Huawei FreeBuds 3i review - Great features on a budget - Android
Huawei may struggle with apps, but its hardware remains incredibly attractive. The company’s latest true-wireless earbuds, the Huawei FreeBuds 3i, combine an accessible price tag with good sound quality and features you’ll typically find on higher-end competitors like the AirPods Pro.
Are these affordable true wireless earbuds a good pick? Find out in our Huawei FreeBuds 3i review.
As their name suggests, the FreeBuds 3i (£99/€99) are the follow-up to the more sophisticated FreeBuds 3 (£149/€189 at launch), which came out late last year.
Despite being much cheaper, the difference between the FreeBuds 3i and the FreeBuds 3 isn’t massive. In fact, if you want an in-ear design and superior noise isolation, the cheaper FreeBuds 3i come on top. On the flip side, the FreeBuds 3 have longer battery life and better sound quality in optimal conditions.
Despite being much cheaper, the difference between the FreeBuds 3i and the FreeBuds 3 isn’t massive.
The FreeBuds 3i feature active noise-cancelling (ANC) and silicone tips that go into your ear canals, dampening external noise and improving the perceived sound quality. Like the FreeBuds 3, they draw inspiration from Apple’s AirPods series, both in appearance and in feature set. The FreeBuds 3i even come with Awareness mode, which works just like Apple’s Transparency mode.
You can use the FreeBuds 3i with any Bluetooth-enabled device, but you’ll get the best experience with Huawei devices running EMUI 10 or later, which offer quicker connection and wearing detection.
The FreeBuds 3i support two simple gestures – double-tap and tap-and-hold. Using the companion app, Huawei AI Life, you can assign the double-tap gesture to playback controls, while tap-and-hold cycles through ANC modes.
Huawei AI Life is compatible with just about any Android device, but it’s not available for iOS. You could still use the FreeBuds 3i with an iPhone, but you won’t be able to customize the gestures or get software updates, unless you can get hold of an Android device.
Also read: The best headphones under $100 of 2020
When used together with a Huawei phone running EMUI 10 or later, the FreeBuds 3i connect seamlessly by simply popping open the case, and they also detect wearing to automatically pause and resume playback.
You can assign different commands for double-tapping the left and right earbud, which gives you a little more flexibility. You can choose between play/pause, next song, previous song, and wake voice assistant.
I really liked how the FreeBuds 3 sound, and the good news is the FreeBuds 3i are not far behind in terms of sound quality. I am not by any means an audiophile, but I found the FreeBuds 3i enjoyable in most situations.
The biggest issue I noticed was with the lower part of the frequency spectrum. Bass and lower frequencies in general sound less clear compared to the FreeBuds 3. It’s not awful, but it’s noticeable. Clarity aside, low frequencies also tended to drown out parts of the mid-range. I ran into this issue with many tracks from Billie Eilish that feature heavy bass and hushed vocals. This phenomenon, when loud sounds make it hard to perceive relatively quiet ones, is called auditory masking and is common with consumer headsets. While the result is rarely unpleasant, if you care a lot about accurate reproduction, you may find the FreeBuds 3i disappointing.
I found the FreeBuds 3i enjoyable in most situations.
The FreeBuds 3i sound quality is otherwise good, especially considering their price tag. Vocals tend to be clear, so long as they aren’t accompanied by a cacophony of drum kicks; I heard no annoying hisses or crackles, and the earbuds get quite loud.
It helps that the FreeBuds 3i feature silicon tips that plug into your ears (there are four sizes included in the package). These provide the isolation that’s sorely missing from the open-fit FreeBuds 3, as well as the AirPods and other earbuds of similar design. Thanks to this, the FreeBuds 3i sound louder than the FreeBuds 3, despite having a smaller driver: 10mm vs 14.2mm. To get a better idea of what this means, consider I could comfortably use the FreeBuds 3i at 30% volume on my laptop, where I had to crank up the volume closer to 50% on the FreeBuds 3 for the same perceived effect.
The FreeBuds 3i haven’t blown my mind with their noise-cancelling, but they’re definitely better in this regard than the FreeBuds 3’s ANC, which was barely noticeable.
The ear tips keep a lot of the ambient noise out, which makes it much easier for the ANC function to make an audible difference.
Like with all ANC headphones, you’ll get the best results with low, monotone noises like the humming of an airplane cabin or car engines. Meanwhile, high frequencies come through, and ANC will struggle to adapt to variable noises like the chatter of a café.
Read more: The best noise-cancelling true wireless earbuds
If you need to work – or just relax – in a noisy environment, you’ll definitely want to keep the FreeBuds 3i in ANC mode. Even with music off, you’ll hear the difference. And when you do listen to music, you won’t need to crank up the volume as high, which is good for your auditory health.
The FreeBuds 3i let you toggle in a special mode that helps outside sounds go through, making them easier to hear even when listening to music. It works a lot like the AirPods Pro’s Transparency mode, it’s just called different: Awareness mode.
There’s a noticeable difference between Awareness mode and simply turning ANC off. I could hear my wife talk to me easier, even without pausing music or turning the volume down. Awareness might also come in handy when walking or jogging on busy roads or whenever you need to pay attention to your environment.
Note that Awareness mode needs to be enabled from the Huawei AI Life app. If it’s not enabled, the earbuds will simply toggle ANC on and off.
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