Huawei’s new FreeBuds 3i take plenty of inspiration from Apple.
True wireless noise cancellation for around $112
Huawei’s latest pair of earbuds are the FreeBuds 3i. Like their predecessor, the FreeBuds 3, they’re truly wireless, offer noise-cancellation, and bear more than a passing resemblance to Apple’s earbuds. This time Huawei’s earbuds look like they’re going for a more AirPods Pro look rather than the original AirPods, so it’s nice that they’re keeping with the times.
Huawei says the earbuds support Bluetooth 5.1 and can be controlled by tapping out the outside of the earbud. They offer up to 3.5 hours of playback on a single change, and their charging case holds 14.5 hours more. That’s a little low compared to the AirPods Pro, which deliver up to 4.5 hours from a single charge, while Apple’s charging case brings total listening time up to 24 hours.
Thankfully, a key area where Huawei hasn’t followed Apple’s lead is on price. The FreeBuds 3i will cost £90 (around $111) when they go on sale on May 20 in the UK, Android Central reports. There’ll also be a black model which will be released later on June 17.