Huawei Freebuds Pro 5 – Top class

These headphones impress above all in call sound and when listening to music and suit most people, regardless of whether you use an iPhone or an Android.

I would say that with these headphones, Huawei is establishing itself as a company in audio. Otherwise, the last few years have mostly focused on smart watches, but step by step advanced in sound as well. The Freebuds Pro 5 headphones have improvements on several levels, with sharpened noise reduction, better music sound and really impressive call sound. All this together means that Huawei is more clearly establishing itself as one of the best and a player to be reckoned with in headphones.

Proves top class

Just recently, Mobil and I have tested a series of headphones of exactly this type. In-ear headphones with rubber plugs that shut out the outside world and create your own bubble where nothing disturbs you. That combined with smart functions, stable connection and high-resolution sound is required in the top class where Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro, Apple Airpods Pro 3 and Sony WF-1000XM6 are also established. Huawei can’t beat the competition in all areas, but can definitely measure up to the best and proves that they now belong in the top class.

The headphone market must be one of the most competitive. It is relatively easy to produce a headphone model with the help of subcontractors, but something completely different to do it in the form of a model that makes an impression and stands out in the crowd. As a mobile phone manufacturer, you have a small head start, look for example at the upstart Nothing who, before they made their first phone, started with just headphones. As a mobile manufacturer, you can create an appealing ecosystem of products where headphones and phone fit like a glove, with easy installation, easy switching between devices and high-resolution sound.

High resolution sound and great app for IOS and Android

Basically, of course, Huawei is a mobile phone manufacturer, even if they have not been selling phones here in Sweden for several years. Therefore, it is especially important for Huawei that the headphones work with high quality and friction-free regardless of which mobile phone you connect the headphones to. The Huawei Freebuds Pro 5 succeeds in all this. You who connect the headphones to an Android can use high-resolution sound with the LDAC protocol, which is standard in almost all Android mobile phones. Sometimes you may have to activate the support manually in your phone, in the bluetooth settings.

The next important feature is usability, and with its relatively new app Huawei Audio Connect, which is therefore available for both Android and iPhone, Huawei lays a good foundation for that as well. Here I can easily manage connection between several devices, regardless of whether they are Androids or Apple gadgets.

The app gives you the opportunity to customize the sound as you want it, with an equalizer, but there are also several ready-made profiles to choose from. In the app, you can also control and adjust gesture control, the ability to respond with head movements and, for example, the settings for spatial sound. There’s simply everything you’d expect from a top-of-the-line headset, and head movements mean you can shake your head or nod to answer or reject calls when your hands are busy.

Excellent sound for music and calls

Especially calls and the sound quality is an area where Huawei really excels. Both I and the person I am calling can hear each other well in different environments, but above all with very disturbing ambient noise, the headphones impress. I stand outside the office next to a rickety piece of road work just as an articulated bus passes. When I then apologize in a conversation because I might not be heard, the person I’m talking to asks what I mean and informs me that they can hear me perfectly.

One of the other important strengths is the noise reduction. It is a function where several properties work together. The fit is the basis, because if the earplugs do not close tightly, the effect will suffer. Then the headphones work to detect and neutralize disturbing sounds. I test the Freebuds Pro 5 in a messy urban environment, on board public transport, during air travel and in an office environment, while comparing how the headphones sound with other comparable models. I notice immediately when the noise reduction kicks in and in the vast majority of environments it is very effective. Sometimes the Apple Airpods Pro 3 are more effective in terms of noise reduction, but the overall impression is still good.

The Huawei Freebuds Pro 5 is cheaper than the competitors I mentioned, but still delivers at a similar level in most areas.