Huawei FreeBuds Pro 3 True Wireless Earphone Experience A masterpiece with lossless sound quality and powerful noise cancellation

Huawei FreeBuds Pro 3 A masterpiece with lossless sound and powerful noise cancellation

In the past two years, the competition in the TWS earphone market has become increasingly fierce. In order to create a better user experience, major brands of TWS earphones are constantly exploring not only in terms of sound quality, but also in noise reduction, comfort, and other aspects. This has led to an increasing variety of earphone types on the market, such as in-ear, semi-in-ear, non-in-ear, bone conduction, and so on.

However, regardless of the design, due to the connection mode of TWS earphones, they inherently have transmission limitations. Even with high comfort, the actual performance of the product in terms of sound quality is difficult to compete with wired earphones, let alone achieve CD-level lossless transmission. Are TWS earphones really useless except for their portability? Are they really just as some netizens say, even the flagship models can only produce mediocre sound?

In 2020, Huawei released the FreeBuds Pro, which gradually changed the perception of TWS earphones among netizens with its excellent “quality”. With comfortable noise reduction and outstanding sound quality performance, it has become an “alternative” in the TWS earphone market. Since then, each new generation of products has played a leading role in the industry.

Now, the Huawei FreeBuds Pro has also ushered in its third generation. Today, let’s take a look at the changes this earphone has brought to the industry, surpassing the flagship level of the FreeBuds Pro as always.

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(Huawei FreeBuds Pro 3)

The appearance of the Huawei FreeBuds Pro 3 completely breaks the user’s prejudice against TWS earphones, especially in terms of sound quality upgrade, elevating the sound quality ceiling of TWS earphones to lossless level.

The outstanding performance in sound quality is mainly due to the powerful hardware. The Huawei FreeBuds Pro 3 wireless earphones adopt super-perceptive dual-unit design, with a precise micro-planar unit responsible for high frequencies, and a large 11mm dynamic coil unit responsible for mid-to-low frequencies. In addition, with the industry-leading digital frequency division technology, the frequency response range reaches 14Hz-48Khz, which is a very impressive level among wireless earphones. The experience shows that the high-frequency sound is relatively gentle, but not dull, and it is not easy to get tired from listening for a long time.

(Wearing FreeBuds Pro 3)

And the performance of this headset in the mid-frequency, high-frequency, and low-frequency ranges is relatively balanced. However, what impressed me the most is the bass part. The drumbeat is very clear. Despite its small size, it has a strong presence. Listening to rock music with strong drum rhythms gives a sense of immersion.

The reason it can deliver such excellent sound quality is also due to the industry’s first 1.5Mbps lossless audio quality. For wireless earphones, achieving lossless audio quality is difficult because the Bluetooth transmission process inevitably involves bitrate compression, which affects the quality of the audio.

In order to achieve lossless audio quality transmission on TWS earphones, the transmission bitrate needs to reach 1.4Mbps. This has posed a challenge for many brands, but Huawei has increased the transmission rate to 1.5Mbps. This not only means that it has surpassed the requirement for CD-level lossless audio quality transmission bitrate, but also means that TWS earphones have truly entered the era of losslessness, and Huawei is undoubtedly the pioneer of this new era.

(FreeBuds Pro 3)

The reason why Huawei FreeBuds Pro 3 can achieve lossless audio quality transmission is mainly due to Huawei’s self-developed “Super Bluetooth” technology, which allows the earphones and Huawei Mate60 series phones to break through the previous 2Mbps bandwidth in signal transmission, reaching a maximum of 8MBps.

At the same time, Huawei FreeBuds Pro 3 is also the industry’s first to use the Starry Connection Core technology, which brings more stable connectivity and stronger anti-interference capabilities to FreeBuds Pro 3. Coupled with Mate60 series phones that support “Super Bluetooth,” it completely breaks the bottleneck of Bluetooth audio transmission.

