Two years following the very good first FreeBuds Pro of the name, Huawei is back with new high-end wireless headphones. On the program, everything that is best, at least on paper, but does this new product fulfill its promises? That’s what we’re going to see.
At first glance, no big changes for the FreeBuds Pro 2. They look just like the first generation ones. Huawei, however, ensures that their dimensions have been reduced. Thus, their stem (rectangular) is 9% shorter and 14% thinner, while the case has lost 10% of its volume. The demarcation between the stem and the earphone has however been reduced, which is not a bad thing.
So much for the main lines. We can also note the range of colors in which the headphones are available, with a chrome coating that will appeal to some and not necessarily to others. As part of this test, we were able to get an idea of what the Silver Blue edition looked like which, as the name suggests, is bluish. To choose, we would not have turned to this model, but it is only a matter of taste, because the rendering is rather successful.
As for the grip, once more, it’s up to everyone to make their own opinion. We would have preferred another material for the headphones than the one chosen by Huawei, a kind of plastic that gives the impression of being covered with a greasy film. Fortunately, this is only an impression.
Certified IP54, the FreeBuds Pro 2 are resistant to water splashes and most dust. Thanks to their semi-in-ear format, they stay in place quite well, especially during a sports session thanks to the tips of different sizes provided, but fiddling with them to adjust the volume can easily cause them to come out of their hole, which which is actually quite disturbing. However, we carried out the test proposed in the app to make sure that we had chosen the right tips…
amazing shortcuts
Here, there is no question of pausing your music by touching the tactile part of the headphones. To do this, you will have to squeeze their stem. A symmetrical operation which has something to disturb those who are used to touch controls, but they can be reassured, Huawei has not given up on touch. To increase or decrease the volume, you will simply have to caress the stem of the headphones – while trying not to drop it.
For the customization of the commands, it will be necessary to go back, because the associated application simply allows you to activate or deactivate those by default. So you’ll be able to enable or disable auto-pausing audio when you remove an earbud, but that’s regarding it.
A useful and well thought out app
To pair the headphones to a device, you will need to download the AI Life app. The game of cat and mouse can then begin. The first pairing was indeed rather hazardous and we also encountered some unexpected disconnections at the beginning. After a while, we were still able to modify the app whose interface was particularly well thought out to modify the settings and preferences of the headphones; active noise reduction, equalizer, find my headphones function, etc. You will indeed have to go through it to activate the features of the FreeBuds Pro 2, but also to opt for one or the other listening mode.
Moreover, the default mode is the result of a partnership between Huawei and the acoustic engineering company Devialet. The latter emphasizes detail and enhances treble and midrange, but three other presets are also offered. The user will be able to add one via the 10-band EQ – a rather rare number.
Premium sound quality, but there’s a but
The new headphones of the Chinese manufacturer are to be stored in the high end. In addition to their price which immediately sets the tone (200 €), the sound quality of the FreeBuds Pro 2 leaves no doubt. There is indeed a clear progression compared to the previous model, but the headphones still have some drawbacks.
Active noise reduction is obviously part of the game and, although Huawei has perfected the feature, it sometimes still leaves something to be desired. All in all, it’s very good, Huawei really has nothing to be ashamed of – especially since the headphones offer four different modes (Ultra for noisy places, General, Cozy and Dynamic which adapt according to the calm or din around) to adapt to all situations and it is rather appreciable – but the manufacturer can do better still, because the different modes actually sometimes work haphazardly. It is therefore not excluded that noise manages to break the protection offered by the headphones.
When it comes to sound quality as such, as we said, the FreeBuds Pro 2 rank at the top of the basket. Huawei has done a very good job here – the soundstage is particularly good. The partnership with Devialet has certainly helped the manufacturer to mark a strong evolution compared to the first model. We also note that the sound produced by the headphones is natural, but also that they support HD, LDAC and L2HC codecs. An argument that should hit home with connoisseurs.
Disastrous calls and connections
This time, Huawei opted for 3 microphones in each earbud instead of two, to improve phone calls. A great attempt that ended in success in quiet environments and a nice attempt in noisy environments. In this case, the 3 microphones do not manage to capture the voice of the surrounding noises sufficiently without chopping it up – which is obviously not very pleasant for our interlocutor. And sometimes, even in a quiet environment, it was not right, but here the problem was probably not the microphones, but rather the connection of the headphones with our phone.
The biggest flaw of the FreeBuds Pro 2 is undoubtedly their connection. We have indeed encountered many problems at this level without being able to explain it. We hadn’t changed any settings, the headphones were fully charged and close to our smartphone, yet there were many times when the connection dropped unexpectedly without moving the phone or being in a highly connected environment (you never know). As you can imagine, it was somewhat annoying, especially since we had no solution to fix it.
Disappointing autonomy
The reduction of the headphones unfortunately has an impact on their battery. Thus, if the manufacturer mentions an autonomy of 6 hours 30 minutes, this increases to 4 hours when the active noise control is activated. This is little. Fortunately, the box can triple that, but it’s still not enough for a full day of listening to music or watching a series in complete freedom.
Huawei’s choice to opt for a double transducer in each earphone certainly played into the reduced autonomy of the FreeBuds Pro 2, since the use of this type of component reduces the space available. In other words, the manufacturer has placed the sound experience before the autonomy of the headphones. A choice that might divide consumers.
Conclusion
The FreeBuds Pro 2 demonstrate a number of advancements from Huawei in premium headphones. Its partnership with Devialet has also enabled it to co-sign interesting settings. Overall, the improvements made are a success; the sound experience offered by the headphones is of very good quality, aided by interesting listening modes and settings. The active noise reduction also received a small update, but it would have deserved a little more work, in particular to reduce its impact on the already limited autonomy. On a technical level, the FreeBuds Pro 2 have their place on the high end. It is at the level of the user experience that things get complicated. Pairing is not easy, connection problems are regular and call quality sometimes leaves something to be desired, especially in a noisy environment. In other words, there is good or even very good in the FreeBuds Pro 2, but the experience might be improved.