Huawei FreeBuds Pro 3 is positioned by HUAWEI as a wireless earbuds that “Creates A New Era of TWS Lossless Sound Quality.” The Kirin A2 chip and Polar Code technology are used to improve the audio transmission rate, and are tuned together with the Central Conservatory of Music to bring more resonant acoustic art to the user’s ears through the earbuds.
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Appearance Design & Comfort Fit
The charging case basically continues the cobblestone-shaped of Huawei FreeBuds Pro 2+ in appearance, but the opening curve of the case cover has been adjusted to make the transition smoother. At the bottom is the USB-C charging port and speakers for making sound when finding earbuds.
The appearance of Huawei FreeBuds Pro 3 earbuds continues from the previous model. The lines of the earbud stem are relatively strong – like “piano keys”. The earbud cavity adopts an ergonomic bean-shaped design.
With the default size M eartips, the earbuds can comfortably fit most people’s ear canals without being too loose. Moreover, there is also an eartips fit test on the App to help users get the best wearing experience.
Thanks to the ergonomic design of the earbud cavity, it can fit well with the ears, and with the weight of 6.1g (single earbud), it will not put too much pressure on the ears. However, it will cause a certain feeling of pressure on the ears when lying on the side – friends who are used to sleeping with headphones should be careful.
Overall, Huawei FreeBuds Pro 3 performs well in terms of wearing comfort and stability. The earbuds fit the contours of the ear and are also very stable and not easy to fall off when shaken.
Connection & App Support & Battery Life
HUAWEI FreeBuds Pro 3 is powered by HarmonyOS and is part of the HUAWEI HarmonyOS ecosystem – they have the best experience when used with a HarmonyOS phone or tablet. Open the case cover, and when you get close to the phone, a pop-up window will prompt you to connect. Kirin A2 chip applies Polar code technology, which improves the anti-interference ability by 2 times.
After the connection is successful, you can see the real-time battery information of the earbuds in the Huawei Smart Life App, and perform noise cancellation mode switching, spatial audio settings, etc.
In addition, the control center of the HarmonyOS device also provides device cards for quick operation, and can be flexibly switched between different devices through the “Hyper Terminal” function.
Overall, when used with HarmonyOS devices, FreeBuds Pro 3 can enjoy the Huawei ecosystem and be seamlessly controlled on the phone. In addition, Huawei Smart Life App is also available in iOS and Android versions, and about 70% of the experience can be achieved when installed and used on non-Huawei devices.
The battery capacity of the charging case is 510mAh, and the earbud is 55mAh. The single battery life after turning off ANC mode is up to 7 hours, and the total battery life is up to 33 hours. The battery life after turning on ANC mode is about 5 hours.
Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) & Calls
The Active Noise Cancellation technology of Huawei FreeBuds Pro 3 is “Smart Dynamic Noise Cancellation 3.0” and is equipped with the 3-microphone hybrid noise cancellation system. After testing in various scenarios such as offices, subways, and roadsides, I found that after turning on ANC, FreeBuds Pro 3 can effectively reduce surrounding noise (especially mid-low-frequency noise).
FreeBuds Pro 3 has three noise cancellation options: Noise Cancellation ON, OFF, and Transparent Mode. Noise cancellation mode is also divided into Smart Dynamic, Light, Balanced and Deep Noise Cancellation. In smart dynamic mode, the earbuds will dynamically adjust according to the noise level and wearing posture.
However, there will be a certain ear pressure after turning on the deep noise cancellation mode, but it is within the acceptable range.
Huawei FreeBuds Pro 3 is equipped with “Clear Call 2.0 technology” – in noisy environments, the call noise cancellation capability is 5dB higher than the previous model, and the wind noise resistance is improved by 80%. I conducted call tests at a construction site, and the FreeBuds Pro 3 could barely hear any drill or knocking sounds.
Overall, Huawei FreeBuds Pro 3 has significantly improved Active Noise Cancellation and call noise cancellation compared to the previous model, creating a quiet and immersive environment for listening to music.
Sound Description & Spatial Audio
Huawei FreeBuds Pro 3 is equipped with Bluetooth 5.2 and a new generation of close distance wireless connection technology – NearLink, achieving 1.5Mbps lossless audio transmission and ultra CD-level lossless sound quality.
Note: NearLink technology needs to be implemented with HUAWEI Mate 60 series or Mate X5 series smartphones. After connecting to the mobile phone, the “LOSSLESS” logo will be displayed on the pop-up window, indicating that the earbuds is connecting to the phone in a lossless manner.
Also, FreeBuds Pro 3 supports SBC, AAC, L2HC 3.0, LDAC codec. It should be noted that L2HC 3.0 needs to be used with Huawei smartphones or tablets running HarmonyOS 4 and above.
The dual-unit crossover technology brings excellent basic acoustic performance, and the 11mm ultra-magnetic bass driver brings surging bass. The presentation of mid- and high-frequency is also clear, transparent and bright.
The default “HUAWEI SOUND” tuning is completed by HUAWEI and the chief tuning team of the Central Conservatory of Music – with certain stylized adjustments. The enhanced low frequency is more powerful. The vocals are warm and the performance is particularly good. The treble tends to be soft, which is more in line with the “popular taste” style.
With the support of the Kirin A2 chip, the head tracking experience of FreeBuds Pro 3 has been greatly improved. In spatial audio mode, the earbuds respond very quickly to head movements – although there is still a delay, it is significantly better than the mainstream TWS earbuds currently on the market, and is close to the experience of the Apple AirPods series.
Conclusion
If used with Huawei Mate 60 smartphone, the Huawei FreeBuds Pro 3 can fully utilize the strength of bluetooth connection, then they are indeed the best choice at present.
Huawei FreeBuds Pro 3 specs and features:
- Bluetooth 5.2 with AAC/L2HC 3.0/LDAC codec
- 5 – 7 hours playback of per charge (ANC on/off)
- Charging case can charge earbuds fully 3 times
- IPX4 waterproof rating (rain and sweat resistant)
- Comes with 4 sets of eartips, USB-C cable, user manual
- $189 – Check latest price on AliExpress, Amazon US, Amazon Germany, other Amazon countries or Banggood
1 Comment
I was really impressed with the Huawei FreeBuds Pro 3. They made a big difference in the quality of my music listening experience. I would definitely recommend them to anyone looking for a better listening experience.