Huawei is once again announcing another pair of wireless headphones and the FreeBuds 4 offer active noise cancellation, touch controls, and Bluetooth 5.2 for a reasonable price.
They’re impressive for their $ 129 price point, but things are missing that might as well make you want to upgrade to FreeBuds Pro, and the open design won’t be for everyone.
Design and build
- Compact and bright housing
- Lightweight and open design
- Advanced touch controls
The case returns to a circular design and looks like a ball of ping pong shabby, especially in the Ceramic White model I tried, although you can buy the headphones in Silver Frost as well.
While the case might look pretty in press photos, in real life I found it quite boring, just like other Huawei earphones I’ve tried.
The glossy finish is slippery and while the earbuds are a bit easier to remove than the FreeBuds 4i, they’re still not easy. They also have the same problem that they are facing outward, so you have to turn them 180 degrees before you can put them in your ears.
Once these phases are over, the FreeBuds 4 are surprisingly comfortable and secure. I’ve always been against this type of AirPods design where there’s no silicone tip, but the earbuds fit very well.
They’re extremely light, at 4.1g each, and Huawei’s promise of an “almost weightless” feel is largely true. They are also IPX4 splash resistant.
However, I’m not convinced by the unique approach, as many people will prefer the traditional feel – and the added sound insulation – of the traditional approach.
Despite the good fit to my ears, I found the FreeBuds 4 a bit sore when I used them for a few hours. It’s like they’re not there, but the plastic is hard and eventually impacts.
The FreeBuds 4 have more advanced touch controls than the Budget 4i, as you can tap, hold, and drag to control playback, noise cancellation, and volume. It’s not 100% accurate and it takes a bit of getting used to, but I’d rather have it and do it twice every once in a while than not.
Unfortunately, only the double tap feature can be customized on each earbud, so things are a bit limited.
Sound quality and features
- Active noise cancellation
- 14 mm controllers
- Bluetooth 5.2
The noise cancellation is pretty decent and is able to block out a fair amount of ambient noise around you. However, there are better pairs on the market if this is an important item for you.
You can’t beat the traditional tightness of the ear tips, as well as the ANC for an “I’m in a silent bubble” experience, which is not what I found using the tube in London.
Huawei calls it Open-fit Active Noise Cancellation 2.0, which sounds very sophisticated, but it’s a shame that there isn’t a “conscious mode” in which headphones use external microphones to pass sound so that you can hear announcements, etc. This noise cancellation is simply turned on or off with no control over its level.
This makes sense because Dynamic ANC is only for FreeBuds Pro which offer Cozy, General, and Ultra modes, but even the 4i has an Awareness mode. The Pro model also has a Dynamic EQ feature not found here.
Although there is no control over the sound, the FreeBuds 4 have Conductors more than 14mm and the sound quality is generally very good. There is more than enough horsepower to pump them harder than recommended.
They sound better at medium volume than quiet, with a rounder frequency response. The lows are powerful and the mids and highs shine when needed.
Listening to my usual playlist of varied tunes for testing out speakers and headphones, the FreeBuds 4 are well suited to a wide variety of genres. For example, dancing, vocal pop, and folk tunes all sound great in their own way.
However, the complicated mixing of frequencies in rock music, like that of the Foo Fighters, produces a more cloudy result. Not bad, but not as sharp as other styles of music.
The connection is very stable via Bluetooth 5.2 and easy pairing is achieved on phones with EMUI10 or higher. They can also connect to two devices simultaneously and the wear detection works great, pausing the music when you take a headset off and resuming when you put it back on.
One downside, as I have found with the FreeBuds 4i and the Huawei Sound speaker, is that users have to get AI Life from Huawei’s app gallery, which in turn has to be downloaded and installed directly.
There is a version of AI Life on the Play Store, but it is not compatible with FreeBuds 4 at the time of writing.
When it comes to battery life, Huawei says the headphones can last for four hours of playback and a total of 22 hours if the charging case is included. These numbers are reduced to 2.5 and 2 pm with the ANC enabled.
To a large extent, this is true, as an hour of playback consumes around 25% of the battery, although activating ANC consumes around 30%.
However, you were sitting in a fairly quiet room at home, so the battery drain will be more noticeable when you are away from home.
Interestingly, the headphones weren’t in sync and after those two hours of testing, one was at 45% while the other was at 52%. By charging them in the case for 15 minutes, they had come back to 83% and 88%, which isn’t bad at all, and it took exactly 10% of the deal.
Overall not bad, but there are plenty of headphones out there that last longer, including, you guessed it, the FreeBuds Pro.
Price
Sandwiched between the FreeBuds 4i and the FreeBuds Pro (they all have ANC), this pair of headphones costs $ 129.99, making them affordable but not entirely cheap.
This is what the 4i are for, and therefore FreeBuds 4 competitors like the RHA TrueConnect 2, Samsung Galaxy Buds + and Apple AirPods 2.
While you can buy them from stores such as Very and AO, it’s best to head to the official Huawei store, where at the time of writing, they are giving you the Huawei Band 4 Pro for $ 44.99. .
On the other hand, Amazon offers a package with the Band 6 at 149 $. One downside is that Huawei is currently selling the FreeBuds Pro for $ 129, but without the free activity tracker.
Take a look at our chart of the best wireless headphones to see which model is right for you.
Verdict
While the FreeBuds 4 are pretty solid wireless headphones, I would say they’re a bit of a midpoint between the 4i and Pro models.
The 4i model has active noise cancellation and the Pro model adds a lot more, like Dynamic ANC and Dynamic EQ, both of which have longer battery life. Even the cheapest model has an awareness mode not found here.
While the noise cancellation and sound quality are good, it’s the open design that really sets the FreeBuds 4 apart from its peers. While I found them to be more comfortable and stable than I expected, I personally would still prefer the traditional ear cushions.
So if you are interested in open design, you have a good reason to hit the buy button. Otherwise, especially while the Pro model is on sale, I would go elsewhere.
specifications
- 14 mm controllers
- Active noise cancellation
- Bluetooth 5.2
- Pop-up pairing with EMUI10 or higher
- Wear detection
- Touch / Swipe Controls
- USB-C charging
- 4 hour battery life (headphones)
- 22 hours of battery (total)
- 4.1g per earpiece
- 38g case
- White, silver and frosted ceramic
- IPX4
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