Got hold of the Huawei FreeLace Pro, the latest new noise cancellation earphones launched on 14th Feb here in the UAE by Huawei. Like most Huawei gadgets, this is another cool and handy gadget with some good features.
Have been using it since a week now and right on the money – these earphones look dapper, sleek, easy to carry (wrapped around your neck – you won’t even feel it). This comes in comes in Graphite Black, Spruce Green, Sakura Pink and Dawn White – for me they are just black, green, pink, white 😉. So, I have the Spruce Green and this actually looks quite good, in fact I haven’t seen this green used on earphones/headphones before. Most earphones I have seen, sport the bright or shiny green or even a fluorescent green, but this green is quite different and classy.
So, to get on with it, everything looks good about them and there’s quite a few features that’ll make this a good and smart buy.
Let’s check them out –
Battery life is one of the most important features for any electronic gadget or device you want to own. HUAWEI FreeLace Pro has a built-in 150mAh lithium-ion polymer battery, the industry-leading high-efficiency lithium battery and low-power dual-core Bluetooth chip ensure a long battery life. On a full charge the battery will last 24 hours minimum with noise cancellation off, or maximum of 14-15 hours with noise cancellation onn. This also comes with the fast charge feature and 5 mins of charge will give you somewhere close to 5 hours of playback time (noise cancellation off), which is brilliant. In about an hour you will be able charge the earphones fully.
HUAWEI FreeLace Pro comes equipped with a USB-C plug, which allows the earphones to directly plug into devices with a USB-C port. Huawei’s proprietary HUAWEI HiPair enables great convenience where you can just unplug the USB-C connector embedded in the control box on the right and plug it into the smartphone, pc, for quick Bluetooth pairing. Also, as long as the earphones are plugged in to a device through the USB-C port, such as a smartphone, PC or tablet, these devices will directly reverse charge the earphones. You can also easily switch between two connected devices, just by double-pressing the power button, this enables the switch to another Bluetooth connected device.
The earphones have smart touch controls and physical buttons as well with designated uses for each control type. You can control the ANC On/Off and Awareness mode through touch controls on the left earbud, while rest of the functions are available on the physical buttons like answering calls, voice assistant, volume controls, Bluetooth pairing etc.
Magnetic Switch – Another interesting feature is the magnetic switch which is embedded into the back of each earbud on the HUAWEI FreeLace. When you are not using the earphones, just get both earbuds closer to each other till they stick together, this will power off your earphones and conserve battery. You separate them and the power connection resumes. This is quite handy.
Noise Cancelling – Noise cancelling earphones are in huge demand and I can’t think of a brand in recent times which is not making them. So yes, everyone’s doing it. Huawei FreeLace Pro features a pair of 14mm dynamic drivers, which is quite good for in-ear earphones. For headphones the scenario changes completely and ranges between 30-50mm. It works pretty well in achieving greater noise cancellation capabilities.
You can easily switch between noise cancelling and awareness modes, using touch controls on the left earbud. This is how noise cancellation works – With two built-in high-sensitivity microphones, the feedforward microphone (on the outside) picks up the noise outside of the ear and the feedback microphone (on the inside) picks up the residual noise in the ear canal. This allows the speaker to accurately generate noise cancellation sound to eliminate noise, reducing unwanted noise by a maximum of 40dB.
Try listening to these Back in Black & Thunderstruck (AC/DC), Orion (Metallica) – highly recommended, Cyanide & Enter Sandman (Metallica) and you will surely get a power packed performance.
Noise cancellation for Phone Calls – HUAWEI FreeLace Pro sports a 3-microphone adaptive system which reduces interference from ambient or wind noise, enhancing the clarity of a phone call. So, if you are on a voice call in a noisy environment, you will still be able to communicate quite clearly without much interference.
Low Latency – With HUAWEI FreeLace Pro users can expect low-latency in gaming mode for audio. The optimized audio codec enables these earphones to reduce the latency to as low as 150ms. The low latecy mode automatically gets activated when users start a game on the connected device. There are pure gaming headsets available in the market though which can give you lower latency, but this is an added feature in the Huawei FreeLace Pro for gaming on the go.
Design – These are pretty much smart looking neckband earphones and comfortable enough to be worn all-day. It’s a really lightweight and trendy accessory with a nickel-titanium alloy memory neckband, wrapped with skin-friendly silicone to ensure comfort and fit when worn. It’s easy to fold and restore to its original shape, which further enhances the comfort when worn during physical activities like working out, travelling etc.
The HUAWEI FreeLace Pro is available from 18 February priced at AED 399 @ Huawei Experience Stores, E-shops and in select retailers across the UAE.
Highs – Impressive sound, no jarring, great battery life, awesome design, very light, non-interfering neckband, overall good features and comes at a great price.
Verdict – This is a great buy for the price in noise-cancelling earphones segment.
