Huawei Freebuds 6i review: silence on a shoestring

Introduction

Huawei’s method of diluting down its high-end wireless earbuds is tried-and-tested at this point, bringing features like hi-res audio and flagship grade noise cancelling to a much more appealing price point. The Huawei Freebuds 6i continue the trend, costing half the price of the firm’s top-tier Freebuds Pro 3.

At £90/€99 (remember Huawei products are still off-limits for US shoppers), you’re getting a lot of ANC know-how, along with high quality wireless codecs and what the firm promises is better battery life than its direct predecessor, the Freebuds 5i. After a few weeks of listening I’m not entirely sure that’s the case, and upstart rivals don’t exactly skimp on features – but noise cancelling alone could be reason to sit up and take notice.

Design & build: pebble chic

The Freebuds 6i aren’t a radical departure from their predecessor in the style department. They have the same oval-shaped case, complete with flip-top lid that shuts with a satisfying snap, and same stem-type earbuds with plenty of space for touch controls.

Go for the Apple-esque white version and both get a glossy plastic finish; the black pair goes for a more incognito matte. My purple review unit’s case looks almost satin, while the buds are an unmissable mirror finish. Just like before, the Huawei branding is pretty prominent. I’ll admit I was quite the fan of the old model’s Isle Blue colours, which seemed more inspired by nature; these aren’t what you’d call gender-neutral.

The case is reasonably compact, is flat enough at the back to stay where you left it on flat surfaces. The button at the side for checking battery status (a green LED means you’ve got multiple hours of listening left) and pairing the buds to different sources is as useful as ever. The case magnets were also strong enough that the lid didn’t ping open when I dropped it onto my living room floor; I wouldn’t fancy doing the same onto concrete, as the plastic construction would surely come off worse for wear.

As stem-style buds go, the Freebuds 6i fit pretty well. Oval-shaped silicone ear tips helped them stay more firmly in place than a rival pair with circular tips I was testing around the same time, though I still had to adjust them while on my morning commute. Running sped that process up, but your mileage may vary. I stuck with the pre-fitted medium ear tips, but there are also small and medium pairs in the box. No fancier foam or double-flange ones for better passive noise reduction, though.

IP54 water resistance seems to be the sweet spot for sub-£100 earphones right now, so it’s great to see Huawei ticking that box. Rain storms and sweaty workouts weren’t an issue with these in my ears.

Features & battery: taps out too soon

Huawei has found room inside the charging case for a 25% bigger battery than the outgoing Freebuds 5i, but the buds themselves stick with the same capacity cells as before. That hasn’t translated into dramatically longer listening times, though; my testing showed the new pair actually fell behind the old ones by up to an hour, lasting for between four and five hours of ANC on playback. With noise cancelling switched off I nudged nearer seven hours.

The case is supposed to bring those totals up to 20 hours and 35 hours respectively, but again fell short. 18 and 32 hours were more realistic. This wouldn’t be a bad result had these earphones arrived in 2023, but a year later the competition has rapidly caught up. The CMF by Nothing Buds Pro 2 lasted longer across the board. Wireless charging isn’t impossible to find for less than £100 any more either, yet it’s missing here.

I don’t think it’s uprated internals that are sucking down more energy. Huawei has made the switch to Bluetooth 5.3, but the feature set hasn’t changed much from the previous generation. Dual connectivity is nice to have, but things like pop-up pairing remain exclusive to Huawei smartphones.

Being able to adjust volume on the buds with up and down swipes is a nice addition, beyond the typical play/pause, ANC toggle and track skips usually assigned to tap gestures. There’s some limited customisation through the Huawei AI Life app, which is still banished from the Google Play Store to requires a separate download from the Huawei website or its AppGallery store. This was a bit of a faff before, but new Android restrictions are making third-party installs even harder.

I still say it’s worth the effort, though, with an ear fit test, ANC strength adjustment, dual connectivity and in-ear detection all available to adjust. I had no issues with the latter, so left it on all the time.

Sound quality and noise cancelling: oh so quiet

Huawei has done ANC very well in the past, and the Freebuds 6i don’t disappoint either. Two microphones in each ear do a great job at shutting out exterior noises, with algorithmic secret sauce that handles wind very well indeed. Public transport was far quieter than I’m used to while listening to spoken word podcasts, and sudden loud noises didn’t especially trip up the system either. The dynamic mode reacts well to changes in background volume, or you can force it to max in the app. I’m not saying they’re going to give Sony or Bose sleepless nights, but they really do punch above their weight at this price point.

The same can’t be said about audio quality, though you might still be impressed by the Freebuds 6i depending on your point of comparison. I’d put them on par with other budget true wireless in-ears, rather than duking it out with the class above. High-end clarity and precision are what let the side down; the hi-hats on Degs’ Poveglia lacked the snap and crispness I’d expect. The soundstage is fairly narrow, too.

New 11mm dynamic drivers have a wider 14Hz to 40kHz frequency range than the old Freebuds 5i (which went as low as 20Hz), meaning more bass response – but don’t go thinking these are all about the low-end oomph. Bass isn’t all-encompassing, letting the mid-range and higher frequencies take their place within the mix. If you want more thump, the in-app EQ can add it, at the expense of overall clarity. Volume isn’t in short supply, at least.

Huawei Freebuds 6i verdict

Noise cancellation is where the Huawei Freebuds 6i shine. They’re better at muting outside distractions than many sub-£100 earphones, and can give pricier pairs a run for their money too. Sound quality is more mid-tier, but that’s hardly a ding given their budget nature.

Battery life has come on a bit in the year since the Freebuds 5i, though, and this latest Huawei pair feels a little left behind. Certain rivals now also manage to include wireless charging, and none have to jump through the same the same software hoops that Huawei products do, however minor.

If you want noise-free transatlantic travel or a fuss-free setup, I’d suggest looking elsewhere. But for quietening shorter commutes, these are still well worth a look.

Huawei Freebuds 6i technical specifications

Drivers	11mm dynamic
ANC	Yes
Bluetooth version	Bluetooth 5.3
Codecs supported	SBC, AAC, LHDC
Durability	IP54 (buds only)
Battery life	5hrs/20hrs (buds/case, ANC on) 8hrs/35hrs (buds/case, ANC off)
Dimensions	31x21x24mm, 5.4g (earbuds, each) 48x62x27mm, 34g (case)