Lightweight, pleasant to wear and above all to listen to, Huawei’s FreeBuds Pro 3 succeed in seducing the eardrums without relying on the expertise of the French at Devialet. And without emptying the wallet either!
Bose, Sony, Apple… the large manufacturers of True Wireless headphones (understand 100% wireless) have for the most part adopted a renewal cycle spread over two or three years. Huawei is taking this pace in the opposite direction and applying the forced march that we usually find on the smartphone market, namely a new model each year. So, after the FreeBuds Pro 2 released last year, here are already the FreeBuds Pro 3. But users of the previous model can rest assured: it is not necessarily useful here to rush to resell it in order to rush into the novelty as the nuances are tenuous. With the FreeBuds Pro 3, Huawei is rather seeking to appeal to those looking for good sound at a more affordable price than those charged by the audio giants mentioned above. The FreeBuds Pro 3 follow in the footsteps of their predecessors and bring some welcome improvements, particularly in terms of active noise reduction (RBA). By the way, exit the partnership with the French audio specialist Devialet. Why fear a deterioration in the quality of sound reproduction? This is what we are going to discover here. We were able to test the FreeBuds Pro 3 for several weeks. Here is our verdict.
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Huawei FreeBuds Pro 3: comfort and lightness guaranteed
No design revolution for these FreeBuds Pro 3. The shiny plastic, quite festive, with which they are covered will not be to everyone’s taste but at least it allows them to be distinguished from the mass of the usual white or black headphones. The FreeBuds Pro 3 strongly resemble their predecessors. And that’s good. They are very light and, above all, very pleasant to wear once securely placed in the ears. They are completely forgotten. You put them on without the slightest difficulty (which is not the case for many competing headphones) and they stay in place even when moving. Huawei provides four pairs of silicone tips, from sizes XS for small ear canals to XL for larger ear canals. So much so that you can keep them for your jogging sessions without the slightest apprehension. They are also resistant to perspiration and even a temporary shower with their IP54 certification. However, there is no question of making them take the plunge into the swimming pool, they will not resist it.
Comfort also comes down to control. Each earphone is equipped with a touch zone on the stem allowing you to control the volume but also, by pinching, the level of active noise reduction, taking calls, etc. The app offers numerous settings to activate or deactivate gestures and optimize control.
However, you should not hesitate to pinch firmly so that the commands are properly taken into account. Our only regret: the audio notifications sent to the ears when making changes, particularly RBA level changes, are spoken in English.
The charging case, for its part, sports a satin matte plastic shell. The finish is also quite neat. The hood seems sufficiently solid and free of play to withstand the ravages of time and difficult transport conditions. It’s also compact and light enough to stay tucked in a pocket and forgotten about.
Huawei FreeBuds Pro 3: a neat and complete app
To manage its headphones, Huawei relies on its AI Life app which also allows you to control other connected home devices as well as those from Honor. On iOS? the application can be found in the Apple store. On Android, it’s a different story since Huawei is still banned from Google’s PlayStore following American sanctions. Therefore, you must download AI Life either directly through Google Chrome (by scanning a QR code displayed on the instructions) or after installing the Huawei AppGallery app store. This little setback aside, the app turns out to be a fine example of ergonomics. The menus are clear (and in French) and the settings offered are numerous. In addition to the gesture management settings, Huawei offers six predefined equalizers to choose from depending on the style of music listened to. But it is possible to play with a 10-band equalizer (60 Hz – 16 KHz) to find the sound that suits you best. Enough to also compensate for the disappearance of the “Devialet sound”. It works quite well and the Devialet tab is absolutely not missing.
Huawei FreeBuds Pro 3: effective active noise reduction
The Chinese have reworked the active noise reduction particularly well. It is particularly effective at the low frequencies represented by engine or rolling noise in public transport, for example. Voices, on the other hand, like clicking noises or small, higher-pitched noises, still slip through the cracks of the RAB a little too much for our liking. They are still too noticeable to deliver insulation as enveloping as the AirPods Pro 2 or the Bose QC Earbuds II, but remember that the FreeBuds Pro 3 are also less expensive. For the price, the RBA is quite convincing.
