HUAWEI FreeBuds 3 – Wireless Bluetooth Earphone: Features and Specifications as mentioned on Amazon

• A TRUE WIRELESS STEREO EARPHONE – When paired with a phone over Bluetooth, free buds 3 provides users with a true stereo experience when making calls or listening to music. The two earbuds also undergo smart switching depending on the usage scenario and battery level to provide users with an optimum listening experience.
• LOW POWER CONSUMPTION, LONG BATTERY LIFE – free buds 3 uses a low-power Bluetooth chip for reduced power consumption and long battery life. A single charge gives users about 2.5 hours of voice calls or about 4 hours of continuous music playback. Used in conjunction with the charging case, This extends to more than 12 hours of calls and 20 hours of music playback.
• NOISE REDUCTION – each earbud has two MEMS silicon microphones featuring call noise reduction technology, which effectively cancels out background noise.
• WIND NOISE REDUCTION – Supports wind noise reduction at a maximum wind speed of 20km/h to ensure the call’s effectiveness.
• WIRELESS CHARGING (CHARGING CASE) – The earbuds are automatically charged when stored in the charging case. The included charging case supports both wired and wireless charging. When the earbuds are inserted into the charging case, The earbuds will be charged first. International Version: No Warranty in the USA

HUAWEI FreeBuds 3 – Wireless Bluetooth Earphone: A Complete Review

Appearance and build quality

The HUAWEI FreeBuds 3 case is slightly larger than in the Airpods and has a round shape compared to the rectangular Airpods. On the backside is the inscription Huawei on the background of the square. The case is the same, easily soiled and glossy. It collects scratches and prints just as well as with Airpods. On white, prints are less noticeable.

HUAWEI FreeBuds 3 headphones are available in white and black, carbon black and ceramic white to be more precise. In China, red seems to be available.

In shape, the headphones are almost identical to Apple Airpods. As for me, this is the most successful, miniature, and aesthetically pleasing case of all completely wireless models in the Airpods format. What I did not like was the overly glossy case and the headphone case itself. Case collects prints well, and on the earbuds, the prints are almost imperceptible.

Build quality does not raise questions (even in Apple Airpods Pro, there was a slight backlash on the case, Huawei Fribads 3 does not have it). The earbuds are at least completely plastic but very light (4.5 gms one earbud). I think about a dozen falls survive. But this is all guesswork.

Comfort and control

HUAWEI FreeBuds 3 in terms of comfort are the same as Airpods. More precisely, they are comfortable and designed for 2-4 hours of listening without fatigue.

Touch control is carried out with the help of touches:

• By default, double-tap on the left earphone – active noise reduction on/off.
• Double right there – next track
• Triple tap – trackback
• Single tap – play/pause

False clicks minimum. Everything is quite convenient. But after managing Airpods Pro (physical clicks in a new format), Huawei’s management seemed outdated. Apple, as always, is one step ahead. I wonder how long it will be possible to keep leadership in this niche. The Chinese are already stepping on their heels. You can reassign keys in the FreeBuds Assistant application. Magnets fix the case perfectly. Earbuds will not fall out for sure.

Huawei Freebuds 3 – Active noise reduction, Connection, Autonomy, etc.

Active noise reduction is purely for show, and in fact, + – does not give anything. If you hoped you could ride the subway comfortably, with noise reduction on Huawei Freebuds 3, then forget it. Noise will still leak out. Noise reduction cuts off 15-20 percent of noise. This is much better than Airpods in-ear, but nothing compared to vacuum Airpods with noise-canceling, which cut off 90% of the noise. Again, among the earbuds, Huawei Freebuds 3 may have better noise reduction of all.

The Earbuds charge is displayed in the Bluetooth settings. Only 2 LED indicators. One inside which signals headphone charge + pairing. The second at the very bottom of the case – signals the charge of the case. USB C Charging.

Autonomy

4 hours of playback after one charge. Earbuds 4 hours charge really hold + from the case for 20 hours. This is a very cool result and a record among all Airpods clones.

What else is interesting?

• The connection is stable. It breaks through the wall into another room perfectly. Onboard Bluetooth 5.1. A delay of 190 milliseconds is almost imperceptible.
• HUAWEI FreeBuds 3 supports wireless charging + charging from a smartphone (with support for reverse charging).
• According to the IP54 standard, the headphones are protected, which means maximum, they are not afraid of rain. Of course, you can’t swim in them.
• There is a proximity sensor on the case, which pauses music when removing the headphones and on the play when putting on.

Appendix

On any Android device, you can install the proprietary application FreeBuds Assistant. There you can configure what touch control on the right or left headphone will be responsible for. Update the firmware, see the charge level and adjust the noise reduction. There is no application for the iPhone, and this is sad.

Problems on non-Huawei smartphones

I initially tested HUAWEI FreeBuds 3 on the Samsung Galaxy S8 and got about 40% of the volume at maximum. I didn’t figure out how to increase it on the Xiaomi smartphone, everything was fine, and with a separate connection to the player and PC, there were no problems either. A bit of a rush on the Internet, I found the fierce competition between Samsung and Huawei. Perhaps this “Bug” was made intentionally. The “Bug” with the proximity sensor, which pauses/plays only on Huawei phones with firmware 10+. And the animation only works on Huawei smartphones. However, all this could be implemented for all devices.

