The FreeBuds Studio launched for £299.99 in the UK but for a limited time, Huawei has reduced the price tag by a significant margin. It is also throwing in the Huawei Watch Fit as a free gift.

If you have been holding off on buying Huawei’s premium headphones, now may be the best time to make that purchase if you live in the UK. The official Huawei UK store has discounted the headphones by £70, so you get to pay £229.99. What makes it an even better deal is the addition of the Huawei Watch Fit which launched in the UK a few months ago for £119.99.

According to the promo page, the offer began on the 2nd of December and it will run up until 23:59 on the 22nd of December or until stocks last, whichever is earlier.

The deal applies to both color variants of the FreeBuds Studio which comes in Black and Gold. You will also be able to choose the color of the Watch Fit you want. As of the time of writing, only the Sakura Pink, Cantaloupe, and Graphite Black color variants of the Huawei Watch Fit are available. The Mint Green version is out of stock.

Huawei UK is offering other deals too, some of which are listed below:

• Huawei Watch Fit for £89.99 instead of £119.99. You can add a Huawei smart scale and pay an extra £19.99 instead of £69.99 or you can add the FreeBuds 3i and get £40 off its £89.99 price.
• Huawei Watch GT 2 42mm (select colors) for £109.99 + free Huawei Band 4e. Other sizes and color variants are also discounted and include the free Huawei Band 4e.
• HUAWEI WATCH GT 2e for £109.99 + free Huawei Band 4e
• HUAWEI FreeLace Pro for £99.99 + free Huawei Band 4
• MateBook X Pro 2020 (i7 with 16GB RAM+1TB) for £1399.99 + free leather case worth £94.99 + free Huawei Sound X speaker.

There are also limited-time deals on MateBook computers, tablets, and phones. All have been discounted but some also come with free gits.

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Following the announcement of the AirPods Max, most of the reactions have been about the price tag of the headphones and how you can get one of the best headphones in the market – the Sony WH-1000XM4 – for about half the price of Apple’s. Other alternatives have also surfaced in conversations but one that I haven’t seen mentioned is the Huawei FreeBuds Studio which is not only less expensive but is even better, at least on paper, than Apple’s headphones.

The FreeBuds Studio is Huawei’s first premium headphones and it was announced in October in Europe for €299, practically half the price of the AirPods Max which goes for €597.25 in Germany. It doesn’t come in as many color options as Apple’s headphones, and frankly, it is not as stylish too, but what it lacks in looks, it makes up for in features. The table below shows how both headphones differ:

Design and Weight

Both headphones are made from premium materials but with respect to the overall design, that is subjective. There will be those who prefer the Huawei FreeBuds Studio to the AirPods Max and vice versa. However, one thing we can agree on is that the AirPods Max having more color options is a plus.

Apple’s headphones also weigh about 50% more than the FreeBuds Studio. The weight may play a part in how comfortable the headphones are when worn for long.

Active Noise Cancellation

If you are picking up a pair of headphones, this is one feature you will want to pay attention to, and thankfully both Apple and Huawei’s headphones have it though the FreeBuds Studio takes it up a notch.

Huawei has built a sensor into the headphones that work in tandem with the microphones to detect the scene where the wearer is and automatically adjust the level of Active Noise Cancellation. According to Huawei, it completes 100 scene detection scans per second. The headphones will adjust the ANC to an Ultra Mode when on a plane or train ride; switch to a General Mode when in a restaurant or cafe, and change to a Cozy Mode when you are at work or in a more quiet environment.

Transparency Mode/Hear-through Mode

Apple and Huawei both call it different names but it is the same feature. When activated, it allows ambient sound in so you are aware of your environment. This comes in handy when you are outdoors and need to be aware of what is going on around you.

Just like with ANC, the FreeBuds Studio takes its hear-through mode to another level. Alongside the default Awareness Mode, it has a second one called Voice Mode that can be set up via the AI Life app. When activated, it enhances human voices but reduces environmental noise. This is particularly useful if you are having a conversation with someone or you are at the train station or airport where it is usually noisy but you need to listen to announcements while blocking out other noise.

