Huawei presented the uniquely designed FreeClip true wireless earphones. After spending a couple of weeks with a couple, we are now ready to share with you how they really work.
The Freeclip’s design is open-ear, and while it looks like a bone conduction wearable, it actually plays audio directed towards the ear canal while clipped loosely around the helix of the ear.
Project
The color of our variant is black and ships in a matte light gray case on the outside and dark gray on the inside. The earbuds are actually black, but their surface is reflective, meaning the color isn’t as prominent.
The case has an LED light on the outside to indicate battery capacity, with three modes: green for over 75%, yellow between 25% and 75%, and red under 25%. There is a button on the right side for pairing and the buds are inside.
FreeClip is the first open-ear wearable audio device that does not distinguish between left and right earphones. The clips read which side of the case it comes out of, and that’s how they fit. For example, one of the earphones located on the right side of the case will be the right channel.
However, if you switch ears without putting the earphones back in the case, they will not reset and the channels will be reversed. It sounds complicated, but in practice we didn’t encounter any problems: rarely would you need to unclip the buds, hold them in the palm of your hand, and then randomly put them back.
We use the verb “clip” even if the truth is that there is no real clipping; the buds simply remain on the ear. It takes some time to get used to positioning them correctly, but after the second or third try the process happens naturally. We simply pinched them close to the C-bridge, placed the Comfort Bean behind the ear, and the acoustic ball naturally faces the ear canal.
Huawei said it based the design of the fit on the study of more than 10,000 different shapes of the human ear in its Huawei Labs. The goal was for the earphones to fit anyone’s ears.
Characteristics
FreeClip does not have a single touch-sensitive area. Instead, there are three separate zones, one for each part of the headset. There are at least four microphones on each earbud: two on the Acoustic Ball to hear the speaker during calls and two more on the Bean to pick up and eliminate surrounding sounds and voices.
The earbuds pair just like any other Bluetooth audio device, but we recommend using the AI Life app for Android and Harmony OS devices. There are some customizations available such as sound effects, gestures can be changed and the app also handles software updates.
One feature that Huawei has implemented in its audio wearables is dual-device connection, and the FreeClip actually performed better than previous Freebuds we tested. Our earbuds were constantly connected to a Windows computer and an Android smartphone, and switched effortlessly between sources, as long as only one audio was playing.
Each bud weighs just 5.6 grams, and our reviewers often forgot they were wearing them. There is an IP54 certification for splash and dust resistance, making the FreeClip ideal for casual sports and gym activities.
Performance and audio quality
The big question everyone was asking at launch was about sound dispersion, and we can confirm that it exists and is significant, especially when the music is loud. Using them in our open-plan office was a burden for the reviewer’s deskmates, who always complained about the volume.
We advise you not to exceed 70-80% of the volume if you don’t want to disturb those around you too much.
The device is an engineering marvel, especially with the 9 wires in the C bridge, which connect the Bean and the Ball to become this impressive product. It’s equal parts fashion accessory and wearable audio device, but there’s no escaping the fact that the sound is subpar.
Lovers of crisp, loud music won’t appreciate these earbuds; they’re for casual podcasters and music listeners who would value the futuristic look over the sound quality.
This is how you put Huawei FreeClip
The FreeClip earbuds offer a low latency mode, which can be enabled via the AI Life app. They also have wear sensors that detect when the earbuds are on your ear and pause playback when you take them off, which is turned on by default.
Calls are stable, but since the earbuds are open-ear, we do not recommend using them in crowded and noisy spaces, as the earbuds can often pick up random people’s voices, and this is not ideal for the person on the telephone. on the other end of the call.
The FreeClip earbuds don’t have ANC as it wouldn’t be very useful with the open-ear design.
Battery life
The Huawei FreeClip case has a capacity of 510 mAh and each earbud has an extra 55 mAh, with Huawei promising up to 36 hours of listening time on a single charge.
In reality, we got 32 hours over three full cycles, and that was with occasional breaks while the buds were in the case.
Over 30 hours of listening on a single charge is still an impressive feat, and given how quickly the FreeClip charges from 0 to 100%, you’ll rarely find them running out of juice.
The earbuds alone are said to fill completely in 40 minutes, while the case needs 60 minutes on the cord. In live tests we got a better result: the case with both clips fully charged in 45 minutes! The case also supports wireless charging, and we got from 0 to 100% in about 2.5 hours, which is close to the advertised charging time.
Verdict
The Huawei FreeClip has virtually no competition on the market, as it aims to establish its own category. It’s an elegant and innovative solution, but not directly comparable to any other TWS set. Fit is different and appearance is subjective.
Having said that, we must consider the list price of £180/€200. Huawei often bundles gifts with its wearables, which slightly lowers the actual price of the FreeClip. However, we don’t recommend them to anyone who appreciates audio quality.
FreeClip is for a person who wants to look different and appreciates its extravagant fit. If you fall into the first category you might as well try a pair and see if you don’t fall into the second as well.
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