Huawei FreeBuds Pro 3 review

The wireless earbud train continues to chug along, and Huawei is back with another flagship pair vying for the attention of your ears. 

The FreeBuds Pro 3 arrive at a slightly higher price than their predecessors – at £179.99 – and while they undercut the likes of Apple and Sony, there’s not a whole lot of innovation here to tempt anyone who already has the FreeBuds Pro 2.

Design & Build

• Refined design
• Groove for controls
• New green colour

The design of the FreeBuds Pro 3 is largely unchanged from the previous generation. 

With short and wide stems, they look a tad stumpy but I don’t mind too much. The buds are 5% lighter (5.8g per bud) than the FreeBuds Pro 2 but that’s not noticeable. 

Regardless, they are comfortable and secure. I just used the pre-fitted silicone tips but there are other sizes in the box, of course, including a new extra small option. 

Chris Martin / Foundry

The case is very similar, with minor tweaks and improvements. It’s a tad smaller and the hinge is concealed, no longer cutting through the panel on the back with the Huawei logo which is a piece of ‘nano glass’. Though it’s implied that the whole case is glass, the rest is plastic.  

The buds are more exposed making them easier to get out and the case now has a speaker built-in. For now this will give you a sound when charging is complete but a ‘find my case’ feature is coming later.

You can get the FreeBuds Pro 3 in four colours: Silver Frost, Silver Blue, Ceramic White and Green. The latter is the new livery and the one I’ve tested here. 

An IP54 rating makes them dust and splash proof and a new groove on the stem makes using the press/touch controls easier. I really like not fumbling around trying to find the right part and the haptic feedback is nicely crisp. 

Chris Martin / Foundry

See also  Mercedes EQXX first drive: The future of Mercedes

You can pinch once, twice, three times or a long pinch for various controls (namely playback and ANC modes) as well as swiping up and down to adjust the volume.  

The latter works well but must be done on the same grooved section which faces forward rather than the more intuitive outer surface of the stem where the Huawei logo resides. 

Sound Quality & Features

• Dual drivers
• Two Hi-Res codecs
• Software hurdles

Huawei once again offers a dual-driver audio system here with 11mm dynamic drivers paired with planar diaphragm drivers. 

The combination allows the buds to offer an epically large frequency range of 14Hz–48kHz. And once again they sound great offering up rich, dynamic and spacious audio.  

Bass is particularly strong once again so if you like EDM (electronic dance music) then the FreeBuds Pro 3 are a great choice. However, they are suited to lots of genres of music as well as podcasts and the like thanks to the detailed mid-range and delicately handled high-end. 

I can’t switch it on and off to test the performance, but Huawei touts ‘triple adaptive EQ’ which can adjust the sound profile based on volume level, ear canal shape, and wearing status. 

Once again, the buds can detect when they are in your ears to automatically pause playback when you take a bud out. It works as advertised.

Chris Martin / Foundry

Active noise cancelling (ANC) is now Intelligent ANC 3.0 which the firm says is 50% better than the FreeBuds Pro 2. I can’t say I noticed that much of a jump, but they certainly do a great job of blocking out unwanted sound, and the awareness mode is useful for when you want to hear what’s going on around you without taking the earbuds out. 

By default, the ANC is on dynamic mode and automatically chooses based on your surroundings but manual selection of cozy, general and ultra is found in the AI life app.

Call quality is once again handled by a quad mic system comprised of three silicon and one bone conduction mic. As per the FreeBuds Pro 2, I’ve found the quality to be very good. Whatever Pure Voice 2.0 is doing in the background to get rid of noise, including wind, does a solid job. 

The FreeBuds Pro 3 are certainly worthy of their Pro moniker when it comes to codecs. Alongside the basic ones you find on pretty much any pair of buds, they support LDAC and L2HC 2.0 meaning you can listen to Hi-Res Audio wirelessly. 

This is provided you have a compatible device, with L2HC 2.0 only available on Huawei phones running EMUI 13.0 or later. Bare in mind that you’ll also need Hi-Res content/streaming subscription.

Chris Martin / Foundry

If you own a compatible Huawei device, you’ll benefit from pop-up pairing making it easier to get connected. Other modern/smart features include dual connections so you can be connected to two devices at the same time, even Android and iOS, a fit test and find my earphones. 

There’s also audio sharing so two pairs of buds can be connected to the same thing, listening to the same audio but this is limited to select Huawei devices. 

Another software hurdle is the fact the AI Life app isn’t available on the Google Play Store so you must get it via Huawei’s App Gallery instead. This is a faff and even then, the app couldn’t find my FreeBuds Pro 3. I had better luck on iPhone where the app is available and found the headphones.

You can use the buds without the app, but you’ll need it to access all the settings and features.

Chris Martin / Foundry

Battery Life & Charging 

• Marginal gains
• No quick charging
• Wireless charging case

In terms of battery life, Huawei says you’ll get 6.5 hours from the buds but this is specifically using them at 50% volume with ANC switched off and the basic AAC Bluetooth codec. Including the charging case, the total is 31 hours. 

Chris Martin / Foundry

Real-world battery life will vary, of course. Listening at 50% volume with noise cancelling on, while travelling on a noisy train for an hour lost around 20% battery suggesting a lifespan of five hours. 

It’s a marginal gain on the previous generation of FreeBuds Pro but you can find longer battery life elsewhere if needed. 

The buds will take around 40 minutes to charge inside the case with Huawei not mentioning any fast charging. The case can be charged via USB-C or wireless charging, though at up to 2W the latter will take more than twice as long to get the case full. 

Price & Availability

In typical fashion, Huawei undercuts rivals when it comes to the price. The FreeBuds Pro 3 are yours for £179.99 placing them as more of a mid-range option.  

You can buy them from the official store as well as Amazon and Very. They are not available in the US at the time of writing.

If you can’t afford buds like the Apple AirPods Pro 2, Sony WF-1000XM5 and Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds then the FreeBuds Pro 3 are a great option for a flagship pair. 

For something cheaper, Huawei has the excellent FreeBuds 5 and you can check out our chart of the best true wireless earbuds for more options.

Should you buy the Huawei FreeBuds Pro 3? 

Huawei has made another largely excellent pair of true wireless earbuds.  

They undercut big-name rivals while offering top-notch audio quality, noise cancelling, on-bud controls and a number of useful features. 

However, there are some things to consider before hitting the buy button.  

A number of features are limited to Huawei devices, the software experience isn’t straightforward and not a whole has changed when comparing the buds with the FreeBuds Pro 2 which, now they are the older generation, you might find for an attractive price. 

Specs

• 11mm dynamic driver, planar diaphragm driver
• 14Hz – 48kHz
• Bluetooth
• Bone sensor, Accelerometer, Gyroscope sensor, Infrared sensor
• Simultaneous connection to two Bluetooth devices supported
• LDAC, L2HC2.0, AAC, SBC
• Pinch and swipe gestures
• Battery life: Up to 6.5 hours music playback on 1 charge (4.5hr with ANC), 31hr playback with charging case
• USB-C
• Wireless charging (market dependant)
• Dynamic active noise cancelling (up to 47dB)
• Dimensions: 29.1 x 23.7 x 21.8 mm (per earbud)
• Dimensions: 67.9 x 47.5 x 24.5 mm (charging case)
• Weight: About 5.8g (per earbud), About 45.5g (charging case)
• IP54
• Silver Blue,Silver Frost ,Ceramic White, Green