As the first wireless earbuds to support HarmonyOS NEXT, HUAWEI FreeBuds Pro 4 not only achieves a breakthrough in sound quality, but also provides an unprecedented experience in smart experience and battery life.
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$199 – Check latest price on Amazon US, Amazon Germany, other Amazon countries, AliExpress or Banggood
Appearance Design & Comfort Fit
HUAWEI FreeBuds Pro 4 continues the design style of the previous model, but has been optimized in details. The charging case has a matte texture, which has a good visual effect and is not easy to leave fingerprints. There is an indicator light on the front of the charging case. There is a Type-C charging port at the bottom of the case, and there are three circular holes next to it for making sounds when finding the earbuds. There is a circular button on the right side of the charging case.
HUAWEI FreeBuds Pro 4 earbuds adopt an in-ear design, and the earbud head is made of glossy material. The earbud stem is square, and the outer plane adopts a spectral silver string design, which shows dense fine stripes and a concave and convex feel.
The overall shape and lines of HUAWEI FreeBuds Pro 4 have not changed much compared to HUAWEI FreeBuds Pro 3, continuing the comfortable wearing experience of Pro3. The sound cavity adopts ergonomic design, and the rounded cavity can fit the ear well without obvious squeezing. The earbuds can maintain good stability and are not easy to fall off when shaking.
Plus, there are four sizes of silicone eartrips available, so it’s easy to find the right one for you. In addition, three pairs of memory foam eartrips are provided, mainly to improve noise cancelling performance. The earbuds support IPX4 waterproof rating, so you can use them with confidence during outdoor sports.
Connection & App Support
The earbuds use Bluetooth 5.2 protocol and support SBC, AAC L2HC and LDAC codec. When you open the lid for the first time, a connection pop-up window will appear when you approach the Huawei phone, and then click to connect. It is worth mentioning that this is the first Huawei headphone equipped with HarmonyOS NEXT.
Also, FreeBuds Pro 4 supports multipoint connection and can connect mobile phone and computer at the same time.
After the connection is successful, you can see the battery level of the earbuds and charging case from the pop-up window, and you can quickly switch between different noise modes. HUAWEI FreeBuds Pro 4 supports Huawei AI Life App for Android and iOS. The app includes firmware updates for the earbuds, show the battery status of the earbuds, helps you find the earbuds when you’ve lost them, select noise cancelling mode, switch sound effects, switch sound modes, wear detection, and control settings. Plus, FreeBuds Pro 4 supports spatial audio and spatial modes, and provides head tracking and fixed modes to enhance immersion when turned on.
The charging case supports the NearLink finding function – after I bind it with HUAWEI Mate 70 Pro+, I can see the specific location information of the earbuds. You can also play sound to assist in finding – the charging case can make a loud sound, which is easier to find indoors.
Additionally, HUAWEI FreeBuds Pro 4 also supports face-to-face translation and simultaneous interpretation functions, but they need to be used with a HarmonyOS NEXT phone.
Controls & Battery Life
The earbuds support pinching and tapping control. Pinch once to play/pause music or answer/end call. Pinch twice to switch to the next track, and pinch three times to switch to the previous track. Pinch and hold can switch the noise cancelling mode. Swipe in the groove area of the earbud stem to adjust the volume.
Double-tap on the upper area outside the earbud stem to play/pause, and triple-tap to switch to the next track. Whether it is pinching or tapping, the response is very fast, and the swiping to adjust volume is also very sensitive. The earbuds have a good gesture control experience and supports common control functions, which is very convenient to use. If you are not used to operating gestures, you can also switch to touch control of the earbuds.
The battery capacity of the charging case is 510mAh and the earbuds are 55mAh. The single battery life with ANC off is up to 6.5 hours, and the total battery life is up to 30 hours. The battery life with ANC on is up to 4.5 hours (sound quality first). The case charges using USB-C or wireless charging.
