PRICING AND AVAILABILITY
HUAWEI FreeClip will roll out to the UK and Europe from late December, priced RRP £179.99 | €199. Customers who pre-order/order from the UK Huawei Store between 12th December 2023 and 29th January 2024 will also be rewarded with a free HUAWEI Band 8.
I’ve reviewed a lot of open-ear earbuds this year, and they’ve opened my ears – literally – to the benefits of leaving your ear canal unobstructed while exercising, running, or simply being a dad at home.
If you’re not aware, open-ear earbuds don’t insert fully into your ears – they typically rest within your ear and pipe music into the ear canal. This results in the best transparency mode you’ll ever experience, but it does come with a few compromises.
However, I haven’t seen a pair of earbuds – of any kind – like the Huawei FreeClip. At the time of writing, these are super hot off the press, to the point where I’m still waiting on the pricing and availability details from Huawei. As soon as they arrive, I’ll update this review.
I know you have questions, though. How do the FreeClip work? How do you attach them to your ears? Are they comfortable? What’s the sound like? Who on earth are they for?
Let’s get into it.
Specs
The Huawei FreeClip support SBC, AAC, L2HC, and LC3 Bluetooth codecs. They feature dual magnetic circuit dynamic driers and a ‘private acoustic design’ which is intended to reduce sound leakage.
Battery-wise, you’ll get a total of 36 hours when you take into account the juice available in the charging case, and eight hours of playback from a single charge. The buds are IP54 water resistant (the case has no official rating) and they have built-in mics for taking calls, with fancy call and wind noise cancellation tech included for good measure.
There’s also dual device connectivity on offer via the Huawei AI Life app, and you can share audio between two sets of FreeClip earbuds on Huawei smartphones and MatePads.
Oh, and they include the incredibly useful feature which automatically pauses and resumes playback when you take the earbuds out of your ears and place them back in, respectively.
Who are they for?
Huawei is refreshingly honest when it comes to describing who the FreeClip earbuds are for. In their words, they’re for people who “want to enjoy audio, but without the need for traditional in-ear insertion”. More specifically, the FreeClip are apparently for people who want “all of the functions of earphones but who prioritise the practical aspects, such as comfort and convenient communication”.
They call out three specific use cases. The first is “fashion savvy users”, because the FreeClip are designed to be as much a fashion statement as they are functional earbuds. And, hands-up: I know nothing about fashion (as you may have seen if you watch my YouTube channel). So, I won’t comment on that aspect during this review – I don’t want to embarrass myself.
The second is professional users, who look for all-day comfort and battery, fast charging, and leakproof audio for privacy during back-to-back work calls.
Lastly, we have the sporty types. If you’re into your gymnasium-ing, running, hiking, or cycling and need a pair of earbuds that enable you to hear both what you’re listening to and the world around you perfectly (not to mention the added peace of mind that comes with IP54 water and sweat resistance), the FreeClip are, apparently, for you.
I’d add a fourth user case to that, which is people who work at home and for whom the ability to hear what’s going on in other rooms is vital. If you’ve got small kids, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about.
But what does this all mean, in practice?
Design, fit and comfort
The FreeClip come in two colours – black (the pair Huawei sent me) and purple (a first for the brand, and it’s a rather lovely shade).
Let’s start with the case. It’s brilliant. If you know me, you’ll know that I’m obsessed with headphone cases. They have to be the right size, offer USB-C and wireless charging, and deliver simple re-pairing via a button. Huawei has nailed all of these facets.
If you’re wondering how the FreeClip attach themselves to your ears, it’s a blindingly simple design which I’m surprised we haven’t seen from any of the big brands before. The earbuds consist of three elements. The brilliantly named Comfort Bean sits behind your ear and acts as an anchor point for the rest of the earbud. The Acoustic Ball rests inside your ear and contains the driver which pipes audio into your ear canal. Finally, the C Bridge is the flexible piece that joins the other two together. It features memory nickel wire which adjusts to the size of your ear and is, we’re told, very durable (it certainly feels it).
