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Huawei FreeBuds SE, analysis – review with opinion and features

We have tested Huawei’s cheapest fully wireless earphones.

Huawei FreeBuds SE, analysis: quality audio for less than 50 euros?  Sounds good

The Huawei FreeBuds SE are probably the best fully wireless headphones what you can buy right now if you don’t want to spend more than 50 euros.

Huawei had already conquered us with its series of high-end headphones, led by the FreeBuds Pro 2, but it is in the entry-level range that the company has shown that their progress in the field of audio go beyond the segment premiumand that even your cheapest headphones can deliver a top notch experience.

They do not have an active noise cancellation system and their controls are somewhat limited. But if none of that worries you, and you just want to enjoy good sound quality without your pocket hurting, I’m afraid that these headphones are for you.

Huawei FreeBuds SE in blue inside its charging case

The new Huawei FreeBuds SE arrive in a striking blue color / Image: Christian Collado

Huawei FreeBuds SE, opinion and score

Huawei FreeBuds SE, opinion and note from Andro4all
Should I buy the Huawei FreeBuds SE?
In favor
  • Balanced and good quality audio
  • Comfortable and light format
  • good autonomy
  • Value for money
Against
Conclusions For less than 50 euros (or 40, if you manage to take advantage of the offers) you can have a pair of totally wireless headphones with a balanced sound profile, a comfortable format and a more than adequate autonomy. You just have to get used to living with somewhat more limited controls than usual.

Huawei FreeBuds SE price and where to buy

The Huawei FreeBuds SE have a official price of 49.99 euros in the Huawei online store, where they can be purchased at two colors: white and blue.

At the time of publishing this review, the headphones can be get with a discount of 10 euroswhich leaves its price alone €39.99. To take advantage of the offer, you must enter the code A10FBSE at the time of purchase.

Technical sheet of characteristics

Huawei FreeBuds SE, technical sheet
Characteristic
Dimensions Headphones: 20.6 x 20mm x 38.1mm (Length x Width x Height)
Case: 70 x 35.5mm x 27.5mm (Length x Width x Height)
Weight 5.1 grams each earphone
35.6 grams the charging case
Audio 10mm driver
Passive noise cancellation
bluetooth and connection Bluetooth 5.2
Range up to 10 meters
Pop-up pairing with EMUI 10 or higher
Autonomy 6 hours earphones only and 24 hours using the case
Burden 2 hours via USB Type C
1.5 hours in the case
Other details IPX4 water resistance
Connection with Huawei AI Life
touch controls
Includes 3 pairs of silicone tips
starting price €49.99

Where are the Huawei FreeBuds SE located?

As the surname “SE” indicates, we are before the most basic headphones of the entire Huawei catalog. They inherit some traits from higher models in the FreeBuds family, such as the format with silicone tips of the FreeBuds 4i and FreeBuds Pro, although in this case features such as the active noise cancellation.

Among its most direct rivals we can find the realme Buds Air 3 Neo, a very interesting alternative, which also stands out for its good sound quality and that they improve those of Huawei in terms of water resistance (IPX5 vs. IPX4). In addition, its official sale price is 10 euros cheaper than that of the Huawei FreeBuds SE.

realme Buds Air 3 Neo

Another interesting alternative may be Xiaomi Redmi Buds 3, whose exchange price is around 30 euros. This model is scheduled to be launched in Europe soon, but it has not yet been confirmed when it will arrive.

It is true that the Huawei model lacks active noise cancellation. But don’t let his absence confuse you: the Format ear with silicone tips translates into good passive cancellation, which prevents much of the external noise from sneaking into the interior of the ear canal. To that we must add a very balanced sound profile and a comfort only surpassed by much more expensive models, such as the Nothing Ear(1) or the Google Pixel Buds Pro.

Design

Huawei has not risked too much when designing its cheapest headphones. They are made of shiny plastic. in its entirety, including the charging case, with an elongated format and compact size. There will be those who prefer other formats, but there is no doubt that this is one of the most comfortable at the time put the case in a pocket without being too bothersome.

