The recently launched Huawei Freebuds 3 with its unique open-fit design and intelligent noise cancellation feature ushers in a new era of digital audio experience, all packed into a stylish device.
The accessories include a charging case and a type C- USB charging cable. The glossy plastic case is circular, compact, light-weight and can easily fit inside small-sized pockets and has a type C-USB charging slot. There is a LED charge indicator adjacent to the slot. The device has to be powered ON by pressing a function button built into the curves of the charger unit, finding which is a challenge in itself.
The top part of the charging capsule can be flipped open to reveal the earbuds. These Open Fit earbuds are inspired by Dolphin Bionic Design. With this, one size fits all model, Huawei has truly delivered an ergonomically crafted earbud that offers comfort to the ears. These buds are stable once in your ears and do not fall out even during fast walking /jogging /even running. I found drawing the earbuds out from the case a tad inconvenient, due to the glossy finish. 
The new Freebuds 3 is powered with Huawei’s proprietary Kirin A1 chipset. This chip along with 5.1 Bluetooth, provides seamless Bluetooth connectivity and accurate audio, video synchronization. The pop & pair feature is only available for smartphones running EMUI10 or above. For Android phones, other than Huawei, a press and hold of the Function button for 2 seconds conveniently pairs the device. Once configured, the earbuds get instantly connected to the phone with just a flip of the case.
Let’s get to the most advertised feature of this product-The Active Noise Cancellation (ANC), which can be activated in two ways, by double-tapping on the left earbud or via Huawei’s AI Life app, that is embedded into Huawei’s latest phones or can be downloaded from the Google play store (meaning this is just available for android platform). This feature does pack a punch even in crowded places like Dubai Airport. I managed to tweak the ANC feature with the AI Life app and it did produce amazing results. All the festive music and chatter of people, wailing of toddlers were muted to a great extent. The very same feature, when tested in a rustic environment with medium traffic, did turn out to be a bit of disappointment.
The call quality was good when indoors and not so great while outdoors. On windy days, the call quality was bit patchy, but there was no disconnection tough. 
These buds house a 14 mm dynamic driver that claims to deliver booming bass and it does deliver a good-quality audio output while indoors but yet again turns a bit disappointing while outdoors. I also endured the gushy hubbub of the wind while on a brisk walk. The bass effect, in general, was a bit tame for low and mid-range volume while better for higher volume.
It would have been appropriate if Huawei had highlighted this feature as a noise reduction and not as active noise cancellation.
The playback time is reasonable and lasts nearly for 2.5 to 3 hours with a single charge. The charging case can recharge the buds up to 4 times while its charge lasts for nearly 20 hours and takes about 45 minutes to charge fully via the USB cable.
The Huawei Freebuds 3 offers tap feature to control your music and call attend functions. The AI Life App allows us to play with these features too. The tap feature worked just about every time, except for the call disconnect, which never happened, but still leaves you guessing as to where one needs to tap. Huawei offers 3 different ways to charge these buds: First, using Type C-USB charging set, second, lay it on the charging mat and third reverse charge from a Huawei phone running EMUI10 or above.
The Huawei Freebuds 3 are light-weight and aesthetically designed. The open-air design provides us with a different perspective from the usual silicone tips. These buds enable robust Bluetooth connectivity and deliver an acceptable ANC functionality. With good playback time, a satisfactory audio experience and excellent call handling quality while indoors fizzles out when outdoors. Freebuds 3 might be a letdown for audiophiles but it is a good option for generic android users.
Huawei comes with a free wireless charger worth 249 dirhams. It is available in Carbon black and Ceramic white colours.
Price: AED 649.00