It’s also worth noting that it doesn’t matter which ear you place either of the buds into. There are no ‘L’ and ‘R’ markings because they are identically designed. So, if you take the earbuds out of the case and inadvertently swap them around before placing them into your ears, the FreeClip will automatically swap the left and right channels, along with any assigned touch controls.
A quick note on those touch controls. I’m not usually a fan, but Huawei has done something blindingly obvious to ensure they’re not a pain on the FreeClip. There is no such thing as a single tap gesture on these earbuds (the primary pain point for other earbuds when adjusting them in your ear). That means you have to double or triple-tap to instigate any command. Problem: solved.
I understand your concerns if you’re assuming the FreeClip might be uncomfortable due to the clamping force required to keep them in place on your ears. The good news? There is barely any clamping force at all, yet they somehow stay resolutely in place.
Huawei analysed tens of thousands of ear types to get the best fit for as many people as possible, and they certainly work for my ears. Attaching them to your ear feels odd at first (we’re all used to traditional earbuds, after all), but after a few insertions, it becomes second nature; they just snap into place and stay there. Within seconds, you forget they’re even on your ears; the Comfort Bean and Acoustic Ball fade into non-existence.
As noted earlier, I’m not going to comment on the fashion aspect of the FreeClip, because I’m not at all qualified to do so, but I can tell you that I didn’t feel at all self-conscious while wearing them. The presence of the Acoustic Ball suggests to any passer-by that these are just slightly unusual-looking earbuds. And, regardless, who cares what others think?
Whether or not you like the look of the FreeClip is entirely a personal preference, but I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments section.
What do the Huawei FreeClip sound like?
Life is all about compromises, and, when it comes to personal audio, open-ear earbuds are the epitome of this. If you want the best possible transparency mode, there is no other option beyond the AirPods Pro 2. The trade-off is sound that won’t rock the tiny stadium inside your head.
The good news is that Huawei has pulled the necessary leavers to ensure the FreeClip sound as good as possible. The bass is present enough for kick drums and bass parts to cut through (please leave any expectations for deep, rich bass at the door for any open-ear earbuds), mids and highs are detailed without being harsh and, most importantly, the FreeClip don’t fatigue during long listening sessions.
Equally, they’re loud enough. I’ve tested them in all manner of locations, from busy train stations to wind-ravaged streets, and my equally raucous gym, and I could hear what I was listening to perfectly. The only time I had to crank up the FreeClip volume was on a noisy tube train in London, but if you’ve ever been on the underground in our capital city, you’ll know it puts even the best noise-cancelling headphones to the test.
Huawei isn’t making any big claims about the audio capabilities of the FreeClip, and that is, once again, refreshing. The FreeClip sound great, given the technology they’ve adopted, and you can hear your surroundings and voice perfectly. As for the private acoustic design, the promise of between 6-17 dB of enhancement in sound leakage reduction is very hard to test. Sound does leak from the FreeClip – banishing it entirely is nigh-on impossible – but it’s not enough to annoy those around you, which is what matters.
That brings me to the question of what the Huawei FreeClip are like for calls. The answer is, again, a positive one. The audio was clear on both ends during my testing, and the ability to hear your voice as you always can when your ear canal isn’t obstructed makes for a great pair of earbuds for calling duties.
Conclusion
The Huawei FreeClip are an innovative, interesting, and genuinely useful pair of earbuds. The latter is their saving grace because, without utility, they’d be a questionable release.
Providing you’re willing to make the comprise when it comes to sound quality versus all-day wear and convenience, they’re a winner and among the most comfortable and easy-to-live-with open-ear earbuds I’ve ever used.
I love Huawei’s approach to tech, and the decision to not only think of designing the FreeClip but go ahead and turn them into a real product is inspired. We need tech like this right now, and it’s even more satisfying to cover and talk about when it’s clear there’s a market for products like the FreeClip.
The design will divide opinion. The aforementioned compromises will be too much for some. But if you slot neatly into any of Huawei’s suggested user groups, the FreeClip demand your attention.
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