The AI Life app offers several levels of RBA: Dynamic which adapts the RBA according to ambient noise, Cozy, to be used in quiet places, General for noisier areas and finally Ultra where noise is omnipresent. This last mode gives rise to a slight hissing sound if no music is playing in the headphones. As for Perception mode (equivalent to transparency mode), it does what is asked of it, nothing more, by slightly amplifying surrounding sounds to carry out, for example, a conversation without removing the headphones from the ears. Finally, note that Huawei also integrates an automatic wind reduction system. A device that is sometimes a little overzealous and not always pleasant to the ear, especially since it cannot be deactivated.
Huawei FreeBuds Pro 3: very good sound reproduction
This is the very pleasant surprise of these FreeBuds Pro 3. The audio quality is truly there. The device supports the usual SBC and AAC codecs plus LDAC and L2HC (HiRes audio). Except that for the latter, you will need to have a Huawei or Honor smartphone (powered by EMUI 13 at least) to take advantage of it. Beyond this software aspect, Huawei has equipped its FreeBuds Pro with two transducers (speakers): the “largest” (11 mm in diameter) takes care of the bass and low mids while the second, smaller, is occupies high mids and highs. An assembly that is not so common in the small world of wireless headphones. And the result of this choice turns out to be very convincing. And if the treble tends to be a little too overzealous with the default settings, a quick turn of the equalizer to raise the bass a little restores the balance. We benefit from clear and very precise sound. Each instrument occupies its place without excess. The soundstage is surprisingly wide and the vocals are very well reproduced. We take pleasure in perceiving certain notes that we thought were a little more in the background. A sax which slowly runs out of steam, a light piano in the background, a soft and silky hi-hat. Pleasure in the ears without having to push the volume too much. It is a success.
There remains telephone communications for which Huawei has also revised its copy with its Pure Voice 2.0 technology. It is a question here of processing the voice to amplify it without distortion. And it works pretty well. Huawei has done a great job. The voice heard by the interlocutor on the other end of the line remains clear and clearly audible even in noisy environments thanks to the attenuation of surrounding sounds. For our part, the RBA is also doing its job of insulating itself without exaggeration. Conversations are pleasant and the algorithmic processing does not chop up words as is often the case. It’s all good.
Huawei FreeBuds Pro 3: autonomy far too tight
So far, the FreeBuds Pro 3 has made almost no mistakes. However, the picture becomes darker in the area of autonomy. It seems that the RBA consumes a lot (too much) energy on these little headphones. According to the manufacturer, with the RBA active, the FreeBuds Pro can provide up to 4.5 hours of playback time. For our part, with volume at 50% and the RBA set to Ultra, we reached just beyond 4 hours. Doing without the RBA allows you to listen for an hour and a half longer. This is a little too tight compared to what the competition offers where it is common to increase to 6 hours of listening time on a charge with the RBA active. We can obviously count on the box to refuel (between three and four recharges maximum). 45 minutes are necessary to find a 100% charged battery. The case itself charges via a USB-C cable (included) or wirelessly. Practical.
Huawei FreeBuds Pro 3: should you go for Huawei’s high-end headphones?
Careful design, featherweight, very comfortable to wear, the FreeBuds Pro take care of our earbuds. Better yet, the sound they deliver rises to an excellent level with a restitution that is neither flattering nor flat of songs that we know by heart. Listening pleasure reinforced by efficient active noise reduction for very good insulation. Add to that voice call quality that gives lessons to the competition and you get True Wireless headphones that are very pleasant for everyday use. As long as you don’t forget your charging case at home before heading out and about. Autonomy represents the main criticism that can be made of these FreeBuds Pro 3. As for the price, it is very reasonable for the quality offered: these are, for the moment, the wireless headphones priced at less than 200 euros. most efficient on the market.