Huawei Freebuds 6i earphones review: affordable buds that support higher quality audio streams

Decent noise cancellation and a comfortable fit are among the plus points

By: irishmirror.ie

Jan 01 2025
20
3206 Views

Huawei Freebuds 6i earphones r

Huawei may no longer be a major player in the smartphone industry internationally due to the American trade ban Donald Trump imposed on the firm, but it still rules the roost in the global smartphone market.

And even though it no longer releases its cutting edge smartphones such as the Pura 70 Ultra in Ireland or the EU, it still dominates the huge Chinese market and sells a huge range of highly acclaimed tablets, audio products and laptops globally. Not to mention wearables.

In fact, Huawei reportedly overtook Apple Watch to become the world’s biggest selling wearable tech brand in the latter stages of 2024.

The Chinese firm’s audio products are generally superb. I’ve just started testing its new flagship premium audio product, FreeBuds 4 Pro, hot on the heels of its more affordable Freebuds 6i earphones that I have been using regularly for a couple of months.

FreeBuds 6i key features

Freebuds 6i are a stylish looking set of shiny short stem buds with silicone eartips for a more secure and stable fit and a compact oval-shaped charging case. My review model was a lilac/purple hue which I liked - but you can also get them in blue, black and white. The charging case has a matte texture that is largely fingerprint resistant. There is an LED indicator light on the front of the case and a multi-function button on the side.

The buds themselves are comfortable to wear for long periods, due to a snug fit and their light weight of only 5.4g.

They support higher quality audio codecs such as LDAC and L2HC 2.0 (as well as AAC and SBC) but to get the most from the pleasing sound quality you will need to tweak the EQ in the firm’s AI Live app. They employ 11mm quad magnetic drivers and sound better than any earphones costing less than €100 should sound. I tested the 6i with a couple of LDAC compatible smartphones and was sufficiently pleased.

The active noise cancellation (ANC) blocks out noise of up to 27dB and is impressively effective, especially in the Ultra setting.

FreeBuds 6i other features

The buds use Bluetooth 5.3 which is not the very latest iteration but is not too out of date either and it supports multi device connectivity. However, Google Fast Pair is not supported.

On-device controls are reliable and responsive; a series of taps and swipes and include the ability to adjust the volume of playback. The buds also work with Huawei’s AI Life app (from the App Store for iOS or from Huawei’s AppGallery for Android. Within the app you can teak the sound to your own taste and adjust other settings.

Battery life is rated at up to five hours with ANC on and up to eight hours with ANC off. However, this depends greatly on usage factors such as volume and audio source, as is the case with all wireless earphones. Add in the charging case and you get up to 20 hours with ANC on and 35 hours with ANC off. Recharging the case in full takes about an hour.

The buds are IP54 rated for water resistance which means they can withstand a bit of rain or sweat.

FreeBuds 6i verdict

If you are looking for relatively inexpensive ANC headphones, Huawei FreeBuds 6i score high marks for phone call quality, Bluetooth stability and comfort. The active noise cancellation and transparency mode, while not outstanding, are more than acceptable for this price point. You get plenty of bang for your buck overall.

All of which makes me excited to see what Huawei introduces in 2025.

FreeBuds 6i pricing and availability

Huawei Freebuds 6i cost €86 from Amazon. Alternative earphones that cost less than €100 include Nothing Ear A which are reduced from €99 to €65 and Soundcore Liberty 4 which cost €98. (Prices correct at time of publication).

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