Review: Huawei FreeBuds 4i

The latest generation Huawei FreeBuds 4i that just launched alongside the Huawei Band 6 look quite similar to the flagship FreeBuds Pro released late last year. However, these wireless earbuds are the successor of the well loved FreeBuds 3i mostly because of its impressive Active Noise Cancellation and affordability.

In this review, we put to the test the FreeBuds 4i to see its capabilities. If you found its predecessor affordable at P5,990, the FreeBuds 4i are available for even less, priced at P3,599. Keep reading more to know if this is an affordable upgrade worth getting.

Earbud and Case Design

The FreeBuds 4i’s charging case is glossy and oval-shaped with a flat back. It is available in the usual Ceramic White, Carbon Black, and a more unique color — a bold Red. It’s also smaller making it easier to hold and is less bulky in a bag. The stem of the FreeBuds 4i adopts an edgeless design for a more pleasing appearance. The earphones are designed to be simple and pure like nature itself. It comes with 3 sizes of soft silicone ear tips, allowing users to pick the right-sized tips for a custom and more comfortable wearing experience. The medium size fit me perfectly and I felt confident working out without worrying about them falling off.

Performance

Active Noise Cancellation and Awareness Mode

Huawei has optimized Active Noise Cancellation for the most common user scenarios and locations in everyday life including air conditioning humming sounds, computer fan noise, and people’s background noises or conversations. It uses two microphones to detect ambient noise and adopts active noise cancellation algorithms to create inverted acoustic waves to cancel them out. This feature is also used for noise cancellation when you’re on call for an accurate pickup. Coupled with neural network AI technology, the FreeBuds can relieve noise interference for clear calls. It also includes a unique anti-wind design that can effectively improve wind noise cancellation. 

Based on experience, it didn’t completely cancel out noises but it did soften them as you can hear minimal background noise. Sound quality was not compromised whilst delivering comfortable Active Noise Cancellation. I found that they also helped reduce pressure in my ears for a longer, more convenient wear.

The FreeBuds 4i also feature an Awareness Mode which can be activated with a long pinch on the earbud handle. This allows users to be aware of ambient sounds as well as communicate with people easily.

Music Quality

Inside its compact body is a 10mm large dynamic driver that enables a wider range of amplitudes for stronger bass sounds. The separate rear chamber design also ensures consistency in sound effects and comfortable listening for the user. Huawei has also improved its tuning specifically for pop music for better and more detailed vocals, rhythm, and instrumental arrangements, making it better for dancers like me to get into the beat.

Accurate Sense of Touch

The FreeBuds 4i have built-in capacitive touch sensors on both sides of the earbuds to accurately determine the user’s habits and further improve their degree of sensitivity.

• Tap twice – Music playback: Play / Pause music
• Tap twice – Voice call: Answer / End call
• Long press – Turn on / off ANC / Awareness Mode

Quick Connect

The FreeBuds 4i adopt advanced low latency algorithms to minimize the lag between audio and video. It also supports proximity Bluetooth pairing. If you’re a Huawei user, when the devices are being paired, a pop-up window will automatically display on the device’s screen for quick and easy pairing. It’s also very convenient connecting it with other Android or iOS devices.

Battery Life

The FreeBuds 4i sport a 55mAh battery while its charging case offers 215mAh. It’s expected to last around 7-8 hours of continuous music playback but mine lasted about 6 hours with Active Noise Cancellation. Together with the charging case it can achieve a total of 22 hours for continuous music playback. Impressively, when the earbuds are low battery, it takes only 10 minutes to be able to enjoy another 3 hours of usage.

In the Box

• Huawei FreeBuds 4i
• Type-C to USB cable
• Small, medium and large ear tips options
• Warranty card
• User guide
• Safety information

Final Verdict

The Huawei FreeBuds 4i are priced at P3,599 making them one of the most affordable earbuds on the market, especially considering all of the features that they come with. The ANC and impressive music quality matched with this price tag makes it stand out among its competitors. When compared to its predecessor, Huawei has definitely improved upon its battery life as well. The FreeBuds 4i is definitely worth the upgrade and it also comes with a FREE Huawei Case worth P599 and a Thermos worth P899 when you buy it directly from the Huawei Store today.