Review of Huawei FreeBuds 3i - noise canceling and waterproof headphones

Huawei has released the FreeBuds 3i wireless headphones. The novelty is protected from moisture, equipped with Bluetooth 5.0 and noise cancellation - is it not a replacement for AirPods Pro? Also at half the price. However, is everything so rosy? Let's sort it out in order.

Table of contents

• Specifications
• Appearance and equipment
• Connection and communication
• Control
• Sound
• Autonomy
• Outcome

Specifications

Appearance

FreeBuds 3i are in-ear headphones with a number of successful, ergonomic solutions. The sleek housings and angled sound guides provide a comfortable fit and adequate isolation. It is also convenient to take the headphones out of the case, holding them by the "legs".

Gadget IPX4 protected so it is sweat and splash proof. The headphone housings are entirely made of plastic, with a choice of black and white options.

The FreeBuds 3i have three microphones each. One is located on the outside of the case, there are also touch panels for control. Two more - on the inside and at the end of the "leg" - provide voice transmission and active noise reduction.

Also on the inside are magnetic contacts for charging and a proximity sensor, thanks to which the music is paused as soon as you take one earphone out of your ear.

The oblong case is equipped with LED indicators inside and outside, and also has a magnetic cover. At the back there is a USB Type-C connector for charging and a pairing button. Build quality, but the large size makes the case difficult to carry in your pocket jeans.

In addition to the case, the set includes a charging cable and four pairs of silicone tips. It is better to handle the latter with care and not lose them: flattened sound guides are not friendly with ear cushions from third-party manufacturers.

Connection and communication

According to common practice, headphones are easiest to synchronize with smartphones from the same manufacturer - in this case Huawei and Honor. It is enough to open the cover, and a pop-up menu for connection will appear on the screen.

With devices from other brands, you must hold down the button on the charging case until the LED flashes white. Further pairing occurs when the case is opened.

The range of work is impressive: the connection to the smartphone was kept, even if we left to the other end of the apartment. On the street, there is no interference either. In addition, the left and right channels are connected in parallel and independently of each other - the problem of desynchronization in wireless headphones is a thing of the past.

Working in headset mode did not cause any complaints: the device suppresses background noise and clearly conveys what was said to the interlocutor thanks to additional microphones.

Control

You can interact with FreeBuds 3i using voice commands or touch panels. By default, double tap on each headphone is responsible for starting or pause, as well as receiving or ending calls. Long press activates noise canceling.

You can customize the controls for each earphone in the proprietary Android application AI Life. The only problem is that you cannot adjust the volume using the touch panels.

Sound

Inside the FreeBuds 3i are 10mm dynamic drivers with a 20–20,000 Hz range. The acoustic design is closed, which increases noise isolation and audibility of low frequencies. On the other hand, the feeling ear plugs can be tiring, so do not insert devices too deep.

Headphones with a bias in bass sound, which will appeal to fans of electronic music and rap. Low frequencies are rolling and clearly stand out from the general background. With increasing volume, their number also increases: at maximum values, subwoofers were screwed on to the ears.

If you do not indulge in high volume, then the bass does not overwhelm the rest of the ranges. The vocals are not relegated to the background though female voices served slightly muffled. When noise cancellation is turned on, the mids fall through, which affects the development of both vocals and the main instruments. However, this allows you to listen to music in noisy environments at a safe volume.

There are not many high frequencies, and they are clearly not of the best quality: instead of the sharpened metallic ringing of cymbals, some kind of indistinct rustling is heard. However, this is a typical situation for wireless headphones and it's good that gross distortion is not so noticeable.

Autonomy

Inside the FreeBuds 3i there are 37 mAh batteries. According to the manufacturer's assurances, such a capacity is enough for 3.5 hours of work. During the test, the headphones lasted 4 hours, playing music at 50% volume, and then asked to charge.

The case is equipped battery at 410 mAh and is able to replenish the energy of the gadget up to three times. It takes just over 2 hours to fully charge the case and headphones.

Outcome

In Russia, Huawei FreeBuds 3i cost 8,990 rubles. For the money, the earbuds offer a comfortable fit, comfortable controls, noise cancellation and good sound. The only thing I want to find fault with is an overly voluminous case. In all other respects, we have a good product, which only benefits from the similarity to the AirPods Pro.

Buy

The author thanks Huawei for the device provided for testing. The company had no way to influence the test result.