Huawei FreeBuds 5i review: great battery life

Huawei is doing well in the smart wearables market, and its TWS goods are very good. Its newest offering is the Freebuds 5i, which came out in China in June and made it to the rest of the world just in time for the holidays. We were able to use a pair of Huawei Freebuds 5i for a while and test out their claims of better noise cancellation, longer battery life, and faster connection. Here is what we learned.

We got the blue Freebuds 5i, which we think is the most attractive of the three colors (the other two are black and white). No matter what color you choose, the surface is smooth and looks and feels like a rock. On the side, there is a button to reset the earbuds and a USB-C port for charge. The back of the case is flat, so you can put it on a flat surface without it moving around. The buds inside the case have a shiny surface, but they don’t show fingerprints too much. The stem is short, and the tips of the buds are made of rubber.

Huawei FreeBuds 5i Specifications

Design and Build

Little has changed in terms of design from the previous generation FreeBuds 4i. The earbuds may be simply inserted and removed from the egg-shaped case. If it has a flat bottom, it won’t roll about on a table.

This time around, you can pick from a wider selection of finishes. We got a blue set, but they also come in black and white. Huawei does not provide a uniform color, but rather gives some materials a unique look by spraying them with emerald gray. We buy this earbuds from its official website

Huawei FreeBuds 5i: Setup and Connection

Like any other Bluetooth 5.2 item, setting up the FreeBuds 5i is a breeze the first time around. When the casing is opened, pairing mode is activated. Huawei and Honor phones with EMUI or HarmonyOS can automatically detect and pair with Bluetooth headphones and earbuds. After the first pairing, the FreeBuds 5i will always connect to the last device they were used with whenever the lid is opened. Keep the headphones in the case and press the side button until the white LED begins blinking to pair with a new device.

The FreeBuds 5i have dual-device connectivity. This comes in handy if, say, you want to get ready for a video call on your computer while listening to music on your phone. However, when any sound is played on the other device, even a notification beep, the music or video on the first device will immediately stop and will not resume playing.

Huawei FreeBuds 5i: Sound Quality

The FreeBuds 5i provide excellent all-around audio quality, whether you’re making a phone call or listening to music from your preferred streaming service. Huawei claims that the DNN algorithm used by the two microphones in these headphones enables automated noise cancelling whenever a call is answered in a noisy environment. I didn’t pay much attention to it, but the person on the other end will hear your voice much more clearly because of it.

Battery Life and Charging

Compared to the old Freebuds, the new ones have a longer battery life. With ANC in normal mode, you can now play music for up to five and a half hours straight. If you choose the Ultra method of noise cancellation, the times get shorter because the headphones have to work harder to get rid of the unwanted sound. In any case, they last longer thanks to the Freebuds 5i case, which lets you use them for up to 28 hours without the ANC turned on.

Final Words

Active noise canceling, LDAC support, and an IP rating on a device that costs less than £100 is quite a feat. Even more amazing is that the Huawei Freebuds 5i also sound okay and have a good battery life. Not many real wireless competitors can say the same. In fact, we think the only thing that comes close to competing with it are older, more expensive models that have been marked down to get rid of them.

You give up a few niceties, like wireless charging, and the sound quality is where these earbuds really don’t shine. You won’t be disappointed by their sound, but it won’t blow you away either. It also takes an extra step or two to install the companion app, which you wouldn’t have to do with Huawei’s closest rivals.

Huawei FreeBuds 5i review: The good and The bad

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