Comparison of HUAWEI FreeBuds 3 and Apple Airpods 2019

Compare HUAWEI FreeBuds 3 with vacuum Airpods Pro does not make sense since HUAWEI FreeBuds 3 liners. By the way, I liked the sound of Airpods Pro more than only in the context of the Apple ecosystem. And the noise there is not at all for the show.

Therefore, we will compare the 2019 Apple Airpods earbuds (2nd version) and the HUAWEI FreeBuds 3 earbuds.

The main differences between HUAWEI FreeBuds 3 from Apple Airpods 2019: 

• The sound is more bass, more compiled for me.
• The weight of 1 earphone is the same: 4 gms.
• Autonomy is slightly less: 4 hours + 20 hours. Airpods 2019 has approximately 4.5 hours + 24 hours from the case.
• Bluetooth 5.1 vs. Bluetooth 5.0 on Airpods.
• The case is round. Apple Airpods is rectangular.
• The appearance of the headphones themselves differs slightly (as you see in the picture above).
• Touch control, the same with touch.

Among all the completely wireless inserts in the Airpods form factor, HUAWEI FreeBuds 3 is the best I’ve heard and seen for android. If we discard Airpods for iPhone, then HUAWEI FreeBuds 3 has the best design, housing, and functionality among all the Airpods Android form factor models.

Is HUAWEI FreeBuds 3 Better Than Apple Airpods 2019? In the context of Huawei and other Chinese phones, yes. Airpods 2019 will be more profitable for the Apple iPhone, if only because of the AAC high-resolution codec and Apple’s ecosystem. For Samsung and some other smartphones, I would not choose either FreeBuds 3 or Apple Airpods 2019 (there is no AAC support).

Sound quality and Microphone

The 14 mm drivers and the new Kirin A1 processor, and Bluetooth 5.1 finally allow you to achieve a decent sound in the Airpods form factor, which you can finally enjoy. Unfortunately, there is no support for popular high-resolution codecs.

In general, the sound quality, HUAWEI FreeBuds 3 on Android, is more distinct and bass than in Airpods on Android. Separately pleased with the bass. It is advisable to connect HUAWEI FreeBuds 3 to a device with Bluetooth 5.0+

• LF. Assertive, rocking, and powerful. Low frequencies slightly prevail over the midrange and treble. In general, for the inserts, a very cool result. There are no earpads, but the bass still does not dissipate.
• MF. Voice tones convey well. Sagging a little low, but not critical.
• Treble sounds satisfactory. Iron, strings, and most synths do not sand and sound good. This is a relatively excellent result.
• Virtual scene. Space is weak, which is not surprising for fully wireless earbuds.
• Detail and naturalness. There are no applications for natural sound. The sound is energetic, swinging, and enveloping. Music lovers will definitely check out, but audiophiles will certainly pass by.

Final review of HUAWEI FreeBuds 3

HUAWEI FreeBuds 3 is a very decent alternative to Airpods for Android. If you pick up fully wireless headphones in the Airpods form factor for an Android phone, then HUAWEI FreeBuds 3, in 2019, is the best option!

It should be borne in mind that HUAWEI FreeBuds 3 is fully compatible only on Huawei smartphones with firmware 10+, almost complete on Xiaomi phones, and most Chinese, they could not be friends with my Samsung normally.

Regarding HUAWEI FreeBuds 3 for iPhone. Buying Huawei Freebuds 3 for iPhone, I see no reason. There is no application. Apple Airpods with the AAC codec and in the native ecosystem will play more interesting due to the greater bandwidth of the stream via Bluetooth.

As a result, it is cool to listen to HUAWEI FreeBuds 3 on Huawei phones (which Huawei actually wanted), on Xiaomi phones, and, apparently, other Chinese.

• Wonderful sound. The best sound in 2019, among models similar to Airpods, for Android.
• Great design. Finally, in FreeBuds 3, the design has become beautiful and ergonomic. Appearance is almost indistinguishable from Airpods (the design is even a little more convenient).
• Convenient design of earphones, case, and convenient management.
• Functional. Proprietary application, noise reduction, convenient touch control (customizable).
• Autonomy 4 + 20 hours. This is an excellent indicator of the Airpods Android form factor.
• High-quality microphone.

• Proximity sensor or auto-pause when removing the earphone works only with HUAWEI smartphones with firmware 10+. This could be implemented for all smartphones. But HUAWEI is played in Chinese Apple, with its ecosystem, limiting functions on other smartphones, luring users to themselves. For me, this already had the opposite effect. There is no proprietary application for the iPhone.
• Active noise cancellation is approximately 80% useless. It suppresses only 20% of noise or almost nothing, if expressed. Although on the other hand, this is the first noise suppressor in the liners, which somehow suppresses noise.
• Glossy case and headphone case. Case collects prints well. On the headphones, the prints are almost imperceptible. (In the white version, it is almost not visible on the case).
• The price of $128.10 is generally reasonable. But if not for these intentional jambs for non-Huawei phones