Huawei-Freebuds-4i-Recommended-by-Editor
Music has been a very important part of life, from childhood till now, I am always surrounded by different genres of music and, depending on my mood, I listen to English classical, pop, rock, lounge, Jazz, Techno, Trance, House and lot more.
The most important and critical thing is the original quality of the music, the medium and the listening device. With my years of experiences, a music quality may sound different if the device (speakers, headphones) is not tuned to recreate the same output as the music creator intends us to listen to.
Huawei brand which known more as a smartphone brand has launched a lot of other products like laptops, Tablets, Wireless speakers, Body fat Scale, Digital Watches, fitness tracker and audio earbuds and headphones.
Huawei FreeBuds 4i was introduced to the UAE market on 25th March 2021. Huawei FreeBuds 4i is the successor of the Huawei FreeBuds 3i which was released in 2020.
I have received the Huawei FreeBuds 4i and have used it for a week and this is my review and testing results.
The Review
Body & Styling
Huawei FreeBuds 4i comes with a charging case and a pair of wireless earbuds. As for the dimensions, the charging case comes in 61.8 mm (W) x 48.0 mm (H) X 27.5 mm (D) and weighs around 36.5 g which includes a non-removable 215 mAh battery. Each earbud comes in 21 mm (W) x 37.5 mm (H) x 23.9 mm (D) and weighs around 5.5 g which includes a non-removable 55 mAh battery
The review unit which I have received is a Ceramic White shiny piano finish. The case and earbuds same white ceramic white in colour. There 3 options of colour available: – Red, Ceramic White & Carbon Black. The body shape of the case of the earbuds is an oval shape which ergonomically designs to fit in your palm.
(With an ergonomically oval shape, you can use to reduce stress while playing with the case in your palm but ensure don’t use your mighty strength on the case)
Connectivity & Battery
The Huawei FreeBuds 4i use Bluetooth 5.2 for connection. It has Pop-pair support which means, you pair your Huawei FreeBuds 4i when you open the case near any latest Huawei device and you get a prompt pairing message. It is also having wear detection support, if you remove the device from the ear, the music stops and vice versa.
The device comes with a USB Type C charging pin and can accept fast charging. The earbuds can play for 9hours with noise-cancelling disabled and with noise-cancelling enabled works for 6.5hours.
The first time pairing is quite easy, just open the Huawei FreeBuds 4i case near the Andriod smartphone (I used Huawei P30 Pro) and it will automatically ask you for pairing, if there is any issue or connecting with a new smartphone, click the small white function button on the right-hand side of the case for 10secs which will factory reset and you can with pair with next smartphone. If your earbuds are already connected, so for the next pairing, just open the case and your earbuds are connected.
(Please note: – You may have an issue finding the small white function on the case as it is well designed and flushed to the case body. I wish it has some contrast colour to identify the button or a different colour ring around the button)
The Huawei FreeBuds 4i earbuds have a touch control feature by which you can choose the ANC up to 22dB (Active noise cancellation) modes. You have just placed your finger for few seconds on the top part of the earbuds stem and you could hear the 3 options for ANC – ON, Awareness mode and Off.
To Play and stop the music, you just tap twice on any of the earbuds stems. There is no volume control on the earbuds or option to play the next song.
Using with Huawei Music App
You can use the Huawei Music App on the phone which not only helps with a variety of sound settings and also has dedicated presets for Huawei and Honor product to enhanced sound quality and music experience.
I used the preset sound effect for Huawei FreeBuds 4i and it made a difference in enhancing certain frequency and creating nice depth in the music and especially highlighting the bass rumbles, and small cymbal and nooks.
There preset modes setting like Dolby Atmos, HiFi, Electric, Vintage vinyl, live house, Nostalgic, mega bass, Choral, Driving, 3D surround, Melodies, Headphone, 3D Rotation, Folk, Concert Hall, ACG, Studio, Ethereal, Coffee, KTV Vibes and Kirin (optimized by Kirin chipset) and of course you have standard modes like pop, classical, rock, jazz, dance and more.
“I would recommend Huawei FreeBuds 4i users to try the Huawei Music App and use the Huawei FreeBuds 4i sound effect under the Headset section.”
Audio
The Huawei FreeBuds 4i comes with 10.0 mm dynamic drivers with Dual-mic Active Noise Cancellation for music and for calls. The earbuds come with a proximity sensor. when the earbuds are removed from the ear, that earbuds stop Bluetooth connection with music or conversation, till placed in the ear again.
The earbuds come with a total of 3 different sizes of ear tips to fit as per the user’s ear size. The earbuds get snuggled and gripped by the ear hole and most of the weight is managed around the Pinna part. So this way you don’t feel too much irritation and weight on the ear.
Audio Quality
The Huawei FreeBuds 4i was tested for hours on different genres of music from Country, Jazz, Rock, R&B, Soul, Metal, Lounge, techno, House, Hindi Classical and Hindi Bollywood. The test was done with the Hi-res quality 24bit 96kHz and 320kps Mp3 music and also watched multiple movies.
As I am quite picky about music and devices as I am also an audiophile listener. I made sure, the device was tested for hours and as I am doing right now using the device while writing this review too.
From small nooks, trebles to the perfect rumbling sound of the bass, it sounded perfect and I could feel the different ranges of audio equipment used in the song that is from guitar to snares, string pulls, vocal breathing and distance chirping of birds in the lounge music.
For vocal and hearing on calls, I used Google Hangout and phone calls, the vocal was natural and clear. With the dual mic ANC on the earbuds, the quality of the sound was excellent. On checking with my counterpart on the other side of the phone, it was similar or better via earbuds than the smartphone mic.
(Please note: Audio testing is done with a regular set of music of different genres without the use of any software sound effect or equalizer)
Can you use Huawei FreeBuds 4i for Workout?
The Huawei FreeBuds 4i earbuds are not water or splash proof but I presume by looking at the design, they can handle the sweat. It is better to remove the earbuds from time to time to clean them and also it is good to remove any in-ear earbuds for proper airflow to the ear as they also help in your balance.
The most important mistake done by people when they use earbuds while doing a strenuous workout is that they block the eardrums by inserting the earbuds tightly in the ear. This way you are blocking the airflow which is required to keep your balance and also the high level of sound can affect for hearing loss. Ideally, keep the earbuds sound volume at 50% and your eardrums will adjust within some time.
Price and Availability
The Huawei FreeBuds 4i Earbuds launch price was AED299 and come in three colours available: – Red, Ceramic White and Carbon Black. It is available on the Huawei website and Huawei Stores and e-commerce site and major retail outlets.
Conclusion
The Huawei FreeBuds 4i is recommended for everyone who loves music and would like to own comfortable pair of headphone with a great range of sound quality. With 10hours of playtime on a single charge. On voice calls, it is the best pair of earbuds so far reviewed. Crystal clear sound both ways listen and vocals. It comes with the latest Bluetooth 5.2 and comes with touch control by which you play, pauses music and also receives calls and end calls. The device comes with ANC with 3 options with Awareness mode. It stylish, light and comfortable and wear it for long hours as it snug fit on the ear.
“For the price, quality and styling, I recommend Huawei FreeBuds 4i for music listeners and for people on the move, who require excellent quality mic and speakers for their calls.”
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