What this upgrade brings is an improvement in the listening experience. Taking the song “Light Years Away” by G.E.M. as an example, using the Huawei FreeBuds Pro 3 wireless earphones, you can clearly distinguish between the vocals and the background music in the chorus section from 44 seconds to 1 minute and 25 seconds. The vocals, drum beats, synthesizers, and other instruments’ sounds do not mix together, and the details are presented very clearly.

(Bitrate and throughput)

Through the ABD Version test, we can see its power more intuitively. When playing SQ lossless music, the Huawei FreeBuds Pro 3 can maintain a stable bitrate and throughput of 1506Kbps according to the displayed data. In terms of listening experience, compared to other TWS earphones for listening to lossless music, the Huawei FreeBuds Pro 3 provides a more realistic reproduction of details, especially in the sound of instruments in the background music. For audiophiles, they no longer need to wear cumbersome wired headphones every day with this device.

If Huawei FreeBuds Pro 3 achieves the ultimate in sound quality, then in terms of active noise cancellation, this earphone also reaches the top tier in the industry. By holding the handle of the earphone, you can adjust among three modes: noise cancellation, transparency, and off.

(Press to debug the earphones)

However, users have different opinions about noise cancellation. Some users believe that the extreme noise cancellation indeed takes the sound quality of wireless earphones to a new level, allowing even small Bluetooth earphones to deliver impressive auditory experiences and isolate themselves from noisy external environments. On the other hand, some people believe that while noise cancellation isolates external noise, it also isolates other important sound information, disconnecting wearers from the world.

Obviously, Huawei has also realized this problem. Unlike other headphones that “cut off” noise indiscriminately, Huawei FreeBuds Pro 3’s noise reduction can intelligently optimize for different scenarios, automatically identifying environmental noise, wearing posture, etc., to dynamically adjust the noise reduction parameters. Especially when the transparent voice mode is turned on, while reducing noise, it can also clearly hear the surrounding voices. This allows it to avoid isolation from the outside world and not miss important work information in scenarios such as the office.

In fact, in terms of universal noise reduction, in-ear TWS headphones on the market have already performed well due to their design advantages. So, has Huawei, which has pioneered the era of lossless TWS, run out of new tricks in noise reduction? The answer is naturally no.

As we mentioned earlier, it is not difficult for in-ear TWS headphones to reduce external noise due to their design advantages. However, achieving noise reduction during calls is the real skill of TWS earphone brands and can also be seen as a touchstone for noise reduction headphones. In this regard, Huawei is also far ahead.

The noise reduction capability of Huawei FreeBuds Pro 3 in terms of calls benefits from three “tricks”. First, the design in structure. The headphones have upgraded the bone conduction VPU, which can identify sound more accurately through bone vibration. Second, the upgrade in algorithms. During calls, the multi-channel deep neural network (DNN) call noise reduction algorithm, in conjunction with VPU and a three-microphone system, intelligently distinguishes and processes high, medium, and low-frequency noise. It can also continuously learn and iterate, making the clarity of calls increasingly clear and eliminating ambient noise. Third, targeted optimization for different scenarios. For example, in noisy scenarios such as subways, airports, and banquet halls, the headphones can improve noise resistance by 5 decibels during calls, ensuring smooth and clear communication. At the same time, it has also been optimized for wind noise scenarios, which means that cycling enthusiasts can express themselves clearly when wearing the product during calls, without the problem of unclear speech due to strong wind.

Although the Huawei FreeBuds Pro 3 brings TWS sound quality to lossless and achieves two-way noise reduction, I believe that regardless of the powerful noise reduction ability or the realistic sound quality restoration, without comfort as a prerequisite, no matter how well the first two perform, they are bound to end up being neglected.

(FreeBuds Pro 3)

Therefore, Huawei FreeBuds Pro 3 has also given an unexpectedly good answer in terms of comfort. Huawei took the lead in optimizing the structure of the headphones for a better wearing experience. Additionally, since it adopts an in-ear design, four sizes of earplugs are included in the packaging box. After connecting to the phone, the earplugs can be further detected and matched in the settings, making the headphones fit the ears better and improving the wearing comfort while ensuring overall sound performance.

