Skip to main content

Huawei’s FreeBuds are an AirPods knockoff you can buy in black

Huawei’s FreeBuds are an AirPods knockoff you can buy in black

/

They cost €159 and reportedly work for 10 hours on a single charge

Share this story

The FreeBuds at Huawei’s unveiling for the P20.
The FreeBuds at Huawei’s unveiling for the P20.
Photo by Vlad Savov / The Verge

Huawei today unveiled its new flagship smartphone, the P20, and with it, a pair of rather familiar-looking wireless earbuds. Huawei calls them “FreeBuds,” but to a casual observer, they look pretty similar to Apple’s AirPods — except you can also buy them in black.

They’re one of a trio of new audio accessories Huawei launched alongside the P20. The other two are an update to its wired earbuds, the Active Noise Canceling Earphones 3; and a new DAC Headphone Amplifier which uses an “audiophile-grade” digital-to-analog converter to get the best audio out of your smartphone.

The FreeBuds cost €159 and offer 10 hours of playback when fully charged. That’s twice as long as the AirPods, which get five hours on a single charge. Like the AirPods, they also come with a carry case that offers extra charges. (Though here Huawei has gone a different path to Apple, going for a horizontal, rather than a vertical orientation, which makes it look like you’re putting the FreeBuds to rest in a tiny twin coffin.)

Huawei says the in-ear design of the FreeBuds means they offer better noise isolation than Apple’s AirPods, but we’re going to have to test that out for ourselves. The AirBuds should pair well with the P20, which, like many flagship smartphones, has dropped its headphone jack. But so far, we’ve yet to find a pair of truly wireless earbuds that can beat the AirPods for convenience. You can check out our preview of the P20 itself for more info on Huawei’s latest.