The wireless headphones market is thriving and, in the wake
of what Apple has done with the AirPods, there are many manufacturers who in
recent years have "flooded" the stores with models that share more or
less the same functions but that they cater to different price ranges. Huawei
with the new FreeBuds 4 , available in two colors ( White and Silver Frost ) at
the list price of 149 Euro, techwadia focuses on lightness and the listening experience,
as well as on a noise cancellation system that amazed us.
Comfortable, light and elegant
Starting as always with the design, we had the opportunity
to try the Silver Frost coloring , which features a metallic gray case and
chrome earphones. Huawei for the case has chosen a matte finish and a flat
design that allows it to be inserted even in the narrowest pockets of trousers
and backpacks: on the back there is the company logo while on the front we find
an LED that lights up when charging at the power grid to indicate the status .
The choice of implementing the pairing button on the right
side, where it is almost imperceptible, is also excellent and very convenient.
Speaking of design, the earphones are not equipped with rubber pads . This
choice obviously also has repercussions on noise cancellation which, however,
pleasantly surprised us.
Overall, the two headphones fit snugly to the earseven
during physical activity, when they remain firmly anchored to the auricle
without moving too much. The manufacturer explained that to ensure maximum
comfort for users, it used over 10,000 3D prints of as many ear shapes to
design a headset that could adapt to all types: the engineers focused on eight
specific areas of the ear cups. Huawei has also worked on convenience and
comfort: the FreeBuds 4, in fact, are extremely light and in the long run
practically imperceptible to the ears: the weight of a single earphone is only
4.1 grams.
The gestures surprise, the battery disappoints
The Huawei FreeBuds 4 support AAC and SBC decoding formats
and are equipped with a single 14mm dynamic driver . Active noise cancellation
is affected by the design limit: the absence of rubber pads on the tip of the
individual earphones cannot guarantee extremely precise isolation. The performance
of the ANC, however, is good and according to Huawei its activation can ensure
a reduction of noise up to 25 dB. Through the app for iOS and Android it is
also possible to set the "Convenient" mode for quiet places and
"General" for noisy places.
There are three microphones that support noise cancellation
during calls: in our tests the interlocutor reported us a crystal clear
listening and without too many problems.
The same is also true for music reproduction : the 14mm
driver is able to deliver powerful bass and precise sound without major quality
losses.
The management of Huawei FreeBuds 4 takes place through the
Huawei Ai Life compaion app available on both Androids and iOS, which allows
you to install updates, set the gestures for audio controls (which we will
discuss a little below) but also monitor battery levels. Unfortunately, there
is no real equalizer that can allow you to manually adjust the audio spectrum:
the app, in the "Audio Quality" tab, only allows you to activate
calls in HD and set the EQ effects to "Default", "Deeper
Bass" and "Deeper Treble". Another interesting feature is the
multipoint support that allows you to connect the Huawei FreeBuds 4 to two
devices at the same time.
Central to the use of the headphones in total autonomy and
without resorting to the associated smartphone are the shortcuts : the FreeBuds
4 support double tap, tap followed by a long press, which allows you to reject
the call and control noise cancellation, and slide to adjust the volume.
Surprising is this last gesture, which was recognized by the FreeBuds 4 even
during a run and allowed us to lower the volume of the track without having to
stop.
Instead, autonomy disappoints . Similarly to what happens
with other competitors, the earphones are recharged by simply inserting them
into the appropriate case, which in turn must be charged via the USB-C port
integrated on the bottom of the body. The battery of each single earphone is 30
mAh: according to the official data of Huawei, in fact, 2.7 hours of listening
to music are guaranteed with the ANC activated and 4 hours with the ANC
deactivated. For voice call, on the other hand, it drops further, respectively
to 2 and 2.3 hours.
To balance this sore point a little the recharge times:the
complete one of the earphones takes place in about 40 minutes, while if you opt
for the cable charging of the case with earphones inside you get to an hour and
a half. Full charging of the case without headphones inside, on the other hand,
is completed in about an hour. Fast charging is also supported which ensures
2.5 hours of playback with 15 minutes of charge .
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