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Control

Apple has brought the digital crown of the Apple Watch over to its new headphones. Users will be able to use it to adjust the volume, switch tracks, answer calls, and call on Siri.

Huawei, on the other hand, settles for touch controls. The touch area covers a large percentage of the whole cup. Users can adjust the volume by swiping upwards or downwards, switch tracks with a horizontal swipe, play/pause, or answer/end a call with a double-tap, and call on the voice assistant/reject a call with a long press.

Most TWS earbuds support touch controls including Apple’s own AirPods, so it will be easy for anyone who is used to that to switch to the FreeBuds Studio. While we appreciate Apple wanting to do things differently, we won’t be surprised if there are folks who switch between earbuds with touch controls and the AirPods Max and subconsciously tap the cups of the latter to control the device.

Battery Life and Fast Charging

The battery life on both headphones is the same with ANC turned on. Apple didn’t say how long the headphones will last without ANC on but you get 4 extra hours of listening time when you turn it off on the FreeBuds Studio.

Where the difference lies is in fast charging and this is where Huawei wins. A 10-minute charge will give you up to 5 hours of listening time (8 hours if you turn off ANC) but Apple’s own earphones will provide 1.5 hours of listening time but at half the charging duration. Even if the Apple headphones were to charge for 10 minutes, we do not think you’ll get up to 5 hours of playback.

Compatibility

The Huawei FreeBuds Studio works with a range of Android, iOS, and Windows devices giving it wide compatibility. Be aware that certain features are available only on Android such as the AI Life App that you can use for configuring the headphones. There are also features that only work with devices running EMUI 11 which means Huawei’s own phones and tablets.

The AirPods Max works with Apple products only. So if you don’t have a compatible iPhone, iPod, Apple Watch, or Mac, then this is not the pair of headphones for you.

Price

Price is a determining factor when you are purchasing a product. The AirPods Max commands a higher price tag than Huawei’s own headphones but as we know Apple’s high price tags don’t usually work against it. The AirPods Max will sell in thousands if not in hundreds of thousands. However, if you are looking for something less expensive but that doesn’t skimp on quality, Huawei’s FreeBuds Studio should be on your radar.

Conclusion

Like it is said above, this is just a spec to spec comparison. A proper comparison review of both headphones that focuses on audio quality, ANC quality, real-life battery life, and more will reveal which headphones are better. But for now, the Huawei FreeBuds Studio wins.

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Huawei is expanding its FreeBuds line of earbuds to now include over-the-ears wireless headphones. The headphones will launch as the FreeBuds Studio and a leak has revealed its features, as well as high quality, renders that give us a good look at the upcoming product.

The FreeBuds Studio is a premium pair of headphones and the design shows it. From the images, the headband appears to be covered in leather. The cups should be memory foam while the rest of the body seems to be anodized aluminum. The German tech blog, Winfuture, which is the source of the leak, says it weighs 265 grams and it will be available in Blush Gold and Graphite.

The headphones have 40mm drivers and are powered by Huawei’s Kirin A1 chip. The FreeBuds Studio has Active Noise Cancelation (ANC) and Huawei claims it can reduce ambient noise by up to 40 decibels. And just like we have seen on some headphones, there is a button on one of the cups to turn off the feature. The other cup is home to a Bluetooth button and a power button.

It has been reported that the FreeBuds Studio has two 410mAh batteries which will provide up to 20 hours of listening time. It is not known if this figure is with ANC on or turned off. However, battery life drops to 15 hours when you use it for calls. The headphones charge via USB-C and support fast charge – a 10-minute charge will provide 5 hours of playback time. A full charge takes 70 minutes.

The Huawei FreeBuds Studio connects via Bluetooth 5.2 and devices running EMUI 10 and above get features such as quick pairing and battery status indicator.

Unfortunately, there is no mention of the price of the device but we won’t be surprised if it leaks before the unveiling next week.

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