Huawei Freebuds 4 Review | Great sound, noise cancellation not so much

The Huawei Freebuds 4 is one of the many Bluetooth headphones we’ve tested here at Sibilic. With good sound quality and excellent features, it is definitely an option to consider if you are looking for this type of product.

Its bass and treble sounds are faithfully reproduced, and even if the volume is at 100%, the quality is maintained without any kind of apparent distortion. The charging case is small and guarantees many hours of music during the day.

The app itself is intuitive and easy to install, in addition to having many customization options for the user. But, unfortunately, the active noise cancellation turned out not to be as effective in the tests I performed. I was able to use it for two days straight and I come to bring my impression. Check it out in our Huawei Freebuds 4 review.

Huawei Freebuds 4 Pros and Cons

Huawei Freebuds 4 Design and Construction

Huawei’s Freebuds 4 is a headphone with a design very similar to its brother, the 4i. The format is very comfortable to use on a daily basis, in addition to bringing security when using it. I was able to test the model for a few days and in many different situations, and it was possible to prove the anatomical fit of the product in the ear canal.

Lightness is another aspect that I care a lot about, as we tend to use this type of product for many hours in a row. Freebuds 4 delivered a pleasant and comfortable experience, which I consider a positive point.

The storage case is also responsible for charging, ensuring many hours of music, and protection during use. Remembering that the power of this case is done through a USB-C cable, available in the box.

Huawei Freebuds 4 Sound Quality

The sound quality of the Freebuds 4 is very similar to what Huawei delivers on the 4i. Despite having larger drivers (14.3mm), I didn’t notice any big differences. But I emphasize that this is definitely not a negative point in any way.

The bass is well executed and present in this model, as well as strong and quite full-bodied. In songs where this type of characteristic was predominant, I didn’t notice any noise, hiss, or loss of sound quality while listening to some songs. The voices were also clear and didn’t suffer from any kind of distortion, even when I was listening to some podcasts at full volume.

The high-frequency sounds (and treble in general) were reproduced faithfully and with excellence in practically all aspects. I tend to listen to a lot of classical music when I do this kind of test on headphones. Because they have many details in the compositions, in addition to the great difference in notes and tones present, I can evaluate each of these items very carefully.

“The sound quality of Freebuds 4 is excellent. Its bass and high-frequency sounds are reproduced faithfully and crystal clear.”

Another feature that draws a lot of attention is the active noise cancellation and “open-active” modes. Basically, these modes offer external noise suppression by analyzing the location where the user is at the moment, with a small difference between them.

The standard cancel mode uses microphones to identify noise and emits a counter frequency to “muffle” unwanted sound. The “open-active”, in addition to using the same features as the previous mode, also detects the shape of the user’s ear while it is being used, in order to further improve the suppression effect.

In both scenarios, I got average performance. I have already commented in other reviews that, on Fridays, we have an open market on the street where I live, a very suitable environment to test this type of functionality.

Unlike the 4i, in which it was possible to notice the drastic decrease in noise, I didn’t feel the same effect with the 4. Even using it in less noisy environments, I could hear what was happening in the background, something that disappointed me in this model. Noting that this was due to the headset not having passive noise cancellation, only active.

The “open-active” didn’t work very well for me either. I felt that there were no significant differences, or that would justify the existence of two cancellation modes in the same product.

In other words: although the audio quality remains something remarkable in Freebuds 4, the active noise cancellation ends up not delivering 100% of its proposal.

Huawei Freebuds 4 Battery and Connectivity

The Freebuds 4 battery meets exactly what the manufacturer proposes. Its 30 mAh, combined with the 410 mAh charging case, guarantees up to 22 hours (with noise cancellation disabled) or 14 hours (active cancellation) of music playback.

To be more exact, the tests I performed with cancel mode on and off were at 02:45 and 04:10 respectively. Remember that in the tests performed I used the volume at 50% of its capacity, and these conditions are considered ideal for the procedure.

Another determining factor for battery life is that Bluetooth is the most up-to-date version of the technology (5.2), ensuring greater stability, duration, and performance in pairing.

The Huawei app – AI Life – brings several customization options for Freebuds 4:

• Change gesture commands;
• Check battery and case autonomy;
• Enable/disable noise cancellation;
• Change audio quality.

Despite being an app available outside official stores, I advise that the user — despite the possibility of using the headphones without it — download it to have access to more options.

Unfortunately, due to the blocks determined by the then President of the United States a few years ago, several barriers were created with the aim of preventing and hindering the relationship between Chinese manufacturers, which also includes updating the own apps used in these products.

Datasheet

• Height: 41.4 mm;
• Width: 16.8 mm;
• Depth: 18.5 mm;
• Weight: about 4.1 grams;
• Diameter: 58 mm (case);
• Height: 21.2 mm (case);
• Weight: about 38 grams (case);
• Active and passive noise cancellation;
• Bluetooth 5.2;
• Touch gesture support.

Huawei Freebuds 4 Direct Competitors

Among the features presented by the Huawei Freebuds 4, some of its main competitors are the Galaxy Buds+ headphones and Xiaomi’s Mi True Wireless.

Starting with Galaxy Buds, the audio quality is quite similar to Freebuds. The bass is full-bodied and strong, while the highs are clear and well-detailed in general. Both headphones have good maximum volume for music and do not lose the quality even when at 100% capacity.

One of the differences between the models is the number of microphones. While the Galaxy Buds Pro used three microphones to capture the audio, the Freebuds 4 only has two. Point for Samsung.

The Mi True Wireless is practically identical in shape to the Huawei. The 14.2mm driver ensures good sound quality, with excellent bass and treble. It also has an independent function on each of the headphones, allowing the user to use only one of them or both at the same time.

All models have charged through the case, completely wireless. The prices of the products presented range from R$ 600 to R$ 900.

Conclusion

The Freebuds 4 is a great headphone with excellent sound quality. The bass fills the music in a balanced way, without stealing or detracting from the other features. Voices are heard clearly, and high-pitched sounds are not distorted even at full volume.

Answering calls is also no problem. Even on the street, with cars and people passing beside me, I could be heard clearly and without interference from anything that was happening there.

The app itself is complete and has many options for the user to modify, in addition to being easy and quick to install. The only feature that is lacking in the product is active noise cancellation, as it is not that effective. Even being inside the house — which is usually a less noisy place — some sounds ended up passing through the phone, which I consider a negative point.

But despite this issue, Freebuds 4 has more qualities than defects and is definitely worth the investment.

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