Huawei Freebuds 5i test: wireless headphones in the purest AirPods style?

Even if they are available in three colors (porcelain white, nebulous black, lagoon blue), the FreeBuds 5i are furiously reminiscent of Apple Airpods. My entourage also believed that they were. The “Huawei” inscriptions on the external faces quickly dispelled the doubt, but very clever which could make the difference from a distance. In the FreeBuds range, they are ahead of the 4i, which are less efficient in terms of endurance and active reduction of surrounding noise. They are a notch below the Pro 2 on the same criteria and sound quality. Logically the price positioning is in the middle with a ticket at €99.99 when the Pro is worth almost double and the 4i is at €69.99.

Buy Huawei Freebuds 5i wireless headphones on Amazon

Content and finish: Everything you need in the box

The FreeBuds 5i arrive in a small, well-crafted box with attention to detail. Like the small hoop that allows you to extract the egg in which your headphones are. The latter is shiny and completely smooth. This gives it a good quality rendering and very little roughness. It won’t snag anywhere and feels pretty sturdy despite weighing 34g (43g with the headphones in place). Only the USB-C connection can possibly accommodate unwanted dirt.

A small LED on the front informs you about the status of the device; normal operation, charging or even pairing mode. The earphones fit there precisely, the adjustments are millimeter and there is no unwanted movement when stored and charging.

No charger, but still a small USB-C to USB cable. Logically, there is a good chance that the buyer of this product is already in possession of a USB charger or a device capable of supplying the necessary current. The small manual shows how to pair the headphones in bluetooth thanks to a very discreet button on the side.

Last item in the box, two additional sets of size S and L earbuds, with the intermediate size already fitted by default.

Comfort that lasts for hours

Once put in the ear, the headphones stay in place and even allow their use during sports activities. The comfort is excellent and you can keep them on your ears for hours without any unwanted pressure points causing pain. They are completely forgotten.

Without being qualified as waterproof, their IP44 certification ensures good protection against splashes and dust larger than 1mm. Qualities that confirm that sporting use is quite suitable.

Autonomy is about 6 hours and varies by more or less than an hour depending on the listening mode. You will lose an hour by activating the noise reduction. This function allowing you to free yourself from your sound environment to better enjoy your music will be debatable with these EarBuds. We will come back to it.

The storage case has enough juice to charge the headphones three times and is fast. In 15 minutes, you recover several hours of reading. More than enough to be independent for a whole day. The charge level of each device can be checked using the AI ​​Life app. If you do not look at your smartphone, a sound signal informs you that the battery is only at 20% charge, then at 10%. Note that the earphones were of course 100% charged out of the box and that the egg battery was at 50%.

Good audio reproduction but ineffective isolation

Being able to wear them for hours because they are comfortable is good, wearing them to enjoy music would be even better. Without going to tickle high-end headphones, we can say that the sound reproduction is pleasant. The bass is very present and even makes you want to push it a little more via the (simplistic) equalization software.

The highs, on the other hand, lack dynamism and do not rise as high as one might wish. This is not necessarily a bad thing in the context of daily listening. The general rendering is rather soft and balanced which will be very consensual and will therefore suit most users.

What fishes against is the active attenuation. It struggles to show its effectiveness, whether in maximum activation mode or in attentive mode. You won’t be able to ignore the surrounding noise pollution or carry on a conversation properly. With the loss of one hour of autonomy, it is therefore probably better to do without it… Too bad for a capacity which is today a real plus in nomadic use. Let’s console ourselves by telling ourselves that listening is also not modified when the attenuation is activated.

AI Life: An effective application, but out of store

To take full advantage of the capabilities of the EarBuds 5i, it is essential to download the AI ​​Life application from Huawei. Small unpleasant surprise, it is not available in the store. This forces you to download the APK directly from the Chinese manufacturer’s website and you will be forced to authorize the installation of an unverified application on your smartphone. Not very annoying, but at least strange concerning a brand as widespread as Huawei.

Once the app is installed, you will be able to discover the touch controls which are quite ergonomic to change the sound attenuation mode, the volume, pause or start the music. It will also inform you about the charge level of your devices.

Adjusting the sound quality and latency lowering options are also supported there. Fortunately, moreover, because if you want to watch a video or a film, the latency of bluetooth may be unpleasant. The equalizer offers you the bare minimum with a default setting, centered on the treble or the bass. Forget the treble which gives you a rendering worthy of an old radio to retain only the bass and the default option.

In conclusion: An affordable mid-range

Don’t ask the EarBud 5i to tickle Airpods. They don’t claim to be, but they are obviously much more affordable. They fully succeed in their mission aesthetically and will do the job; offer you comfortable listening without imposing the weight of a classic headset. Admittedly, they are easily overlooked.

Unlike more obscure brands that can offer you clones that seem equivalent, Huawei has already made a name for itself and thus enjoys a certain level of trust. A safe bet with no surprises.

Buy Huawei Freebuds 5i wireless headphones on Amazon

Conclusion

Huawei updates its range with consistency and undoubtedly improves the performance of its predecessors (the 4i version). With a decent sound reproduction, although lacking in scale, the EarBuds 5i are adequate for daily use. The comfort they provide makes you forget about ineffective active noise reduction.