HUAWEI FreeBuds Pro 5 review: Feature-packed wireless earbuds

These are the newest flagship earbuds from HUAWEI, the FreeBuds Pro 5. These earbuds promise key upgrades in sound quality, noise cancellation, design, and performance. Let’s dive into all the key features you need to know about, and see if these earbuds are a contender for the best wireless earbuds of 2026.

What’s it like to use the HUAWEI FreeBuds Pro 5?

The HUAWEI FreeBuds Pro 5 sport a familiar stem design, but there are some cool things to point out here, such as the diamond-cut metallic detailing on the exterior of the earbuds. You can pick up the earbuds in four colors: Sand, White, Grey, and Blue. The Sand, White, and Grey charging cases use an excimer film coating designed for a soft texture. The Blue version, on the other hand, features a vegan leather finish with a fine-grain surface that is resistant to scratches and fingerprints. The charging case is 5.5 percent smaller than the previous generation and incorporates a concealed hinge for a more seamless design. It also includes a four-color ring indicator that displays battery and pairing status.

When it comes to the earbuds themselves, HUAWEI conducted extensive research to ensure these earbuds fit as many ears as possible. The company analyzed over 10,000 ear samples to find the ideal fit for most people. Compared to the previous generation, the earbuds are 10 percent smaller and 6 percent lighter. In my experience using the earbuds, I find them extremely comfortable to wear for hours on end. There are also four silicone ear tip sizes included, ranging from extra small to large.

If you’re looking for workout earbuds, you’ll be happy to know that these earbuds carry an IP57 rating for dust and water resistance, providing protection against sweat and splashes. The charging case is also rated IP54 for mild water resistance.

What are the best features of the HUAWEI FreeBuds Pro 5?

There are lots of features for the FreeBuds Pro 5 to explore in the HUAWEI Audio app. If you’d like to adjust the sound of the earbuds, you can select from a variety of EQ presets for different preferences and scenarios. On the other hand, if you’re into advanced tweaking, you can also dive into the 10-band custom equalizer.

The earbuds support swipe, tap, and pinch gestures. You can swipe to adjust volume, tap or pinch to control playback and calls, and press and hold to switch between noise cancellation modes. These controls can be customized within the app. There are also head gesture controls, so you can answer or reject a call with a shake of your head.

How do the HUAWEI FreeBuds Pro 5 connect?

The FreeBuds Pro 5 support lossless listening with HUAWEI’s L2HC 4.0 audio codec, enabling up to 2.3Mbps transmission with 48kHz and 24-bit lossless audio when paired with compatible HUAWEI devices. This allows greater dynamic range and more detailed reproduction of audio information compared to standard Bluetooth earbuds, provided you are using a supported device. The earbuds also support dual-device connection over Bluetooth, allowing simultaneous pairing with two devices, which is a nice plus. In my experience testing the FreeBuds Pro 5, I didn’t encounter any connection issues.

How long do the HUAWEI FreeBuds Pro 5’s battery last?

In our standardized battery testing, we found that the FreeBuds Pro 5 earbuds last 9 hours and 8 minutes of playback on a single charge. With the charging case, HUAWEI says you can get up to 38 hours of total playback time. These figures position the earbuds for full-day use without needing to worry about recharging. You can power up the case via USB-C or wireless charging.

How well do the HUAWEI FreeBuds Pro 5 cancel noise?

In our testing, we see that these earbuds are an improvement over their predecessors when it comes to noise canceling. The FreeBuds Pro 5 block out an average of 82% of external noise with ANC enabled, and 57% of external noise without ANC enabled.

HUAWEI says that these are the world’s first dual-driver ANC earbuds. That means that these earbuds use both the dynamic driver and the micro planar diaphragm unit to block out low-frequency and high-frequency noise. These earbuds also use a MIMO AI perception model to process noise 400,000 times per second. By combining hardware and AI-driven processing, the earbuds continuously adapt to changing surroundings to improve isolation and maintain a stable listening environment.

The FreeBuds Pro 5 also include Awareness Mode, which enhances environmental transparency so you can hear important sounds around you. Conversation Awareness automatically lowers playback volume when you begin speaking, then restores it when the conversation ends. Adaptive Volume automatically adjusts playback loudness based on ambient noise conditions. Together, these features integrate noise management into everyday use without requiring constant manual adjustments.

How do the HUAWEI FreeBuds Pro 5 sound?

Most people will enjoy the sound quality of the HUAWEI FreeBuds Pro 5, though some will want to tweak the sound using the custom equalizer. The FreeBuds Pro 5 have a Dual-Drive Acoustic System that combines a low-frequency dynamic driver and a high-frequency micro planar diaphragm unit. HUAWEI says this provides a 45% reduction in low-frequency distortion and a 100% improvement in high-frequency performance compared to the previous generation.

Reviewer’s notes

Editor’s note: this review uses a hover-enabled glossary to describe sound quality based on a consensus vocabulary. You can read about it here.

Can you use the HUAWEI FreeBuds Pro 5 for phone calls?

The microphone system of these earbuds prioritizes vocal presence while reducing background interference. By combining AI noise processing with the dual-driver architecture, the earbuds are designed to preserve clarity during calls even in wind or crowded conditions. Below, you can hear our microphone tests for the FreeBuds Pro 5. The microphones do a good job of delivering clear vocals, though background noise still gets through in noisy environments.

HUAWEI FreeBuds Pro 5 microphone demo (Ideal conditions):

Should you buy the HUAWEI FreeBuds Pro 5?

At a starting price of £179, the HUAWEI FreeBuds Pro 5 command a premium price, though not as high as flagship earbuds from Sony and Bose. Considering the comprehensive features, decent noise canceling, and sound quality that many will enjoy, you likely won’t regret buying these earbuds.

HUAWEI FreeBuds Pro 5 review: FAQs