Successors to the Huawei FreeBuds 3, the FreeBuds 4 are the new worthy representatives of the FreeBuds range from Huawei. These are True Wireless headphones, which offer amazing features such as noise reduction on headphones, but they are not in-ear headphones, but classic headphones. Adapted to complement the HarmonyOS operating system, it is therefore under these conditions that we will test the Huawei FreeBuds 4.
MerchantStockPriceOffer129€See129€See129€See129€See129€See129€See136€See149€See149€SeeSee more offersContentsUnboxing & Design
As in all Huawei products, we find a rather visually pleasing box, we easily notice the inspiration from Apple with its AirPods, we simply find a photo of the product here the Huawei FreeBuds 4 as well as the name of the headphones and on the back of the box of the headphones, we find the technical information on the product, but also the certification and warranty information.
As soon as you open the box, you fall directly on the Huawei FreeBuds 4 and what jumps out at you is the color of the box, there is a remarkable matte chrome silver plastic box, premium on board it's a very special color that may not please everyone, note that they are also available in white and it is true that in the catalog I had a preference for whites like the AirPods but the chrome color is very well made and which is not too much, I do not regret having received the Huawei FreeBuds 4 in chrome colors.
Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.Under the part of the headphones, we simply find the white USB-A to USB-C power cable with a length of 1 meter, in itself this is enough to simply recharge headphones, note that they are also rechargeable wirelessly, but not a classic QI recharge as one might expect, but simply reverse charging with a brand smartphone. And in the rest of the box, we find to complete the user guide and the warranty notice. It would have been nice to have a cable in the color of the headphones in the box.
Now let's talk about the design, the shape of a circular pebble, the case of these Huawei FreeBuds 4 has a very pleasant grip and touch, we quickly realize that we are on a quality product like Huawei like to suggest. On the front of the box there is only one LED to see the remaining battery level and know when they are used. On the edge of the box we only find the USB-C port to charge the headphones and at the back we notice the hinge in order to open the box to take the headphones, nothing more to say about the hinge and comforts me in use that does not exude cheap at all but rather solidity.
We come to one of the most important points of headphones in general, the design of the headphones themselves. Of a relatively classic shape, from which we recognize the inspiration of the AirPods once again, but in itself this design appeals to many, to tell the truth there are few different shapes of headphones, between in-ear, semi-intra, or classic we quickly made the rounds. On the version received at the editorial office, we recall in chrome silver, we find really chrome headphones, here no matte, they are relatively flashy.
Huawei FreeBuds 4 Features
| Model | Huawei FreeBuds 4 |
| Earphone Type | < td>TrueWireless|
| Design | Open |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth 5.2 |
| Latency | 330 ms |
| Connection | USB-C< /td> |
| Wireless charging | Only with Huawei smartphone |
| Weight | 8 grams |
| Cable length | 1 meter |
| Range | < /td> |
Audio quality
Audio level, the Huawei FreeBuds 4 are very good, that's the end of the test. No more seriously, Huawei not being a basic audio manufacturer, is doing very well with its FreeBuds 4, the sound is particularly good and has nothing to envy from other manufacturers such as Apple or others. Of course, it depends on the use you make of them, for the simple fact of listening to music on Spotify or any other application, these headphones are very satisfactory for their price and are perfectly suited for this use.
We notice the presence of bass which, in absolute terms, is really good and will make you feel the music for anyone who is not an audio professional. But the bass is not the most important part. The highs and mids are also very good and precise, certainly it is not worth professional headphones, but for a simple music lover you can go there with your eyes closed.
Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.No matter what style of music you listen to, there is very little to no music or the headphones overload or struggle. The RAP with the strong bass is very well transcribed, as are classic songs which give a lot of pleasure to hear the voices of the singers pushed to their maximum without having to remove the headphones for fear of hurting your ears.
Noise canceling
It's not Huawei's fault for trying to put noise canceling on non-in-ear headphones, and it's physically difficult to put in place a powerful system when the auditory canal is not physically blocked.
We can't blame Huawei for trying somehow to make this noise reduction technology accessible to products that are natively almost impossible, and losing nearly 1h30 of battery life to simply try to reduce the sound is for the medium shot.
Comfort of use
Huawei FreeBuds are classic shaped headphones, that is to say a bit like the AirPods 1 & 2 from Apple. Their design is one size, they offer perfect support for 90% of users, but the same problem as for AirPods, a small part of the population has a different ear morphology, which can be difficult for them to find a pair of headphones that do not fall out.
Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.If ever the AirPods do not suit your ears, it is not even worth going on the Huawei FreeBuds, you will probably have the same problem, all this is still to try good surprises can happen.
Certainly, if you have suitable ears, the headphones will land without any problem, because from the total absence of intrusion into the ear canal, the headphones never cause any discomfort and know how to be totally forgotten.
Functionalities
In terms of functionalities, there are controls on each earphone, distributed on tactile surfaces on the back of the stem of the two earphones. Controllers include by default:
This is one of the only negative points of these headphones, it is his gestures are practically unusable as it is difficult not to be abrupt in the movements and easily make the headphones fall off during activity athletic or simply inattentive.
Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.Application
The Huawei AI Life mobile application, that it is not available on the Apple App Store or even on the PlayStore. It will not be possible to download the application for other smartphone brands except in APK version on the manufacturer's website. So remember that using the application on iOS will not work, and will be available on HarmonyOS and Android.
It is only on HarmonyOS that the Huawei FreeBuds 4 allow rapid fitting and the integration of controls and parameters natively within the smartphone.
Besides all these conditions, the application allows to customize the various effects of the gestures independently of the headphones from left to right. You also have the possibility to customize the sound settings, even if the default settings are very good, the application also allows you to ring your headphones if you have lost them in the room or even in a bag, and of course to future device updates. All this on one simple condition, not to be on an iPhone.
Autonomy
Here is the second rather negative point, autonomy. The manufacturer, in this case Huawei, announces 4 hours of autonomy per earphone without noise reduction, but it is after a little more than 3h30 that the earphones are extinguished for lack of battery.
Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.Admittedly, this is about 30 minutes less than announced by Huawei, but it must be said that sessions of more than 3 hours of music can be rare for some. However, for frequent travelers this may be difficult to accept. But the most difficult point to accept is the autonomy with the noise reduction, a blow for Huawei, we fall well below 3 hours with only 2 hours of use.
Despite everything, the box promises to charge the earphones 4 times, and for once, I was able to practically recharge the earphones 4.5 times, to last almost 20 hours in all with the earphones already fully charged beforehand .
Huawei FreeBuds 4 review: Opinion
The Huawei FreeBuds 4 are very good True Wireless Bluetooth headphones, despite a promise of not the most effective noise reduction, the sound remains very good. Autonomy level the FreeBuds 4 do not respect the 4 hours announced by the manufacturer, and when you activate the noise reduction, it will take 2 hours and not much more autonomy.
MerchantStockPriceOffer£129See£129See£129See£129See£129See£129See£136See£149See£149SeeSee more offersOverall, these are very good headphones, suitable for over 90% of the population and still more to HarmonyOS and Android users. However, iPhone users are stuck here, the headphone controls will be more complicated to operate, it will only be done with the buttons of the iPhone, which is not very practical. The Freebuds 4 are however satisfactory for the rest of the users.
Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.Huawei FreeBuds 4 Review: Reviews
888/10Huawei FreeBuds 4: Reviews
Despite some negative points, the Huawei FreeBuds 4 are good headphones, very comfortable and elegant, with noise reduction functions as well as settings only available on HarmonyOS and Android.
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