In this design, the wearing experience of Huawei FreeBuds Pro 3 is the most special one among in-ear noise-canceling headphones that I have encountered. It is neither like using rubber earplugs to block the ear canal, nor like some methods that use large cavities to block the cochlea for noise reduction. Although these two methods can indeed improve the noise reduction effect to a certain extent, they inevitably put pressure on the ears after long-term wearing. With the advantages in design, Huawei FreeBuds Pro 3 wireless earphones can “adapt” well after wearing, without obvious tightness, and there is no sense of weight even after wearing them for a long time.

As one of the most frequently used digital products by users, the appearance design is an important reference dimension when making a purchase. The new “Elegant River Green” color scheme is indeed eye-catching enough. The inspiration for this color comes from the Yarlung Zangbo River, which not only showcases the vibrant color of the river, but also reflects a glossy surface when exposed to light. The overall texture has a slightly matte feel, making it more comfortable to hold. The common power button is hidden on the right side of the box, making the charging case look more integrated from both the front and back.

(FreeBuds Pro 3)

The charging case maintains the unique elliptical shape of the FreeBuds Pro series, outlining the simple outline of the FreeBuds Pro 3 charging case with common point, line, surface, and solid elements. The back of the charging case still features the iconic glass panel area of the FreeBuds.

When you open the charging case, two highly recognizable headphones are placed inside. The handle continues the highly acclaimed square geometric shape, with a strong appearance and a touch that can still feel the meticulousness of Huawei in the details.

From the above content, it is not difficult to see that the Huawei FreeBuds Pro 3 has been comprehensively upgraded in terms of sound quality and noise reduction capabilities. However, as a true wireless earphone, battery life, connection speed, and playability are also requirements for it.

In these aspects, the Huawei FreeBuds Pro 3 wireless earphones also have outstanding performance. Thanks to HarmonyOS 4, its convenience has been further improved. It not only supports dual connection of devices in all scenarios, but also makes the connection more convenient. Everyone is familiar with the “instant connection” feature when opening the earphone case. After the earphones are opened, nearby Huawei phones, tablets, and PCs will automatically pop up, simplifying the initial connection process. In addition, it also supports personalized earphone pop-up settings, further increasing the playability of the earphones.

(Personalized pop-up GIF after opening)

Playability is not only personalized pop-ups, but also small functions such as audio sharing, smart broadcasting, audio service cards, etc., which not only make the earphones a “listening” device, but also integrate them into daily life, playing the role of a social and life assistant.

As for headphone management, Huawei has provided a separate management app for it. After enabling the audio steward system, the device will be presented in a visual way. Not only can you switch connected devices with just one click, but also this feature significantly improves the convenience for users who often connect multiple devices. At the same time, you can also set noise reduction, audio effects, and sound quality with just one click. For users, this makes it more intuitive and convenient to use and control the headphones.

(Management screenshot)

The advantages of HarmonyOS 4 are not limited to this. Based on multi-terminal interconnection, when using Huawei FreeBuds Pro 3, users no longer need to worry about accidentally losing their headphones. It can not only locate and find the headphones on the phone when they cannot be found, but also achieve offline search. This means that even if the headphones are accidentally lost when going out, they can be located using the phone. What’s more important is that the charging case and headphones are equipped with independent speakers, which have the ability to find them even if one of the earphones is lost. It also supports lost reminder, online notification, lost mode, and many more search experiences, providing a more secure headphone usage.

Finally, looking at the development process of TWS headphones, today headphones have actually evolved into an important part of completing the ecosystem of various smartphone manufacturers. Huawei’s FreeBuds Pro series not only deeply integrates into its own ecosystem, but the third-generation product has further improved in terms of sound quality, noise reduction, and comfort, making it one of the top TWS in-ear headphones. Therefore, if you are a Huawei user, this headphone can quickly integrate into your life; if you are a user of other brands, this Huawei headphone will definitely bring you a top-notch wearing experience that you have never experienced with other TWS headphones.

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