Huawei FreeArc Bluetooth 5.2 IP57 Open-Ear Earbuds

YouTube: regancipher
Squiglink: regancipher
Measurements: github
Socials: Biolink

Model: Huawei FreeArc
Price: £79.99 (launch), £99.99 MSRP
Review Reference: RC172

Manufacturer Specification:

• Brand: Huawei
• Model: FreeArc
• Driver: High Sensitivity 17mmx12mm DD
• Mic: 4 mic ENC
• ANC: N/A
• Codecs: AAC, SBC
• App Support: Yes
• Multipoint: Yes
• Customisable Controls: Yes (some limitations)
• Low-Latency Mode: Yes
• In-Ear Detection: No
• Earbud Weight: 8.87g
• Case Dimensions: 68mm {maximum} (width) x 27mm (height) x 68mm (depth)
• Case Charge Capacity: 510mAh
• Quick Charge: Yes - 3 hours playtime from 10 minutes chargetime
• Wireless Charging: No
• Charge Time: approx. 60 minutes (buds and case), 40 minutes (buds only)
• Single Use Playtime: Up to 7 hours
• Playtime with Charge Case: Up to 28 hours
• Bluetooth Range: 10m advertised
• Bluetooth: Bluetooth® 5.2
• Water Resistance: IP57

Includes:

1 x Pair Wireless Earbuds
1 x USB Type-C Charge Case
1 x USB Type-C Charge Cable
1 x Quick Guide

YouTube Review:



Intro

Those who have been following my channel for a while will need no introduction into why I'm such a big fan of open-ear earbuds - they give you better situational awareness, allowing you to hear traffic when you're out running or cycling far better than using transparency mode on traditional TWS (essential in London!) and are also pretty useful in an office-environment, where you can hear co-workers shouting across the office to you (and not complaining that you're wearing earbuds when they're trying to get your attention). They're also guaranteed not to fall out when you're out for a run regardless of the size or shape of your ears, which can't always be said for standard in-ear TWS, with the ear hooks giving you added stability and preventing them for flying off in your trail when you're racing to get home.

There are obviously some compromises to this style of earbud that experienced head-fiers will be aware of, but just in case you're new to this style, the lack of seal means that you're not going to get active noise cancellation, and the sound is likely to be less immersive, with basslines dissipating before the sound reaches your ear canal. Usually there's a bit of sound leakage as well, so for most of us this will be a complement rather than a replacement for our traditional TWS.

I've tested so many different models of this type I've lost count - I've even got my own playlist dedicated to them. The latest that I've tested over the last couple of months is Huawei's brand new release, the FreeArc - a set that looks pretty decent on paper, albeit with a bit of an unoriginal design. Could they dethrone the Shokz OpenFit Air as my all-time favourite so far?

Design & Comfort



Huawei have called their design the 'C-Bridge', comprising of a thin aluminium alloy wire giving you a bit of flexibility and malleability, with a skin-friendly liquid silicone finish around the ear hook to prevent irritation. They apparently based this design on an ergonomic analysis of over 10,000 auricle curves. It's such a shame that they didn't make mine 10,001, because unfortunately it doesn't really fit my ears as well as it does the models in their marketing material.



The problem area is here - the tragus. Mine sticks out quite a bit, so when I activate the touch controls it presses against it repeatedly and it actually makes it feel really uncomfortable, giving a sharp stabbing pain every time I touch it. I should add here that I really am 'auricle curve 10,001' - this isn't going to be the case with everyone, but I can only go by my own experience and when using the controls, at least, it doesn't feel ideal.



Whilst Huawei recognised that pressure on the tragus is a bad thing and they've tried to obviate it with their design, they haven't done it quite as well as Shokz, who added additional curvature to the outer edge, removing any pressure whatsoever, nor SoundPEATS with their GoFree2, which adds more of that skin-friendly coating to the whole section that touches your skin.

Other than the unit bashing against my tragus, the controls are quite responsive and intuitive. Just like with their FreeBuds Pro series, you can swipe up and down to control the volume. Huawei do give you some degree of customisation when it comes to the controls in their app, but there are some limitations - notably swipe, which can't really be changed to anything other than turning it off altogether, and press and hold, which gives you voice assistant or nothing. But hey, at least the thought was there. Sweat and water obscuring the touch controls has been a problem for me with sets I've tried previously (Shokz, in particular) but other than the swipe volume control, I didn't notice any degradation in my ability to initiate them in these types of scenario.



Thankfully, the design issue I experienced personally above is only really isolated to when you're using the controls - I didn't notice that pressure when I was doing cardio because they fit securely and don't bounce against your ear in motion, and this added stability is useful when you're doing floor and bench work as well. In an office or sedentary use case, where you have more time to actually think about the fact you're wearing earbuds, you might notice they're there more than some, but in the majority of use cases they're pretty comfortable, with no pinch around the ear hook area. Their IP57 rating means you're getting plenty of protection from sweat and the elements - much more than the aforementioned Shokz and SoundPEATS offerings.



The thin profile to the ear hooks mean that you can wear them successfully with cycling glasses and a helmet without any problems. I run about two or three times a week, so I've done about 50km with the FreeArc now and over 200km on the bike, with a lot of that around particularly noisy areas like airports and train stations, and it gave me plenty of opportunity to test whether that maximum volume was going to be loud enough in really busy scenes. Most of the time I didn't have to push the volume above 80%, even with badly-recorded podcasts, but in case you really need to push it temporarily, you have an option in the app to boost the volume. Just be mindful that this additional headroom is there to compensate for poor recordings - it takes the max volume up to just under 100dB-A - not a recommended setting for any sustainable period.



