Huawei FreeBuds 5i review: Good sound, long battery life

The Huawei FreeBuds 5i offers fast charging and noise cancellation along with a well-balanced feature set that's good enough to compete with competitors that cost twice as much.

The Huawei FreeBuds 5i offers fast charging and noise cancellation along with a well-balanced feature set that's good enough to compete with competitors that cost twice as much. The sound quality is not audiophile level, but still good enough for most people.

Main advantages

ANC (up to 42dB)
Up to 7.5 hours of listening per charge

Specifications

Battery life: 7.5 hours (ANC off), 6 hours (ANC on); The box provides about 3 additional charges
Charging box: Yes
Microphone: Has dual microphones
Audio codec: AptX, LDAC
Bluetooth: 5.2
Price: About 1.5 million VND
IP rating: IP54
Solo bud mode: Yes
Driver size: 10 mm
Wireless charging: No
Charging box battery: 410 mAh, 3 charges
Weight: 4.9g (each earphone) + 33.9g (charging case)
Dimensions (headphone): 30.9 x 21.7 x 23.9mm
Dimensions (charging box): 48.2 x 61.8 x 26.9mm
Color: Light blue, black, white
Charging port: USB-C
Compatibility: Android, iOS, macOS, Linux, Windows
Sensor: Wear detection (Detect when the headset is worn)
Noise cancellation: Yes, up to 42dB

Set up and connect FreeBuds 5i

Initial setup for the FreeBuds 5i is simple, like any Bluetooth 5.2 device. Just open the lid of the box and it will go into pairing mode. Huawei and Honor devices using EMUI or HarmonyOS can detect the headphones without opening Bluetooth settings.

After the first pairing, FreeBuds 5i will automatically connect to the paired device as soon as you open the cover every time. If you want to pair another phone or computer, simply leave the headset inside the case and hold down the side button until the LED light starts flashing white.

FreeBuds 5i can maintain a connection with two devices at the same time. This is good if one wants to, for example, use the phone to listen to music while being available for video calls on the computer. However, note that songs and videos on one device will automatically pause if any sound is played on the other device - including notification tones - and will not resume automatically afterwards .

The connection quality on the FreeBuds 5i isn't outstanding, but it works well enough. Latency is fine and you won't have issues with audio and video getting out of sync when watching movies or TV shows with the FreeBuds 5i. There is an option to reduce latency (at the expense of audio quality) if needed.

Do FreeBuds 5i fit well in the ear?

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The plastic part of the FreeBuds 5i fits well, with silicone tips providing a good seal. There are 3 tip sizes included in the box. The AI Life app has an option to test how well the tips fit in a person's ears, so you can check which tips work better for your ears. While walking or doing light exercise, the FreeBuds 5i stay firmly in the ear.

Outstanding sound quality

The sound quality is truly surprising. The FreeBuds 5i are superior in sound quality, beating some earbuds that cost twice as much.

The AI Life app doesn't have a dedicated EQ, but offers some basic customization, with "normal", "bass boost" and "treble boost" sound modes. For further adjustments, you will need a separate app.

The normal and bass boost modes sound great, and the gain isn't so much that it interferes with hearing higher-pitched voices or instruments. Treble boost mode is also good, recommend this mode for podcasts or other types of audio that are heavy on human voices.

Battery life and charging

This is another aspect where the FreeBuds 5i shine. Huawei promises 28 hours of total listening time (including buds + charging case), with the headphones rated for up to 7.5 hours of use with noise cancellation turned off.

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When ANC is enabled, battery life is expected to decrease. That's true, but the FreeBuds 5i still last at least 6 hours before needing to return to the charging case. However, the charging box is the weak point here. While 28 hours is still quite impressive, it's not enough for 4 full charges.

A full charge (both bud + charging case) takes about 2 hours or so, and just the case charging itself from 0% to full takes about 1 hour and 40 minutes. The buds take 50 minutes to fully charge when placed in the case. There is no wireless charging for the case.

Another bold promise from Huawei is that the buds can last 4 hours with 15 minutes of charging in the box. I didn't test this to the full extent, but it did give me over two hours of listening with ANC on, so the claims seem true.

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The only downside to the FreeBuds 5i is the battery indicator. The buds have no indicator, while the charging case has a single LED that flashes green when charged above 20% and red if below 20%. Having at least 3 LEDs that light up to show how much battery is left would be a step forward, but is still limited as it can only be checked on the device.

The noise cancellation in the FreeBuds 5i is amazing

Huawei's official ANC rating is 42dB. Overall, this is the best ANC available. If this feature is your top priority in a pair of headphones, then buy the FreeBuds 5i now.

AI Life is Huawei's application to manage FreeBuds 5i

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Like most of Huawei's IoT and wearable products, the FreeBuds 5i can be managed using the company's AI Life app. It is available for iOS devices in Apple's App Store, while Android users need to download it directly from the manufacturer's site as the app is not available on the Play Store.

After creating an account, you can check the remaining battery power for your headphones and charging case. Selecting FreeBuds 5i on the home screen will take you to the settings page.

ANC can be configured here, including an Awareness mode , which channels some ambient sound so you can talk to people or hear sounds when crossing the street. You can also set the level of noise cancellation you want (although it's actually called Modes in the app), and it can be Cozy, General , or Ultra .

Sound quality brings you to the basic EQ options that the article mentioned previously. This page also has a setting that lets you choose between connection or sound quality.

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In Gestures , users can set up many gestures. It includes settings for double tap (in call or otherwise), tap and hold, and swipe. The last option is great for controlling volume: Sliding your finger up the stem of the bud makes the volume louder.

There are also options to find lost headphones (using Bluetooth 5.2's location feature), check tip fit, and update the FreeBuds 5i firmware.

Finally, Settings lets you change the Bluetooth codec, enable or disable wear detection (pauses music or video if the headphones are removed), as well as low latency mode (which reduces audio quality to Provides lower ping, good for gaming.

After testing, a single drawback can be noticed on the FreeBuds 5i: there is no clear battery indicator. The case doesn't have wireless charging, but that's not necessary for TWS earbuds.

With a price of about 1.5 million VND, FreeBuds 5i is a great deal. The sound is good and the battery life is longer than many of its higher priced competitors. Try these headphones out, you won't be disappointed

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