Reviewing the Huawei Freebuds Pro 2, a pair of premium true wireless earbuds boasting dynamic ANC (noise cancelling), and dual driver design for impressive bass, and water resistance. I’ve been testing the Huawei Freebuds Pro 2 for almost a fortnight and here’s how they’ve held up for audio quality, battery life and more.
Related: Huawei Freebuds 5i Review
Design
The Huawei FreeBuds Pro 2 certainly look very shiny and glitzy. They have a short, stubby design that Huawei terms its piano key design. At least they’re not full-on dangly affairs like some rivals. They do give off a bit of a plasticky vibe, and there is a rather ugly seam that breaks up the shiny surfacing right in the middle. However, to be fair, that seam is completely out of sight once the FreeBuds are actually lodged in your ear, and they’re pretty inoffensive overall they’re quite compact. We have Silver Frost model, which is basically a silvery gray. You can also pick them up in Silver Blue, and Ceramic White, which is just straight up white.
One of my issues with the original FreeBuds was how slippery they were, and certainly, the FreeBuds Pro 2 look like they should be just as slippery. But they somehow seem to have a bit more grip to them. I haven’t actually dropped them a single time, and yes, that includes fumbling with them in and out of the case. I have found that the Huawei FreeBuds Pro 2 have been quite comfortable to wear these last few days. They come with the usual silicone ear tips, which are quite compact and light as well.
The only issue I had was with the right bud; I couldn’t find a silicone tip that would fit perfectly. You do get a selection of three different sizes bundled in the box, so occasionally I’ll have to fiddle around with it to make sure it’s properly in there so the ANC and everything else does its job as it should. But apart from that, all good. FreeBuds Pro 2 are IP54 rated as well, so they’re not bothered by a bit of moisture. No worries if you’re rocking them down the gym and working up a bit of a sweat.
Pairing and Ai Life
When you want to connect your smartphone with FreeBuds Pro 2, it’s quick and simple. The pairing process basically involves little button on the side of the case, with the buds still in there, of course. Then they’ll immediately get picked up by your smartphone. I found it took about 20 seconds, job done. Once you’re paired up, you’ll want to download the Huawei AI Life app. The app is available on the Google Play Store and download it directly from Huawei Website. Huawei ai life app gives you access to a good selection of tools that help you customize your buds.
You can check the battery life of the buds and also the case itself, so you know in when it needs to be charged up again. You have ANC controls, a sound effects section which is basically an equalizer and various presets, and a tip fit test which is supposed to help you find the perfect size of silicone tip, although it reckoned my right bud was absolutely perfect even when it was still clearly not quite right. In this app, you can also customize the touch controls. Well, when I say customize, the customization options are very limited indeed. In fact, all you can really do with most of the controls is just turn them off.
Touch Controls
I really liked the touch controls on the Huawei FreeBuds Pro 2. I found them perfectly intuitive and very easy to use, Compared to the original FreeBuds Pro. It’s a single pinch to pause or play music, a double pinch to skip forward, and a triple pinch to skip back the music. You can also give them a long squeeze to cycle through the different noise-canceling modes or call up the smartphone assistant. I had no issues with the swipe gestures either. You can swipe up to turn the volume up or swipe down to lower the volume. It’s nice and simple. And, the usual auto-pause feature works like a charm. If someone starts talking to you, just take out either of the buds, and your audio will immediately pause. Once you put it back in ear, it will resume.
Huawei FreeBuds Pro 2 Audio Quality
Now, the FreeBuds Pro 2 supports a dual-driver setup. It essentially consists of an 11mm driver and a flat-voice, called a planar unit, packed inside each of buds. The output and frequencies range from a super-low 14 hertz all the way up to 48 kilohertz. The result is pretty respectable bass, actually, for a pair of true wireless earbuds, especially ones this size. You also get nice, crisp, clear audio across the entire range, with full-bodied sounds. You can hear all the individual elements of a composition, and it’s further enhanced by the LDAC feature on this buds.
If your smartphone supports LDAC, you can enjoy some really nice sound and tracks from services like Deezer and truly appreciate that full-bodied audio. As I mentioned before, Huawei’s AI Life app includes a variety of sound presets that you can play around with to find your preferred setting. And, there’s a full-on equalizer tool if you want to manually tweak the output. Personally, I stuck with the default sound settings, which were apparently co-engineered with DBLA, so they obviously know what they’re doing. They sounded the best to my ears, but everyone’s different, so it’s good to have the option to experiment and change the output if desired.
Noise Cancellation
As for noise cancellation, the ANC has been improved on the Huawei FreeBuds Pro 2 compared to the original version. It features dynamic ANC, which can boost or decrease based on your environment and the level of noise. Each bud has a triple mic setup, with two facing outward and one facing inward. In my testing, the FreeBuds Pro 2 did a pretty good job of boosting ANC when I was in noisy places like a high street or tunnel, and then lowering it when I was in a quieter environment to preserve battery life.
However, like most earbuds with dynamic ANC, there can be some annoying flickering between two different levels of ENC when walking along a road with intermittent traffic, for example. To avoid this, I ended up keeping them in the ultra mode via the AI Life app for the entire time when I was out and about, just to ensure maximum ANC. I did experience slight wind feedback in ENC mode with the FreeBuds Pro 2 when walking at a fast pace or in windy conditions, but it wasn’t too bothersome or distracting. The awareness mode is definitely handy if you want to listen out for announcements while enjoying a podcast or audiobook.
Mic Test
I made a recording with the Huawei FreeBuds Pro 2 to give you an idea of how good the microphones are when it comes to voice calls or using the voice assistant. The recording is taking place in an absolutely silent studio. There we go, noisy traffic in the background, simulating walking down a busy high street right next to the road. This will help you assess how well the buds cancel out background noise and keep your voice as the central focus.
Huawei freeBuds Pro 2 Battery life
As for the battery life, the initial drop-off is quite slow when you first start using the buds. In my experience, during the first half an hour of playback, they only tend to lose around five to six percent of battery life. However, after that, it becomes a solid ten percent drop every 20 minutes, giving you roughly four hours of playback on a full charge. This usage includes utilizing LDAC and having ANC turned on to the ultra mode. I found that if I turned ANC off entirely, I tended to get closer to five to five and a half hours of use per charge. It’s not bad at all, but it is slightly below average compared to many other ANC true wireless earbuds I have recently tested.
When you put the buds back into the compact charging case, you can expect to get just over three full recharges from the case before it needs to be refilled. The case supports Type-C USB connectivity for charging, and it also offers wireless charging capabilities. If you have a phone that supports wireless charging with the reverse charging feature, you can simply place the case on the back to phone and power them up on the go. When the buds are inserted into the case, they charge up quickly. Just a few minutes is usually enough to provide around a half charge, making it convenient for a commute. While the case is not as compact as some other rivals, it has a smooth and pleasantly shaped design, allowing it to easily slip into pockets without any concerns. It also has a sleek appearance.
This is my Huawei FreeBuds Pro 2 review. I have been use them as my primary true wireless earbuds for over a week, and I really like them. The sound quality is fantastic. However, I wish the battery life was a little bit better.
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Design10
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Ai Life App Support8
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Touch Control8.5
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Audio Quality9.5
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Noise Cancelation8
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Battery Life9
