Huawei FreeBuds 3: Review, price and specification – Intras & Earphones

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Huawei surprised the IFA 2019 with the introduction of the first ever earbuds true wireless with the active noise reduction of the market. The announcement is surprising since all manufacturers trying to reduce active noise have gone through semi-intra-ear or intra-ear models. Seeking to ride the resounding success of the AirPods, the Chinese brand highlights its Kirin A1 audio chip and proprietary technologies to promise strong sound performance, reduced latency, intuitive operation and high quality voice recording.

The Freebuds 3 are launched at a price of 189 €.

The similarity of the Freebuds 3 with the famous AirPods will certainly not have escaped you. Aesthetic appreciation aside, this pair of earphones has a quality of manufacture and very honest finishes. The set seems robust, even if the manufacturer does not promise any particular resistance for sports, for example. We can also see some assembly marks here and there, but nothing that compromises the strength of the headphones. The storage case benefits from the same design work.

The Freebuds 3 are doing well in terms of comfort. Remember that these are earphones called "buttons", so there are no tips to seal the entrance of the ear canal. They are light (4.5 g per earpiece), are easily housed in the conch of the flag and are placed naturally. Once adjusted, we did not notice any maintenance problem for a classic nomadic listening. The plastic coating on the other hand becomes slippery with moisture and sweat.

Unless isolating the user from the outside world, the button format has the advantage of being more universal than the intra format for comfort. No earphone, however, is perfectly universal. Among the ten or so people surveyed, two reported a slight discomfort between the tragus and the anti-tragus during long sessions of use (more than one hour of consecutive use). Nothing really bad that said.

The resemblance to the Apple AirPods is not limited to design. Indeed, all the features offered by the Freebuds 3 are unlocked with the terminals under EMUI 10. There are three additional ergonomic functions: presence detection (auto play / pause), simplification of Bluetooth pairing (one pop-up appears when headphones are near the phone, such as AirPods paired with iOS smartphones) and the automatic pairing switch on all Huawei devices (Watch GT 2 or Matebook for example). Although we regret the lack of presence detection on all devices, the manufacturer has not forgotten the other Android users by making available its AI Life app on the Play Store. Some information, options and additional features are thus available to as many people … except iOS users since the application is not present on the App Store.

The pairing and startup of the Freebuds 3 are relatively conventional if we put aside the specificities related to smartphones under EMUI 10. The pairing is very simple and fast, whether to use one of the two headphones or both. We would still appreciate a mono summation when using a single earphone (left or right channel depending on the earpiece used). Freebuds communicate via Bluetooth 5.1 (supported SBC and AAC codecs) with only one device at a time (no multipoint connection). That said, the wireless connection is very stable.

The manufacturer has chosen the tactile touch panel for its flagship headphones. At the risk of repeating ourselves, the resemblance to the AirPods is once again blatant. There is indeed only one action available per earpiece via double support, which positively limits the possibilities. Fortunately, the controls are rather reactive and it is possible to assign the action of each listener via the application. This same app also gives a summary of each element's battery level and adjusts the active noise reduction. We will come back in detail on this last point in the Audio part of this Review.

The autonomy promised by Huawei is about 4 hours without active noise reduction, with the ability to recharge the headphones 4 times. Time we could reach in practice, or even exceed (up to 4 h 20 min several times). However, we could not charge our headphones more than 3 consecutive times with the box before having to reload it. Not surprisingly, the autonomy takes a serious blow with the activation of the active noise reduction. We then arrive at a usage time per charge of between 2 h 40 min and 3 h, far from the 4 h 30 min AirPods Pro or 6 h 30 min WF-1000XM3. Charging via sector is however very fast: it takes only one hour to fully charge the case and the headphones once the batteries flat. Note also that the case is compatible with wireless charging Qi and reverse wireless charging with compatible devices; a little more always welcome.

Side latency, the Freebuds 3 are among the good students in the category of true wireless. By going through an application natively compensating for some of the Bluetooth latency (like Youtube, Netflix …), we can follow a video with a minimum of comfort. The onboard microphones are doing well and deliver a quality of capture very correct for calls. The intelligibility of the voice is assured in a noisy environment, your interlocutor will not have a hard time understanding you. However, there are some limits (stifled voice, "chewed" syllables) in some very noisy places. Apart from that, they fulfill their office.

The Freebuds 3 offers a good listening experience, moreover for headphones. The sound reproduction is not the most faithful, but still remains very well controlled and musical.

This pair of headphones delivers a sound rendition for the least colorful, with a nice signature in W. We find the limits of this format of headphones in the lowest frequencies, below 40 Hz. This does not preclude enjoy relatively round and warm bass since the Freebuds 3 put a little more emphasis on this region. The feeling of impact is present, the sitting relatively solid – again, for headphones of this type, and in a quiet environment – and the definition sufficient to properly identify the elements operating in this region. Even on particularly demanding pieces, the good behavior of the membranes keeps the bass in their place, without any overflow.

The most audible coloration is that located in the midrange, between 1 and 2 kHz. The masculine and feminine voices are propelled into the center of the stage, so their intelligibility is perfectly assured. Lovers of clear voices will surely appreciate. The attack, in other words the "slamming" aspect of many sources (percussion, stringed instruments …), is also put forward. This gives the sound effect a particularly striking and dynamic, without being aggressive, if we remain at a reasonable listening level (human hearing is particularly sensitive in this area). What's more, the Freebuds 3 are much wiser and softer in the high mids and the accuracy is good up to the higher frequencies. The highs are also entitled to a certain color with an accentuated shine. Rest assured, the effect is much less impressive than the measure might suggest. There is no exaggeration of sibilance or sibilance.

The restitution of the stereo scene is good, even very good on the horizontal plane thanks to an extremely weak crosstalk. We resituate the various elements on the sound stage and we distinguish without much harm the subtle effects. Some remarks (bass depth, perception of fine details …) are however to put into perspective with the extremely low passive isolation of these headphones. Without the help of active noise reduction, certain frequency bands and certain details are quickly masked by the surrounding sounds.

Let's come to active noise reduction precisely, since this is one of the major arguments of Freebuds 3. Even leaving him the benefit of the doubt, we were not surprised at its poor performance. The button format of the earphones is clearly not at all suitable for this technology since the entrance of the ear canal is not "sealed". Due to the shape of the ear of our measurement dummy and the format of the earphones, we have not managed to achieve relevant measurements and close enough to our listening feeling.

The manufacturer still offers the possibility to adapt the active noise reduction algorithm via a sensitive touch wheel located in the AI ​​Life application. Once the right setting is found, there is a decline in the mediums, but it is still very far from what can offer other semi-intras / intras. The noise of engines and running on public transport is very little attenuated. The voices are always noticeable, even if a little less present. We hear as well the sounds located in the treble (metallic contact noise, sounds "s" and "f" …). What's more, these inconspicuous changes vary greatly depending on the position of the earpiece and the setting in the application. We are very often obliged to reposition the headphones and even to redo the setting in the application; in short, few benefits for many complications …

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