Huawei Freebuds 3 review: The truly wireless earbuds Android users have been waiting for

Huawei Freebuds 3 review: Every few months we get a new pair of truly wireless earphones that are glorified as Apple AirPods for Android. Except, none of them are. Most of these devices fade out after showing initial promise. And, now we have a new contender in Huawei Freebuds 3, which again seems to have a lot of potential on paper. These are claimed to be world’s only open-fit true wireless earphones with active noise cancellation. 

Priced at Rs 12,990, the Huawei Freebuds were launched in the Indian market on Wednesday and will complete against Samsung Galaxy Buds+ (priced at Rs 11,990), Jabra Elite 75t (priced at Rs 14,999) and of course, the Apple AirPods. 

Now, if there is one thing that lockdown has done is probably make people realise the importance of a good pair of truly wireless earphones or the comfort that they bring. The media consumption is increasing, people are making more video calls than ever and there is simply no running from audio devices now. So, can Huawei Freebuds 3 fill that void and be a worthy option? Let’s find out. 

Huawei Freebuds 3 review: Design 

The design is likely to trigger a debate among tech enthusiasts in the coming weeks. Some may say it is inspired by already existing products, others may differ. I say everything is fine as long as it is not bulky and fits in well. The Huawei Freebuds 3 have a stem that sticks out of ear in an open-fit design. 

Some of the other earbuds launched in the recent past had unnecessary fat on them which thankfully, has been avoided by Huawei. This makes the Freebuds 3 extremely light at 4.5 grams, making them easy to carry around, even when not in use. There were times when I had these plugged in but simply forgot about them while doing the usual household chores.

Every now then, I did feel some discomfort but that was largely after a long usage. This could also be because you don’t get add-on ear tips with Huawei Freebuds 3.

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The earbuds have been launched in three colour options – White, Black and Red. We had the black colour variant for review purposes. It comes with a glossy finish which makes it a smudge magnet. The charging case has a similar finish with Huawei branding on top. 

Huawei Freebuds 3 review: Sound and Performance

Pairing the Huawei Freebuds 3 to your smartphone is quite easy. You simply need to open the case and press the button on the right side for a few seconds to activate the pairing mode. Once connected, the earbuds auto-connect themselves to the device.

To get the best out of the earbuds, you need to download the Huawei AI Life app, which is available on Google Play Store for free. The app gives you access to advanced features but you continue to use them without it as well. I hear that you get some additional features on the Huawei smartphones but the experience was quite satisfactory otherwise too. 

I liked the simplified UI of the app which guides you through different functionalities. This is also where you can control the active noise cancellation, depending on the surroundings. 

The earphones are powered by the Kirin A1 chip and Bluetooth 5.1, and have 14mm dynamic drivers. For those unaware, this is one of the bigger and better drivers which promises improved audio output. 

I enjoyed a varied range of music on these and somehow, they manage to find a balance between bass and vocals. Most audio device manufacturers often miss a trick here. Given Indian listener’s obsession with increased bass, they end up enhancing it artificially, often leading to annoying audio output. 

Some of the tracks I tried on Huawei Freebuds 3 included ‘Liggi’ by Ritiviz, ‘Bismil’ by Sukhwinder Singh from Haider and ‘Iktara’ by Amit Trivedi and Kavita Seth. The more aggressive tracks included ‘Stuck With You’ by Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber, ‘Blinding Lights’ by The Weekend and ‘This City’ by Sam Fischer. 

Oh yeah, I also played the entire album of ‘Dil Se’ and the entire experience was elevated. Of course, you can’t take away the credit from magician Rahman. 

I have been watching a lot of interviews using the Huawei Freebuds 3 lately including our own ‘Talking Tech During Lockdown’ series as well as a few podcasts like 22 Yarns and ‘Qisse Lockdown Ke’ by Nilesh Misra. The audio quality has been superior across formats and genre. 

I have faced little to no issues while making calls as well. In fact, the ability to pick or end calls by double tapping either of the sticks is very convenient. 

A big let-down, however, is that while there is support for wearing detection, it didn’t work with my Samsung smartphone. There are other products in the market, some priced even lesser, that are offering this functionality.

Huawei Freebuds 3 review: Battery

Battery is one of the most impressive aspects of the Huawei Freebuds 3. You get 4.5 hours of playback on a single charge with an additional 20 hours of playback from the charging case. So, basically if you are travelling, it is almost unlikely that you will have to charge the buds on the way. Another huge advantage is that you get a Type-C USB charging case. 

Huawei Freebuds 3 review: Final Verdict 

So, we reach the most important part. Most brands have been making a mistake by designing their truly wireless earbuds like the Apple AirPods without focusing much on other aspects of the device. Huawei changes that by offering a premium looking pair of earbuds that sound well, have impressive ANC and last longer. At Rs, 12,990, the Freebuds 3 are nicely placed between competition and could finally be the pair of truly wireless earphones that Android users have been waiting for.