Active Noise Cancellation & Calls
HUAWEI FreeBuds Pro 4 has upgraded the noise cancelling algorithm and provides four noise cancelling modes: smart dynamic, cozy, balanced, and deep. The earbuds have a new dual-microphone noise cancelling system built in, which can sense environmental noise more accurately and adjust the noise cancelling intensity in real time through an adaptive algorithm.
The noise cancelling effect of FreeBuds Pro 4 has been significantly improved, especially in terms of high-frequency noise (vocals, car horns, etc.). After turning on the deep noise cancelling mode in the subway, the subway operation noise is greatly reduced. In the office, the noise outside the window can be greatly reduced, and the sound of conversation can also be suppressed.
Also, Huawei has alleviated the feeling of ear pressure to a certain extent by optimizing algorithms and hardware design, and the comfort during use has been significantly improved.
HUAWEI FreeBuds Pro 4 can achieve 100dB call background noise elimination through a combination of hardware and software. Whether in a shopping mall, airport, subway or office, both parties on the call can hear relatively clear voices. It is worth mentioning that the newly added three-stage memory eartrips can intelligently match the optimal noise cancelling depth, and the comprehensive noise cancelling effect is improved by 30% compared to the previous model.
The Pro4 supports transparency mode – when it is turned on, you can clearly hear nearby conversations and have normal conversations without taking off the earbuds. In transparency mode, you can also turn on transparent vocal mode, which will reduce ambient noise and focus more on the vocal.
Acoustic Configuration & Sound Description
The earbuds are equipped with 11mm four-magnet dynamic driver + micro planar treble driver, which provide a more layered sound through digital frequency division technology. The triple real-time listening optimization algorithm has been upgraded, which can compensate for the full-frequency volume, ear structure, and wearing status EQ balance according to the ear equal loudness curve in real time to ensure the sound restoration as much as possible.
HUAWEI FreeBuds Pro 4 is equipped with Kirin A2 chip, which can achieve 8M bluetooth physical transmission rate. After upgrading NearLink technology, combined with Huawei’s self-developed L2HC 4.0 codec technology, it brings 2.3Mbps lossless transmission, up to 48kHZ/24bit lossless music, and obtains HWA Lossless and Hi-Res Wireless high-definition audio certification. It should be noted that 2.3Mbps lossless transmission currently requires the HUAWEI Mate 70 series or HUAWEI Mate X6 to experience.
The sound performance has been significantly improved compared to HUAWEI FreeBuds Pro 3. Thanks to HUAWEI Histen audio technology and large-size dynamic driver, both the highs and bass have a more delicate performance. The high-frequency is clear and transparency, rich in details, and has a strong sense of layering. The mid-frequency vocals are clear and full. The low-frequency is steady and powerful, full of impact, which is very suitable for users who like deep bass.
Whether listening to pop music, electronic music, or classic symphony, HUAWEI FreeBuds Pro 4 can present a relatively balanced sound effect, with excellent soundstage width and sound layering. Thanks to its excellent tuning and hardware configuration, the sound details are very rich – even in complex soundtracks, the sound of each instrument can be clearly distinguished without any blur or compression.
Especially when listening to some large dynamic tracks, such as symphonies, the soundstage is wide and the instrument separation is clear, allowing you to hear more details. Even ordinary streaming music can be optimized through adaptive sound effects to bring richer and more accurate sound performance.
Conclusion & Specs
HUAWEI FreeBuds Pro 4 not only brings comprehensive improvements in sound quality, noise cancelling and battery life, but also provides users with a more intelligent experience through HarmonyOS NEXT and voice assistant. It has become a highly competitive high-end TWS earbuds.
HUAWEI FreeBuds Pro 4 specs and features:
- Bluetooth 5.2 with AAC/L2HC/LDAC codec
- 4 – 6 hours playback of per charge (ANC on/off)
- Charging case can charge earbuds fully 4 times
- IPX4 waterproof rating (rain and sweat resistant)
- Multi-point connection & Wear detection
- $259 – Check latest price on Amazon US, Amazon Germany, other Amazon countries, AliExpress or Banggood