FreeBuds 5
After a year, Huawei recently released the FreeBuds 5, a new version of their flagship-level true wireless ANC earbuds that is said to provide a greater emphasis on sound quality, noise cancellation, interaction, and a brand-new open-ear design than its forerunner. Gizmochina Review hasn’t been enthusiastic about using an earphone product in a very long time. The FreeBuds 5 is unquestionably one of the best earphones in recent memory.
If you judge a product by its design alone, the Huawei FreeBuds 5 is a true innovation. It’s really worrying that the introduction of open earbuds had to come with trade-offs like limited ANC performance and decreased sound quality. Therefore, it is simple to see that there are many new in-ear model releases on the market, but few attempts at open earbuds. After one or two tries, the majority of brands decided to keep tackling the design conundrum. Huawei seems to be steadily gaining ground as the brand of choice for comfortable clothing, starting with the FreeBuds 3 and progressing to the FreeBuds 4 & 4E and now the FreeBuds 5 with a teardrop faux-fluid design.
New look & Design
The Huawei FreeBuds 5 is unquestionably a game-changer in terms of design when compared to other TWS devices available on the market, I have to say because of the new appearance. I’ve always been happy to mention in past reviews of the FreeBuds lines that “they are on the way moving towards the ultimate in ergonomic comfort with fresh designs.” The Freebuds 5 does not stand out.
The FreeBuds’ charging case is fashioned into a more opulent pebble shape. The striking orange-red version gives the casing and earbuds a fashionable sense of style. If you do not like such a striking color, it is also offered in the two other choices, white and silver, which are very popular.
When you lift the lid, you’ll see the earphones “hanging” on the terrace’s gently sloping edge and perfectly following the box’s shape. The emphasis is always on smooth, graceful curves with no harsh joints and gentle transitions. Every blossom resembles a futuristic water drop that we may have seen in a science fiction film. While the appearance and feel are undoubtedly improved, the comfort of hanging from the ears makes “burden-free wearing” a reality. The FreeBuds 5 have a totally different sensation from the open earphones I’ve tried in the past during the weeks I’ve worn them. It is permeable and comfortably conforms to the curves of the ear thanks to the smooth, curved surface.
I don’t have any issues about them when I use them as sleep buds because they are so pleasant.
The earphones’ functionality is also simpler to utilize. The new design’s mix of the waterdrop stems and arch-shaped bar allows for a bigger touch area for smoother interaction, such as a long press to switch on the ANC, a slide to change the volume, or a double tap to take or end conversations, etc.
Huawei states that it is splash- and dust-resistant to IP54 standards. So I didn’t take it off when I was working out and even let it get wet a little bit (unintentionally). Fortunately, it survived and has been operating effectively.
Sound quality
We initially had low expectations for these open earphones’ audio quality. However, the outcome was unexpected. There is an 11mm dual-magnetic dynamic driver unit in each earbud. The magnetic circuits, which are powered by the most up-to-date Bass Turbo Technology, offer a broad frequency range of 16Hz to 40kHz and a particularly sensitive response at low frequencies. When I first listened to it, I couldn’t believe that the punchy bass was coming from a set of open earbuds. It’s also fantastic that the open design has little to no impact on the soundstage’s roominess.
Instead, especially when the earbuds were utilized for Dolby Atmos video, the wide spatial soundstage is well set up for a fantastic mix between bass, mids, and treble. And I can’t experience this with any other open earbuds.
In addition to these somewhat arbitrary remarks, Hi-Res and HWA Audio Wireless certifications also attest to the superior sound quality of the product. The FreeBuds 5 can handle extremely high transmissions of up to 990kbps because it supports the LDAC high-res codec. Additionally, the FreeBuds 5 can automatically limit the transmission by activating the dynamic latency if you choose earbuds for low-latency gaming. When a game is initiated while in the dynamic latency mode, the earphones will switch to an ultra-low latency mode.
If you are using a Huawei phone, you can choose between “Balanced audio and connection quality” and “Optimised for audio quality” in the Bluetooth options for LDAC playback quality. The latter, however, actually has a far more solid connection when the phone connects with a Wireless network and other Bluetooth devices, so please do not get carried away with the former’s outstanding sound quality.
Call quality
The FreeBuds 3 has three microphones that can take up both background noise and the user’s voice. So the call quality is clearer and improved without much background noise after the deep neural network (DNN) method processing.
Without ANC turned on, the FreeBuds 5 can replay for up to 5 hours, however that time may be reduced to about 3.5 hours. The earbuds indeed sound better throughout the additional 25 hours of playback time provided by the charging case. Fast charging is another advantage of the charging case, allowing customers to recover two hours of use after only five minutes of charging. Even though the case has wireless charging capabilities, I still prefer faster wired charging the most of the time.