one-half of what you ’ll get from Apple ’s 2nd - gen AirPods Pro with ANC enabled .
That ’s more than enough for the legal age of my pauperism , be it listening to music on my time of day - prospicient commute to oeuvre or shoot the breeze on the earpiece with my other half , but it might not suffice if you mean on , say , listen to music for an entire 8 - hour shift at work .
The only rescue grace is that the charge case has fast charge tech that ’ll provide two hours of purpose after just five minutes in the guinea pig according to Huawei – but again , this is without ANC fighting .
The instance itself holds an additional 25 60 minutes of battery life-time , bestow the total to 30 hours , with a pretty short explosive charge cycle of around 45 minutes via USB - C. Qi wireless charging is purportedly on pass for more convenient case charging , but I found it rather finicky to utilize during testing and mostly choose for the transmission line connection .
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Should you buy it?
The FreeBuds 5 not only look unique but go great , complete with wireless Hi - Res audio recording reenforcement .
While the FreeBuds 5 summercater ANC , it ’s not as effectual as in - capitulum or over - capitulum rival with an open - spike aim leak environmental noise .
Final Thoughts
The Huawei FreeBuds 5 set themselves aside from the competitor with a unique , fashionable design that ’s both pleasing to the eye and superbly well-heeled to bust , even over longer periods of use . The touching control condition are responsive , the auto - pause tech is responsive and the low - latency audio mode is a nice touch modality for mobile gamers .
It ’s the audio public presentation that really cements the FreeBuds 5 experience , with a wide 16Hz – 40kHz frequency response range and accompaniment for wireless Hi - Res audio frequency playback via the LDAC codec delivering a well - balanced audio experience with recherche detail . The ANC is n’t that good at shut up the environment , but that ’s no real surprise considering the loose - auricle blueprint of the FreeBuds 5 .
I just wish the barrage live on a little longer as 3 hours with ANC active is n’t quite up to the touchstone of premium competitors like the AirPods Pro 2 .
Trusted Score
How we test
We test every pair of earpiece we retrospect thoroughly over an extended period of metre . We use industry - standard tests to compare features decently . We ’ll always state you what we find . We never , ever , admit money to go over a production .
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FAQs
The bud themselves offer IP54 H2O impedance , but the event extend no sort of opposition whatsoever .
You ’ll get 30 hours inc . the charging case , though only around 3 - 5 hours on a single charge .
Full Specs
Sustainability
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