introduction
Huawei’s FreeBuds range has offered some great wireless earbuds over the years and the new FreeBuds 5 are the latest addition. They arrive with a bold new design, flagship features, and a combined 30-hour battery life. FreeBuds 5 comes as a successor to 2021’s FreeBuds 4, which were a solid pair of open earbuds.
The spec department looks pretty impressive with 11mm drivers, an active noise cancellation system with three microphones on each bud, multi-point pairing, LDAC support, and Bluetooth 5.3 connectivity. Can these oddly shaped gems compete with the premium offerings of the competition? These are our results.
Project
The inspiration behind the bold design of the FreeBuds 5 comes from glassmaking and more specifically Prince Rupert drops, aka Batavian/Dutch tears. Tempered glass beads feature an unusually strong stiffness in the rounded end of the glass that can withstand severe impact while the tail side is susceptible to fractures that can disintegrate the entire piece into powder.
We can definitely see Huawei’s glass-making inspiration in the FreeBuds 5, but we also get a nod to an evolved version of the Samsung Galaxy Buds Live aka Galaxy Beans from nearly three years ago. One thing’s for sure, the FreeBuds 5 stand out from just about every other pair of earphones we’ve seen in recent times, and their design is certainly polarizing.
Huawei used a data simulation of hundreds of ear shapes during the design process to refine the look and fit of the FreeBuds 5 and reach the final retail version we have here with us. While the buds forgo the in-ear silicone tips, they do come with silicone ear tips to help with their fit. You get two different sizes in the pack. The box also includes a USB-C cable and manuals.
Our review unit comes in the Frost Silver color which has a liquid metal-like appearance to the gems that is highly reflective. The charging case features a pebble shape that opens in the center to reveal the buds. The locking mechanism is solid with a firm click. The bottom of the case houses a USB-C port while the pairing button is on the right side.
Each earbud weighs 5.4 grams while the case comes in at 45 grams. The open ear on the FreeBuds 5 means they rest on the outside of your ear canal without pushing into your ears like most wireless earbuds. This makes FreeBuds 5 one of the most comfortable earphones for longer listening sessions. I could easily get through 3-4 hour sessions without feeling any pressure on my ears, which is not something I can say about most in-ear headphones.
While I liked the relaxed fit of the FreeBuds 5, they didn’t work well with the shape of my ears during running and gym sessions as they wobbled in my ears and even fell out a few times despite using the provided silicone eartips .
Characteristics
FreeBuds 5 features 11mm dual-magnetic dynamic driver units with a claimed frequency response range of 16Hz to 40kHz. The earphones connect via Bluetooth 5.2 and support dual connection to two devices, as well as wear detection sensors that automatically pause and resume media playback. Huawei phones and tablets running EMUI 10.1 and later also feature a proximity pairing feature for seamless connectivity.
In terms of audio, the FreeBuds 5 supports the high bitrate LDAC codec and Huawei’s proprietary L2HC 2.0 codec. Huawei also claims that the FreeBuds 5 is 30% more sensitive to low frequencies than the FreeBuds 4. The buds offer an adaptive audio equalizer that can be fine-tuned within the Huawei AI Life app.
The companion app also lets you toggle all sorts of features on the buds, including noise cancellation, gestures, wear tracking, and software updates. The app also features a Find My Earbuds setting that plays a loud beep on the buds if you misplace them.
Despite their open-ear design, the FreeBuds 5 feature noise cancellation via the three microphones housed on each bud which Huawei calls Open Fit ANC 3.0. The buds also feature AI call noise cancellation which should help isolate your voice in crowded environments. Another cool feature is the built-in infrared sensors next to the drivers that scan your ears and adjust the audio output based on fit.
Programmable touch controls with single and double tap controls and swipe up and down to control volume. The charging case supports both wired and wireless charging which is great to see. The buds also feature IP54 dust and splash resistance, while the case provides no ingress protection.
Performance and sound quality
The Huawei FreeBuds 5 offer above-average sound quality with a balanced sound profile stage and great low-end performance as advertised. Listening to a range of music styles shows the fine-tuning made by the Huawei team over the FreeBuds 4 and we’re happy to report that the FreeBuds 5 offer a better overall experience in all use cases than their predecessor .
Music and acoustic instruments sound clear and faithfully reproduced on the FreeBuds 5, and the option to play with EQ lets you tailor the sound to your specific hearing preferences. The default EQ profile is a bit flat, and we found the bass boost mode to offer the best experience out of the presets provided by Huawei. You are free to edit audio profiles to your liking within the Huawei AI Life app and save up to three custom presets.
As expected, the ANC from the open-back earbuds isn’t as impressive and barely makes a difference to the noise around you. You will notice a slight decrease in the sound of air conditioners and other low-frequency noises, but louder voices and objects will still easily overwhelm the FreeBuds 5’s ANC system. You may also notice an immediate hissing effect when ANC is enabled and tends to distort audio playback.
Gesture controls have been a hit with some headsets in the past, but we’re happy to report that the FreeBuds 5 offer stellar touch control accuracy. They also include a volume adjuster which is really handy when you’re away from your phone.
Connection strength was solid for the most part even when switching between devices. The advertised ten-meter connection range holds true even when you’re just a few rooms away from your audio source. The double pairing function worked well although sometimes it took a few seconds when transferring between phone and laptop. There was noticeable latency when watching video on my laptop, but it’s common among wireless earbuds, and they fared better when plugged into a phone.
The FreeBuds 5 worked well on calls indoors with people on the other end which reported loud and clear reception of my voice. That changed outdoors where stronger winds would overwhelm my voice, but that’s the case with most earphones.
Battery life
The FreeBuds 5 come with 42mAh batteries inside the earbuds and a 505mAh cell for the charging case. The values declared by Huawei suggest 3.5 hours of battery life with ANC active and 5 hours without ANC. The charging case can extend these to 20 hours with ANC and 30 hours without ANC.
In our testing, we found these figures to be accurate with the earphones depleting after 4.5 hours of use with ANC off and just over 3 hours with ANC on. The case provides up to five full charges. A full charge of the earphones and case takes around 40 minutes via cable and over 4 hours via a wireless charger. FreeBuds 5 also supports fast charging which gives you 2 hours of listening after 5 minutes on the charger.
Verdict
Huawei’s FreeBuds 5 carry one of the flashiest designs we’ve seen in the segment which instantly makes them stand out in the sea of competitors. Their lightweight, open design is comfortable for longer listening sessions, although the fit will ultimately depend on the shape of your ear. The sound quality is above average and you will enjoy clear audio with the support of high bitrate LDAC codec.
The FreeBuds 5 are not without flaws in that the ANC system is barely noticeable, the microphone’s voice pickup is easily muffled and they may have a hard time staying in your ears. What you’re getting is a flagship pair of wireless earphones with all the high-end features you’d expect, a unique design, and solid battery life.
At €159 the FreeBuds 5 is fairly priced for the features and sound quality. You should consider them if you’re looking for a new pair of earphones and aren’t surprised by their cutting-edge design.
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