Excellent earbuds good value for money

Huawei has been positively surprising us for a few years now with its earplugs. After a somewhat far-reaching red version in the form of a lipstick, the company now comes with earplugs in a more natural state. However, this case is negligible: it is, of course, related to the earphones themselves, comfort, sound, and noise canceling capabilities. In this review, you can read about Huawei’s performance in those important areas, as well as battery performance of course.

Design and Operation

Huawei FreeBuds Pro 2 are once again similar in design to Apple’s earbuds. Not only because of its white color, but also because of its cover with silver-tone details and brush-head-like appearance for the earphones. It’s a modern design, but not terribly exciting. Fortunately Huawei has done something that makes the earplugs look a little more luxurious and a little different, i.e. a slightly wider side with the Huawei logo on it and a silver rim.

The earbuds are also IP54 splash-resistant, so they can withstand rain and sweat.

Don’t click, press

However, it gets a little weird here right away, because where you’re probably used to controlling earplugs from that side, it’s with FreeBuds Pro 2 are all a little different. Although the side is quite wide, this is not what you use to control the earbuds. Strange that you do it next to the side. Moreover, you are not doing a clicking movement here, but rather a pressing movement.

This has its advantages and disadvantages. First of all, it helps that people with long hair (but also think of head coverings or scarves) don’t always press their hair to the side and accidentally stop their music. With clicking, the question is often whether the touch came correctly. So compression seems like a good alternative, but in practice it’s kind of a hassle.

If you sit on the couch with your phone in your hand and look at the instructions, you’ll be able to squeeze. However, if you’re on your bike, everything seems to run less smoothly. You probably can’t do it with your hand either connection point You find. Also, it sounds a bit cheesy, as if you’re playing hints and trying to announce a “Sounds Like” situation. Sometimes you are really petty for minutes. There is also a difference between one press and two presses and then there is also the option to hold for longer, as well as the option to raise or lower your finger for the volume.

I don’t really have charcoal shovels or big, sweaty hands however I’ve regularly had problems directing earplugs correctly. As happy as my hair isn’t an issue this time around, I’ve listened to music on some cycling rides which I don’t necessarily think is great because skipping a song while cycling wasn’t very successful. Incidentally, I was glad there wasn’t a lot of wheezing on the bike: despite the fact that these earplugs protrude a bit from your ear, they are well-designed to perform well on the bike.

Noise and sound reduction

You can also turn on noise canceling and it works just fine. It’s not perfect: even with the most extreme noise-reduction setting, you can still hear some noises, but it certainly weakens considerably. You can also set the earbuds to awareness mode so that you can still hear some of the surrounding noise. This, for example – there is again – an advantage on a bicycle, so that you are more aware of other traffic (although you still have to pay more attention, because electric cars are very quiet of course).

Then the sound quality, because that’s basically what people buy headphones for. Listening to music is pretty good on Huawei FreeBuds Pro 2. Whether you’re listening to the dance-pop song Break my Soul by Beyoncé or some heavier guitar work by the Foo Fighters: these earplugs know what to do with them. I decided to test out the different modes of the earbuds using the ultra-low-end Still Your Best tool from RnB talent Giveon. The difference between different sound effects (bass boost, treble boost, vocals) is not very big. The 11mm drivers do a great job of rendering the sound of music.

I notice the sound is a bit sharp when the tones are amplified and that’s quite clever with the deep bass of Giveon. Not that earplugs are too loud: they can actually produce the best bass sound. I’m usually the one playing the bass or singing, but in this case I liked the standard mode better, thanks to Davialet’s French music fans. Unfortunately, Spotify still doesn’t offer it, but the earbuds support LDAC High-Resolution Audio. It even improves your audio experience a bit, making it sound like a little orchestra in your ear when you’re listening to music. Or if you watch Netflix, for example, gunshots and loud engines come out fine too.

In terms of sound, you don’t have much to complain about, unless you’re someone who really wants total silence with reduced noise: you need other earplugs. However, there are more things in which these Huawei audio gadgets are disappointing. The battery life definitely leaves something to be desired. Within a few hours, the life span of each earplug decreases if you have noise canceling. In short: If you’re in a crowded office park, you’ll really have to take your well-deserved lunch without earplugs, so you can recharge before noon. Unfortunately, you probably won’t make it to the end of the afternoon, because after three hours the earbuds’ battery is seriously low. Anyway, they don’t spend four hours with ANC (Active Noise Canceling).

Battery life

The battery may also deteriorate a little faster because the Bluetooth performance is a bit poor. It looks like the earbuds have to work hard to stay connected to your smartphone. Sometimes you hear the hiccups, but even if you stay away from your smartphone with the earplugs in your ears, it will soon lose its signals. So, always keep your phone close by if you want to use these earbuds optimally.

AI Life App

It’s easy to use anyway, because you have a file life AIThe installed application that allows you to choose those different settings for the earphones. You can also do a test to check if you are using the right size of silicone for earplugs. However, the AI ​​Life app also has a drawback: you have to first download the Huawei App Gallery if you want to use the latest version of the AI ​​Life app (spoiler: you need to find this brand new. In the ears).). You don’t have to have this app: you can also pair the earphones with your smartphone and use them without this app.

You have to return these earbuds to their box regularly and fortunately, this is very handy. You also get nice magnetic feedback out of the case so you know it’s strong and good. The earplugs also work with the sensors, so the music stops instantly when you take it out of your ears, but also resumes when you put it back in your ears.

Very nice, because it often happens that you take the earplug out of your ear in a store to have a conversation with someone. You then want to put the earplug back in your ear and the music resumes immediately when you’ve left well with your groceries. These earplugs are perfect for that: the sensors work very well and you can also listen with a single earplug.

conclusion

Huawei FreeBuds Pro 2 also does the most important thing well: the sound quality is good and the noise cancellation is fine. However, it is a little annoying that the control seems to listen closely and seems a bit faded, in addition to the fact that the earplugs have to regularly return to their cocoon because the battery life is not very long. It’s a good idea to use earphones with their corresponding app, because you learn how to handle the ears a little better (and you can use additional audio settings). We totally understand why Huawei calls these headphones premium, because that’s definitely what they look like. But, above all else, that’s what it looks like, and that’s what it’s all about in the end. Whether you’re watching Disney+, listening to music, or making a phone call: these earbuds give you complete freedom to do it with your heart.

Buy Huawei FreeBuds Pro 2

Huawei FreeBuds Pro 2 is available in Silver Frost, Ceramic White and Silver Blue colors for a suggested retail price of €199.99. You get one temporarily Huawei Band 7 59.99€ for free.