We’re finally doing the proper Huawei FreeBuds 3 unboxing and review. Finally, because we saw the unveiling during the IFA in Berlin last year, and because we actually filmed an unboxing at an airport on our trip to China in early December. Unfortunately, the quality wasn’t that great, so we never released it. But how can we unbox something again? Well, I got a pair in Shenzhen, but I lost one of the earbuds on a trip to London, and I only got a new pair this week. Watch our unboxing and review video below, or continue reading.

Unboxing

The box is similar to other Huawei boxes - make sure you check Matteo’s unboxing of the new Huawei P40 (click to watch it on YouTube). We can find that they offer “new intelligent sound” and the Kirin A1 chip - more on that later.

Sliding out the external sleeve, we find the actual box. Inside, we find the earbuds in the charging case - I went with black again, but you can also pick white or red. There’s a QR code to download the app, a USB-C charging cable for the case, as well as some instructions and the warranty.

The case, luckily, has two earbuds, so I’ll be able to get back to listening straight away.

Pairing and the app

All right, let’s pair it with the two devices I’m currently using - the Doogee S95 Pro - expect a review in the next few weeks on Tech Travel Geeks, and the Huawei P30 Pro. First, Doogee, since I have to do it from scratch. First, scan the barcode to download the Huawei AI app. Open the case and hold the button on the side for two seconds. Start scanning for new devices and you should see the the Freebuds 3. It only takes a moment to connect. In my case, I also had a new firmware update, just note that it takes a moment, in my case, around 3 minutes.

Pairing with the P30 Pro was even easier, since I already had the AI app installed, so a request to pair just popped up and I was all set.

The app is quite simple - you can check the battery status of each bud and the case, set the shortcuts for what happens if you double tap on each bud and set the noise cancelling levels. Make sure you play with this setting and adjust to your surroundings, as it makes quite a big difference.

Sound quality and noise cancellation

Huawei FreeBuds 3 noise cancellation setup in the AI Life app

Speaking of which: the Freebuds 3 are Huawei’s response to Apple’s AirPods, but with a major advantage - they’re the first earbuds with active noise cancelling. Thanks to their advanced Kirin A1 chipset, they’re able to cancel some noises coming from the outside. I actually used this feature on the 70,000 Tons of Metal cruise back in January and it helped balance the noise when I was too close to the stage a few times. Quite useful.

What about the sound quality? I really liked it, it’s nice and clean, and can go very bass-y, depending on the music you listen to. I’m mostly into heavier music, so I’ve been re-listening to the new Nightwish and Trivium albums and they sound great, especially the orchestral sounds. If you go from basic earbuds or just listening on your phone’s speaker, you’ll hear a lot of depth that you couldn’t hear before.

I’ve also been watching a lot of YouTube and some movies and shows, and I really liked the quality for that as well.

I also tested them during some calls with my family on WhatsApp and I was told that the microphone quality was all right. In a moment, you’ll hear a quick sample recording from the Freebuds 3 for your reference, compared to the Blue Yeti X microphone I recorded the rest of the audio with. You’ll notice that there’s some extra noise in the background, especially when I made any smallest movements, so don’t expect to use them to record any audio.

One thing I missed was an equalizer, to adjust the tone to your liking, like I can for example with my Sony XM2 headphones. However, you should be able to get a good sound from the default settings anyway.

Batteries and charging

The batteries are really good, they last up to 4 hours non-stop, and you can quickly top it up with the case in 30 minutes. As such, you shouldn’t have issues with keeping them charged, as long as you keep them in the case and recharge it from time to time.

The buds themselves get charged by the case, and the case can be charged either with a USB-C cable or through wireless charging. For that, you can use a wireless charger, or if your phone supports wireless reverse charging, you can use that instead. My P30 Pro supports it, and I’ve already used this feature many times, it’s really helpful when you’re out and about. Just make sure you put the case in the right spot of your phone.

Summary

Huawei FreeBuds 3 - my favourite earbuds right now

I got the buds on Amazon for £114 this time (click to find it on Amazon), which is a price decrease since it was released a few months ago. If you want to spend less and prefer a more in-ear cone build, you can wait a bit more to get the new Freebuds 3i, which will go on sale on 20th May for £89. They’ll also have active noise cancellation, but smaller sound drivers and it’s still to be confirmed if they have the Kirin A1 chipset.

As you can guess by now, I really enjoy the FreeBuds 3 - so much so that I bought them again after losing one of the buds. Well worth it if you like this specific kind of earbuds, highly recommended.

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