The FreeBuds 6i headphones have noise cancellation and sound quality that surprised me with how premium they are for a mid-range product.
Those of us who review tech devices are used to trying out all kinds of products, so we tend to be more picky than most when we get our hands on a mid-range product.
In this case, the mid-range product is the Huawei FreeBuds 6i, the new affordable wireless headphones that the Chinese brand launched in Spain just a few days ago.
Huawei’s headphones stand out because they provide noise cancellation that in many cases surpasses much more expensive models from leading manufacturers, but at a price of $99 that puts them on par with the Nothing ear (a) and slightly above the Redmi Buds 5 Pro.
I’ve been able to try out the new Huawei FreeBuds 6i for two weeks, and their advanced features have made me forget at times that they cost considerably less than the Apple AirPods, the Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Pro, or the Sony WF-1000XM5, among others.
Design: they are compact and discreet despite being made of plastic
Although I’ll start here, the design is the only area where the FreeBuds 6i do look like mid-range headphones.
In fact, I like how compact the oval-shaped charging case is, at only 6.1 centimeters long and 2.7 centimeters thick, making it very comfortable to carry in a man’s pants pocket alongside a cell phone. And it’s lightweight: only 5.4 grams per earbud and 34 grams for the case.
I also like the attention to detail, such as how easy it is to fit the earbuds into the case thanks to the magnet system, and the design of the earbuds themselves, which are simple and, above all, very comfortable even after wearing them for several hours.
These are in-ear headphones, which I like because of their format, but I know that other people don’t like them as much, and they have the stick format that characterizes AirPods and is a favorite for most people. Personally, I find them a safer option than the button type.
However, the material does not feel premium. It is plastic for both the earbuds and the case, which does not feel particularly pleasant to the touch or when handling the case. The earbuds are also plastic, but their glossy finish and greater rigidity make them somewhat more pleasant to my taste.
I’ve tried the FreeBuds 6i in their most understated version, in black, which is actually a very dark gray, but you can also choose purple and white if you prefer something with a little more personality.
Sound: Huawei opens the door to noise cancellation and ambient mode
Now I come to what really stands out about the Huawei FreeBuds 6i: their sound quality and noise cancellation and ambient mode features.
Huawei has equipped them with an 11-millimeter driver with quadruple magnets, and I must say that the quality it achieves has far exceeded my expectations for its price of $99.
The sound is clear, powerful, and full of nuances, which is complemented by features such as the LDAC HD audio codec and Hi-Res Audio Wireless certification.
This is noticeable when listening to urban music or movies with impressive sound effects such as Dune, where their ability to give you goosebumps is surprising.
But for me, the crown jewel is undoubtedly the active noise cancellation.
Instead of just giving a measurement, Huawei has gone further and provides active noise cancellation that averages 27 decibels, because it is calculated based on 34 everyday situations with different noises, not just one sound.
You’ll find manufacturers who claim to have exceeded 40 db and are now approaching 50 decibels of noise cancellation, but I can tell you that this calculation based on an average is much more noticeable (in a good way).
I must admit that the precision of the noise cancellation is frightening, because traffic practically disappears even if you don’t have music playing, and if you do play sound, not even background voices come through. This ANC is on par with models costing $200 and above and in many cases actually surpasses them.
I also loved how well the ambient mode works, a common flaw in in-ear headphones. With the FreeBuds 6i and its three microphones per earbud, you don’t sound as tinny as with other models: you sound almost like you hear yourself, and it’s easy to hold conversations with them on, something I often find difficult.
App and connectivity: good control with AI Life and touch gestures
The FreeBuds 6i are controlled with Huawei’s headphone and IoT app, AI Life, which I liked even though it’s not available on Google Play or the App Store and you’ll have to download it via APK or the App Gallery.
This app is very visual, and I like that it doesn’t have ads like others, but instead provides information about the headphones, such as the remaining battery life and noise control with three options: cancellation, disabled, and an ambient mode called attention (although I think this is a poor translation).
Huawei is known for offering some of the best battery life in wearables such as headphones and watches, and it’s once again showing the rest of the world how it’s done with these FreeBuds 6i.
With a capacity of 510 mAh in the case and 55 mAh per earbud, you’ll almost forget you need to charge the case.
After a week of moderate use, around an hour or 90 minutes a day, I still had 63% capacity left in the charging case, enough for more than two full charge cycles on the headphones.
After two weeks of use, if I hadn’t left them on while working for more than a day to see how they performed, and given that I’m not currently the most intensive user of headphones, I wouldn’t have had to charge them once, even with heavy use of noise cancellation, which reduces battery life as usual.
Plus, thanks to the USB Type-C port, you can charge the case in just an hour, which I find quite acceptable.
Huawei FreeBuds 6i are good headphones despite their low price
For all the above reasons, I find the Huawei FreeBuds 6i a really easy product to recommend because it has that rare combination of very premium features and a very competitive price.
Their tremendous noise cancellation and ambient mode are among the best I’ve tried so far, including much more expensive headphones, and all for a mid-range price of $99 in the US, which I think is almost a gift for how good they are.
Add to this a long battery life that also outperforms many premium models, and if you don’t mind their correct and compact but plastic design, which is their only flaw, the result is one of the most interesting wireless headphones on the market today.
What Huawei has achieved is no easy feat, as standing out in a market as saturated as wireless headphones is almost impossible. But boy, has it succeeded.