The headphones have a format in ear with silicone tips and an AirPods-style “stick”, where the touch controlswhich I will talk about later. With just over 5 grams per earphone, they are especially light, and their format makes them very comfortable even after wearing them for several hours or while playing sports.

In this sense, it should be mentioned that silicone pads They are interchangeable, and it is advisable to choose the most suitable size in each case to prevent the headphones fall out when doing some type of physical activity.

Lastly, it should be mentioned that the FreeBuds SE are IPX4 certified that endorses its resistance to sweat and splashes.

Huawei FreeBuds SE, analysis: quality audio for less than 50 euros?  Sounds good

A button located inside the case allows you to activate the pairing mode through a long press / Image: Christian Collado

Sound and user experience

Maybe the seal of the firm specializing in audio Devialet is not present in this pair of headphones, or that active noise cancellation is an exclusive feature of more expensive models. However, with the FreeBuds SE Huawei demonstrates how far you’ve come in audioand how it is able to offer a quality sound experience even in headphones for less than 50 euros.

The company has been able to squeeze the 10 millimeter drivers included in each headset, providing a balanced soundwith powerful but not saturating bass, and well-preserved treble tones.

Of course, they are not the headphones with the widest frequency range, nor are they the ones with the highest volume. But do not forget that we are talking about a 50 euro productand it is not fair to demand the same from models that exceed 150 or even 200 euros.

As I said before, the silicone tips they serve to reduce ambient noise to a certain extent, and prevent the sounds around us from sneaking in. If you plan to use them in very noisy environmentsit may be interesting to bet on a superior model that does include active noise cancellation, but for a everyday use at home, in the office or outdoors away from the hustle and bustle of the city, they are a more than valid option.

And although the active noise cancellation is not present in these headphones, its microphone system yes it allows to cancel in a certain way the sounds of the outside when making voice calls. In that sense, I have to say that I have not had any problem when using them during calls and video calls: the interlocutors claim to hear me without background noise being a problem, and the voice is heard clear and crisp.

A not so positive aspect is related to the controls. Each earphone has a touch area on the back of his cane, which allows pause or resume playing content with a double tap… and nothing more. There’s no way go to the next trackgo back to the previous one, or turn the volume up and down.

Besides that, response speed of the controls is not particularly fast: sometimes you have to wait a second or two from when you double-click until the music stops or resumes.

What does work well is proximity detection, which automatically resumes or stops the music when we put on or take off the headphones. The system is accurate and fast.

One advantage of having such limited controls is that Huawei’s AI Life app it is totally expendable. Since there are hardly any settings for these headphones, they can be used perfectly without having to download the app: just connect them via Bluetooth to your mobile or PC, and they are ready to go.

Huawei FreeBuds SE design in blue

The blue color of the FreeBuds SE is much more striking than that of the FreeBuds Pro 2 / Image: Christian Collado

battery and charging

Each headset includes a 37mAh capacity batteryand the charging case increases that capacity to 410mAh. Combined, both can offer a total of 24 hours of playback according to the calculations of the brand itself.

In general, I have been able to verify that Huawei tends to slightly overestimate the autonomy of the headphones. In most cases, I have been able to get a few five hours or five and a half hours of music playback at most, instead of the six that the company ensures. Still, it is a autonomy more than correct for headphones in this category.

When going through the charger, the headphones take about an hour and a half to fully charge inside the charging case. The case, for its part, needs one hour and fifty minutes to fully charge via USB Type-C cable. In this case, there is no support for wireless charging.

This device has been tested Independent thanks to a transfer by the brand. The article contains purchase links for which Andro4all may receive a commission. Join the Andro4all bargain channel to find out about the best deals before anyone else.

Mr.Mario
Mr.Mario
I am a tech enthusiast, cinema lover, and news follower. and i loved to be stay updated with the latest tech trends and developments. With a passion for cyber security, I continuously seeks new knowledge and enjoys learning new things.

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