Huawei FreeBuds 6i headphone test: almost everything is just right, including the price

Huawei is also successfully nurturing its ecosystem. Their situation is, of course, completely unique, but despite everything they grind on. They make extremely beautiful and good smart watches, at one time we also had Huawei laptops on our market, we don't need to talk too much about the phones because they are still among the best mechanically. They have also proven themselves several times with headphones, such as the Huawei FreeClip.

I have been using the Huawei FreeBuds 2 Pro headphones for a good two years, at least 2-3 hours a day, and I also fall asleep with them many times, so at least in my experience, I can say that they are among the most comfortable on the market. They also eliminate noise very well, the sound quality is at an extremely high level.

I had similar expectations from the Huawei FreeBuds 6i headphones, but they mean a much lower price (€99).

Huawei FreeBuds 6i - purple suits them

It's a shame they only come in three colors. With headphones, I feel like manufacturers can have a free hand when it comes to mixing colors. Their product could only stand out even more with some "distinctiveness". Between black, white and purple, I would always choose purple. There's nothing wrong with primary colors, but they're everywhere. At least purple has some charm.

Huawei FreeBuds 6i are in-ear headphones, i.e. they are placed directly in the ear canal. It is about the shape of the stem and the plugs. The latter have a silicone tip, which is very pleasant and comfortable to wear. If the default ones don't seal well for you, you have other sizes in the package. Some people aren't fans of the stem/stick on the headphones, I like it for the convenience. It is much easier and more accurate to change the volume or change the song on the stick than on the plug itself, which you additionally push into your ear canal during the process, which is not very pleasant.

11-mm dynamic drivers with a frequency response of 14 Hz to 40 kHz are hidden in the plugs, and among the other equipment we find three more microphones and a noise filtering chamber that takes care of eliminating noise (ANC) from the environment (up to 27 dB). The headphones are relatively light (5.4 g), together with the case they last for more than 30 hours (without the ANC on), and without the case at moderate volume and with the ANC on about 4 hours. Not the longest duration, but sufficient for all but the most demanding users. In just over 10 minutes, you will be able to charge them for several hours of use.

They are water and dust resistant (IP54), so you can use them during sports without any problems. The charging case has a classic "egg" shape. The matte finish does a good job of preventing smudges, and I'm amazed at the position of the headphones while they're charging. With the Huawei FreeBuds 2 Pro, you take the headphones out of the case and place them directly in your ear. Because of the awkward position, you have to rotate the FreeBuds 6i first. It sounds petty, like I'm splitting hairs, but during the test I couldn't get used to it, or I firmly believe that the Pro headphones have the right design and the FreeBuds 6i have the wrong one. If I remember correctly, this is a perennial problem with this series.

Sound is good, noise canceling a little less

I used them the same as the current ones. During the day I used them for work, listening to music and playing games on my phone. If I wanted to watch the series in peace, I connected them to the TV. Before going to sleep, I was lonely when I read on my phone or played the last game. They have a very similar design to the FreeBuds 2 Pro, so I expected similar comfort. It's not quite the same, but they're still very comfortable.

Governance could be better and so could the ANC

Despite the dwarf, the handling could be better. With the FreeBuds Pro, we slide and click on the side of the bud, and with the FreeBuds 6i, it's right on the front, which is less responsive and annoying because we move the entire earpiece with it. By sliding, we change the volume, with a longer press, we switch between transparent mode and elimination of ambient noise, and with a double/triple click, we pause, play, skip, rotate, or answer a phone call. I miss the single-click gesture, which is usually for pause, then double-click to skip to the next track, and triple-click to go back to the previous one. This seems more intuitive to me.

The sound is otherwise relatively good, they can also boast of a high volume. Low tones are expectedly a weak point, although for the sake of ear health I don't even want too loud. Middle and high tones are in most cases very clear and well exposed. If you are a layman, you will be very happy with the sound, and audiophiles usually do not even look in this category.

Noise cancellation (ANC) is fine, but not suitable for the noisiest of environments. Even at home, they failed to muffle the sound of a vacuum cleaner or blender, I doubt they would do better on a plane or train.

In the application (Huawei AI Life), you can monitor the battery, change the intensity of noise cancellation, change the sound profile or create your own with the equalizer. You can also change the commands you give with gestures.

They support the LDAC codec, which is a welcome addition, and can also connect to two devices at the same time, whether you have a Huawei, Samsung, Xiaomi or Apple device. They work with all systems.

They are charged with a cable, there is no wireless charging.

Huawei FreeBuds 6i – very good for €100

For €99, I can hardly blame them. They are extremely comfortable, the sound is good, all the necessary functions are available and on top of that they are beautiful. Yes, the handling could be better, the ANC could also have more muscles. But for that price, I can forgive them these two little things.