The buds slot into the case in the same orientation as the Shokz OpenFit Air, who Huawei seem to have taken inspiration from in more than a few ways. The case isn't quite as portable, but with open earbuds, it usually isn't. One area where Huawei do differentiate themselves is the reverse soundwave technologies they've used to try and mitigate a common problem with open earbuds - sound leakage. Whilst it does an okay job, it's kind of offset by that higher maximum volume - it is still quite audible from about a meter away. If you're out in the open, no one's going to hear you, but if you're sat in a very quiet room, then they will be able to at least hear that you're listening to something.

Sound

I know sound is subjective, but for me the Huawei are amongst the best sounding open earbuds I've tested. Compared to the Shokz OpenFit Air, it's a much more musical presentation with more body to the sound, especially with vocals, which sound really nasal on the OpenFit Air by comparison. The trebles are smoother and less peaky, but still have more detail and precision. This kind of tuning is really important when you're listening to these for long bike rides where you can't easily adjust the volume.



Whilst the Shokz's sub-bass does extend a little bit deeper, at least according to the measurements, that isn't really going to be noticeable in real life. I included binaural sound samples in the YouTube version of the review, so you can hear how they sound for yourself, and compare them to the Shokz. If you listen closely, you could hear a little bit of distortion on the mid-bass on the Shokz, whereas on the Huawei it was completely clean.



It's a similar story when you compare it to some of their competition. FIIL's GS has the deepest bass hit, although again, it isn't necessarily as easily discernible, and although on very close inspection both they and OneOdio's OpenRock X noticeably have a little bit more thump to the sound, this will vary depending on how it positions relative to your ear anatomy.



If you're one of those people that prioritises bass slam over musicality, there is always the option of selecting the Elevate preset within Huawei's app. The app gives you four different presets as well as a 10-band custom EQ, so lots of ability to customize the sound. All of these measurements are hosted on my GitHub and Squiglink - links are at the top of this review.

Calls

As always, I recommend checking out the call samples in the YouTube version of this review. Most of the time, you're pretty coherent - it isn't anywhere near the level of their FreeBuds Pro series, though, with quite a bit of ambient noise leaking into your call. They perform better in outdoor, open spaces, combatting traffic and city environmental noise better than nearby conversations.

Connectivity & Other Features

Their Bluetooth 5.2 chipset feels like a little bit of a blast from the past, but connectivity is really strong - I was able to walk around the office around 20-30m away without any disconnections or interruptions. Huawei claim you can move up to 400m away from the source - the max I managed was far less, so I suspect this is accounting for clear line of sight with no other frequencies getting in your way.

There's no hi-res codecs - it's AAC only, which isn't really a problem for this sort of earbud, especially since it helps preserve battery life. There are no in-ear detection sensors, which is expected due to the form factor. Multipoint works well, reliably and with a device list allowing you to nominate a prioritised device. Other notable inclusions are a low audio latency mode, which took latency down from 172 milliseconds to 57, so actually pretty good for casual gaming, and a 'find my earbuds' option, which isn't particularly loud, but welcome none the same.

Battery Life

'Solid if unspectacular' is how I determined it in the pros and cons above - I got just under 7 hours on a single charge, and 10 minutes back in the case gives you an additional 3 hours play time. This trounces the Shokz, which lagged nearly 2 hours behind them, but is still short of some of their competitors. FIIL's GS gave me 3 hours more, and 1MORE's S50 abd Soundcore's Aerofit Pro another hour on top of that. 7 hours will be enough for most of us, but ultramarathon runners might still want to look elsewhere. The 3 additional charge cycles from the case are pretty standard, and the buds charge back to full pretty quickly, around 40-60 minutes will get you back to the full 28 hours.

Summary

When you're looking to purchase a set of open earbuds, there's going to be some key criteria that you're going to have on your hit list. The first is comfort, and there's a tick in the box there, although take note of my point about the pressure on the tragus when you're activating the controls if that area of your ear is a little bit larger like mine. Adding in a customisation element like OneOdio, Tozo, SoundPEATS etc have usually adds more weight and 'clunkiness' to the design - Huawei's lightweight, targeted design is a little more one-dimensional of course, but if it fits you well, you're in for a treat.

Sound is also going to be pretty high on the agenda, and the FreeArc definitely fares favourably compared with its competition in this area. It's a mature tuning that suits all music styles reasonably well. Of course, you don't get the depth of traditional-fitting TWS, but open earbuds have certainly come a long way, and the FreeArc are a very clear representation of that progress. The added volume will also remove the frustrations that many of their competitors have, with the additional headroom facilitated through Huawei's app. Battery life is good enough for most, if not best in class, and it would have been nice to have seen wireless charging, but for me it's not a deal breaker. Other parameters we look for - a decent app experience, some degree of customisation, good latency, acceptable call performance and good connectivity, are all accounted for too.

The price, alongside the sound, is the most attractive proposition here. At a launch price of £79.99, they're good value. They're cheaper (and IMO, more reliable) than offerings from their key competition in this field, the likes of OneOdio, 1MORE and Oladance, all of whom feel quite overpriced by comparison. It also feels like a more polished experience than the likes of Soundcore, Earfun and SoundPEATS, who they are closer to in terms of cost.

The FreeArc may lack a little originality, but the sound and higher-than-usual maximum volume, coupled with Huawei's reliability and build quality, should see this release get more universal approval than many open earbuds - if you're looking at a first set of open-ears in particular, this feels like a safe choice overall.