The Huawei FreeClip are a set of open ear, truly wireless earbuds that are clearly aimed at the Shokz OpenFit, which is fair to say we didn’t all universally love on the Testers team.
Like the OpenFit, the FreeClip adopt an air conduction approach to safely delivering audio to your ears while still keeping you aware of your surroundings. That should also mean bigger, more customisable sound compared to bone conduction headphones as well.
Huawei does that from a pretty unique-looking design, all while promising onboard controls, built-in mics and plenty of battery life to keep you covered for a good week’s worth of running.
Tester Mike got his hands on a pair early to see if the FreeClip passes the running test and these are open ear buds worth putting near your ears.
This is our full Huawei FreeClip Running Review.
CHAPTERS:
00:00 – Intro
00:21 – Price and Key Specs
04:24 – The Run Test – Design And Fit
08:20 – The Run Test – Sound Quality
11:09 – Battery Life
12:23: Verdict & Alternatives
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Hey this is Mike from the Run testers And in this video we are going to be Giving you our running review of the new Haway free clip a set of pretty unique Looking truly wise airbuds which are Clearly aiming themselves at headphones Like these shocks open fit now do they Pass a running test let's find Out so before get into what the Hawaii Fre clip I like to run with what exactly Is the haawi free clip which these are Essenti ha's first attempt at set of Truly W airb adopted kind of open a Design approach now what do we mean by Open a well essentially it's not putting The headphones or earbuds directly Inside of your ears but in close Proximity and the idea behind that is it Can give you enough good sound quality But also keep you in tune with the world Around you and ultimately it's a bit of A safer way or safer approach to listen To your audio now in terms of the free Clip they are using an air conduction Style approach to that open Air Design Now We've seen this before we've seen it Mainly kind of most notably from the Shocks open fit which we've tested on The channel essentially as opposed to Bone conduction it is offering or Essentially is using speakers that sit In close proximity of your ears to give You that kind of bigger Fuller sound
That you don't really get from bone Conduction headphones but still giving You that awareness and that safeness Element as well what you also get from Air conduction is more customizable Sound so what you'll fine with bone Conduction headphones in general is that You won't have this kind of great in Terms of you know tinking with the sound Profile on shocks headphones you do get A couple of EQ modes but ultimately it's Not massively varied now on the Huawei Free clip you are getting something that Offers kind of four EQ modes and that's Available and Huawei is kind of AI life Companion app so you can't control them From the airbuds but you can toggle Between those different EQ modes to give You a kind of better or more suitable Sound to whatever you're listening to Now in terms of the design it's very Unique looking in terms of what we've Seen from from open a headphones before An airbuds it's what I would kind of Consider a kind of mashup of the kind of Samsung Galaxy Bean earbuds that Samsung Launched a few years ago but also kind Of those like Jack toys used to get as Kids for kind of you know those little Games kind of metal jacks essentially They are clipon airbuds and how they Work is they do kind of put that kind of Little speaker unit in front of your Ears there's a kind of connector kind of
Flexible connector that kind of connects To this kind of bean kind of shaped um Kind of Comfort Design bit that kind of Sits behind your ear and that's what Keeps it in place there's no ear tips There's no wing tips to kind of hold Them in place it's ultimately relying on That design keeping them in place when You are running in terms of protection You are getting something that's IP 54 Rated so it's not the strongest level of Kind of waterproof and kind of dust Proof um rating that you can get on Airbuds it does mean it gives you some Protection when you are going out Running in the rain if you get a little Bit of kind of muck or dust in them then They should still operate under those Conditions Well it might not look like it you do Get some controls built into these Airbuds they are discreetly hidden Inside of the kind of stem kind of Connector part of the airbuds and it Allows you to activate gesture style Control so you can double tap and triple Tap and that let you do things like Playing pause audio skip through your Tracks but also handle calls as well too When the airbuds are not in use they sit Inside of this charging case which Huawei says is a sea shell inspired Design you've got a USBC charging port To power them up as well too and this
Also obviously gives you a little bit of An extra battery boost on top of what You're getting off a single charge on The Huawei free clip now as mentioned There is a Huawei AI life companion app Which is what you use to set up and pair And connect these airbuds to your phone That works with Android and iOS and that Gives you some additional features like Kind of find my airbuds as I said you're Getting that kind of EQ support in there As well too there is multipoint uh Support here as well that's mainly for You using with huawei's devices there is A kind of share my audio a bit like what Beats and apple do with their um kind of Headphones but ultimately it only is Really designed for Huawei smartphones And for other Huawei headphones as well Too so that's kind of the going a brief Outline of what you can expect from the Huawei 3 clip now we're going to get Into what they're like to run with and Whether these are ones that you should Buy so into that run test I'm going to Start with the design the fit and also The controls cuz ultimately those are The kind of things that if they don't Get right then ultimately they're going To be no use for going out and running With them now as I've mentioned earlier These are a design which are definitely Unique in terms of their approach in Terms of their look as well too now
