Everything You Need To Know About The HUAWEI FreeBuds 4i

The HUAWEI FreeBuds 4i is the latest product from Huawei, the company most known for their powerhouse phones with the cameras winning accolades the world over. They also have a nice lineup of wearables and the audio line is slowly picking up steam.

Over the past couple of years they’ve released the HUAWEI FreeBuds Pro, HUAWEI FreeBuds 3i, and now the HUAWEI Freebuds 4i. From the looks of it Huawei is hoping to stand out from the crowd by packing in some great features (which we’ll talk about down below) and offering the FreeBuds 4i at a very attractive price of $138.99.

So without further ado, here’s everything you need to know about the HUAWEI FreeBuds 4i.

What’s In The Box

Inside the relatively small box you’ll find the charging case with the HUAWEI Freebuds 4i inside, a USB-C charging cable, two extra sets of silicone ear tips(small and large), a quick start guide, safety information, and the warranty card.

HUAWEI FreeBuds 4i charging cable, ear tips, charging case and earbuds

Design

The charging case will instantly remind you of a polished rock and it’s the perfect size to comfortably fit in your hand. They (case and earbuds) come in three colours: Ceramic White, Carbon Black, and my favorite, a very bold Red.

The HUAWEI FreeBuds 4i have a magnetized base so while they won’t fall out of the case, it is a bit tricky to remove them from the case as they’re quite smooth. It takes a little practice to figure out just where to grasp them. They  are very light, weighing just 5.5g each. After wearing them for a little while you’ll easily forget that they’re there.

As mentioned above, the HUAWEI FreeBuds 4i comes with extra silicon ear tips so once the proper size is fitted they’ll be nice and snug. At the base of each earbud you’ll find microphones. These allow for making and receiving phone calls and also help with the Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) feature.

On the back of each earbud are capacitive sensors which allow for gesture controls, which we also talk about down below.

Features

Battery Life & Fast Charging

There are some great features in the HUAWEI FreeBuds 4i, but the one that’s being talked about the most is the unbelievable battery life. The earbuds themselves are equipped with a 55 mAH battery and deliver around 10 hours of continuous playback on a single charge. Keep in mind that you can only achieve this with Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) turned off and volume at a lower level. With ANC turned on listening time falls by 25% which, in itself, is also quite impressive.

The charging case contains a  215 mAh battery. Combine that with the earbuds and you’ll get an astounding 22 hours of playback on a single charge!

If the earbuds themselves run out of juice you just need to pop them into the case for a quick 10 minute charge to get 4 more hours of listening pleasure.

Active Noise Cancellation (ANC)

Another popular feature of the HUAWEI FreeBuds 4i is the Active Noise Cancellation (ANC). The level of noise cancellation may not be as robust as that on the HUAWEI FreeBuds Pro but it’s still very impressive, especially for earbuds in this price range.

The noise cancellation technology will help silence about 99% of the noise that we encounter in our daily lives, such as when you’re in a busy mall, on public transportation, and even when in an airplane.

When using noise cancellation in public users need to be aware of certain sounds. By switching the noise cancellation to Awareness Mode you’ll be more aware of external ambient noise, such as traffic. Users can also switch to this mode when they’re having conversations so there’s no need to actually remove them.

Gesture Control

Both earbuds have built-in sensors for intuitive touch controls. These sensors allow you to control the earbuds with just a few simple gestures. Tap twice to pause/play music, or answer/end calls. A long press will turn on/off ANC, or switch between ANC modes. Since these earbuds share some technology with the FreeBuds Pro, you’d expect the volume control gesture to be available in the FreeBuds 4i but sadly it’s not.

Pure Sound Quality

Each earbud contains a 10mm dynamic driver that produces well balanced mids and highs resulting in an enjoyable listening experience. While not as powerful as that of the HUAWEI FreeBuds Pro, the bass of the FreeBuds 4i is still quite decent.

These earbuds are specifically tuned for pop music or any other genre that’s heavy on vocals. That being said, they still produce fantastic sound with other genres of music. If high quality sound is what you’re after then it may be worth it to spend the extra money and get a higher priced pair of earbuds or headphones.

Connectivity

It makes sense that these earbuds work best with devices running Huawei’s mobile OS, but that doesn’t mean you cannot use them with Apple devices. If they can connect with a device via Bluetooth, they’ll work.

One of the features from the FreeBuds Pro that would’ve been great in these earbuds is the ability to connect to more than one device. But for a pair of earbuds at this price point, it’s something many would tend to overlook.

Conclusion

As with many products consumers will find things they like and things they dislike about the FreeBuds 4i. These earbuds will provide you with long lasting playback, noise cancellation, all day comfort, gesture controls, and pretty good sound quality for less than $140. That’s not something many manufacturers can boast about which makes these earbuds a really good buy!

Head over to Huawei’s website to purchase you own pair of FreeBuds 4i.

Disclaimer: I was not compensated for this article but Huawei Canada did provide me with a pair of FreeBuds 4i for this review and upcoming giveaway.