Knocking on its competitors, Huawei is once again stamping its leadership position, but this time in the True Wireless Stereo segment, having launched the Huawei FreeBuds 3i. Powered with exemplary Active Noise Cancellation feature, the latest offering from the world leader in mobile phones and accessories is competing against other giants such as Apple’s Airpods pro, Noise Shots X5 Pro, Samsung Galaxy Buds, and Jabra Elite 65t.
In terms of considering the Huawei TWS against its competitor on a scale of money for value, the new FreeBuds 3i finds itself ahead of the league. None of its competitor’s offers similar audio fidelity or other features in that price range – especially the FreeBuds 3i’s disruptive ANC tech.
Active Noise Cancellation technology
The Huawei FreeBuds 3i delivers an exquisitely superlative ANC performance. The Triple-Mic call noise reduction feature, including two outward-facing mics and one inward-facing mic coupled with the silicone attachments isolate and cuts-out external background noise better than ever. The outward facing mic detects ambient noise and counter it with anti-noise and the inward-facing mic identifies any leftover noise in the ears and cancels it further. The ANC can reduce ambient noise by upto 32dB, thereby guaranteeing crystal clear sound, whether you are listening to your favourite music, watching a movie or simply talking to your friend. Even with music off, you’ll notice the difference if you are in a noisy setting. Or if you are listening to music, you do not need to increase the volume to supress outside noises.
Impressive audio-quality
At such a price point, the FreeBuds 3i delivers an unparalleled audio quality. The 10 millimetre large dynamic drivers produces wide stereo sound with clear highs and mids and pumps out robust bass. The sensitive polymer composite diaphragms are astutely crafted to deliver well-adjusted and genuine audio experience. Even if you do not activate the ANC feature on your earbud, it does not impact the audio quality of Huawei FreeBuds 3i. The sound remains the same and is not affected by ANC.
Further, the intuitive playback feature intelligently pauses when the earbuds are not in use or taken out of the ear and resume once they are placed back in.
Transparency mode
The packed in transparency feature is an add-on, if you are someone who spends most of your time outdoors, driving around traffic, running or cycling.
The FreeBuds 3i lets you toggle in this special transparency mode that allows you to hear outside noises if you chose to, even while listening to music. This mode might come to good use when you are walking or jogging on busy roads or you need to pay attention to your environment. This mode can be enabled from the Huawei AI Life app.
If you are not cycling or running outdoors, where you need to keep an ear on the surrounding traffic, you will probably need to activate the transparency mode less often and the noise-cancellation feature more often. The Active Noise Cancelling (ANC) detect winds and ambient noise so precisely that the headphones quickly negates it with its counter-noise feature.
IPX4 protection
The FreeBuds 3i also comes with an IPX4 water-resistant rating. Though it may not allow you to swim with your earbud placed in, but it is perfect if you get caught up in the rain or sweat it out at the gym or while you are running, cycling or doing HIIT.
Battery Life
Akin to its Honor counterpart, FreeBuds 3i is powered by a 410 mAh battery that lasts for 14.5 hours on a single charge. If compared to its predecessors, the FreeBuds 3i’s battery life is something to watch out for – both the earbud and the charging case last longer compared to its previous generation.