There definitely is Hallmarks of my Experiences with these shocks open fit In terms of the fit and the secureness Of these airbuds I would describe them As kind of clinging to your ears as Opposed to really clamping tightly um Now I've used for all of my runs over The last few weeks and that's been kind Of indoor outdoor runs my Long training Runs I've raced with them as well too so I feel like you know the types of runs I Would use my headphones for I kind of Really put these through those tests now In terms of secureness it has been Generally pretty good I like the fact That they're nice and light as though it Worries me how light they are they have Kind of hung about and kind of stayed Put for most my runs in that race is Where I thought maybe they would come You know unstuck But ultimately they Were at abely fine so from that point of View generally Okay when I did my indoor runs and I got A little bit sweatier I found that the Airbuds would move a little bit now they Wouldn't fall out but they definitely Did move about a little bit and it Clearly it for me it shows that when it Gets a little bit sweatier Those runs Then it can be a little bit issue in Terms of the movement that you get with These airbuds and they haven't fallen Out for me the only time they're really
Falling out for me is if I've kind of Pulled a kind of a jumper over them if I've kind of worn you know there it's Been raining the last few weeks I've Kind of had my running jacket and you Know you pull your hood up and it starts To knock the the airbuds out of place so From that point of view we could Probably level that at other airbuds as Well too but that's something that I've Noticed ultimately but most of my runs I Have stayed put but as I said when I've Done my indoor runs and it's got a Little bit sweatier I found I've had to Kind of play around with them and I've Kind of moved them about to kind of Nudge them back in place so they don't 100% nail it for me in all Scenarios then we get into to the Controls which are gesture style Controls which you know i' I've seen Good examples of those here it's Interesting for me I've really found Them difficult to kind of get on with And I think it really has to come down To where they're positioned on these Kind of stems it's really kind of tucked Near the kind of ball area of the Airbuds and I found when you're on the Move quickly it's very difficult to Activate them you know there a very Clear spot you have to press on them it Would make it more sense to have it the Full stem area to kind of really get a
Good kind of responsive feel out of the Controls But ultimately I just found Them so hit and miss in terms of my Experience and that's even when I've Been sitting stationary and using them And not been running I've just found the Controls not quite you know in terms of Gesture style controls I've seen better Examples of them and I think that is an Area that if Hawaii do again that's Where they need to improve because I Just think when I'm running they haven't Been good enough and I've just been Found very difficult to kind of activate Even when I've been sitting down they've Been difficult to use as well so the Design for me in terms of secureness Have been pretty good as I said I Thought they would probably come come Unstuck when I went and raced in them But they were absolutely fine it's Really been about when I've got a little Bit sweatier in those kind of indoor Runs and it would concern me whether I Would be constantly playing around them If I was running in hotter outdoor Conditions whether the fit would be good Enough so there has been pant of good Examples where they have stayed put But Ultimately there have been a couple of Areas where have left me wondering are These going to be the ultimate fit and It's a bit like the shocks open fit Where I think in some scenarios they're
Absolutely fine but I think if you get More challenging environments or if it's Kind of you know a little bit hotter is It going to be a bit of a problem even In windier conditions they've been Absolutely fine from that point of view But I just think I've not been 100% Satisfied with the design and the Controls I definitely think have been Pretty underwhelming in terms of Execution on the free Clip and then we've got to talk about Sound quality because ultimately they Don't sound good you're probably not Going to want to run with them now I've Tested a range of different open air air Conduction headphones I've tested kind Of Cheaper end from airbuds like the Civa S so1 then up to kind of mid-range Things like the JBL sound gear sense Then pricier ones like the shocks open Fit also the Sony link buds as well too Now in terms of where I would put these I would probably put these below Something like the JBL sound gear sense I don't think these are the best Performing open air air conduction Headphones and airbuds that I've used in Terms of overall sound quality I think For me it's just a little bit of lacking I don't think you get the massive amount Of power that you get from the shocks Open fit I don't think you get the Clarity you get from something like the
Sony link bus and also the civa S1 and I Don't think you get that brighter just Enjoyable sound I think you get from the JBL sound gear sense as well to I think It just kind of sit somewhere in the Middle and you do have those four EQ Modes and ultimately I think some of Those EQ modes work better than others I Think maybe the vocal based EQ modes Work a little bit better I think the Elevate one which is essentially I think Designed to give you a bit more power And Bas and just over a warmth I just Don't think it really elevates The Sounds quality based on what I've tested I've you know tested across a range of Music I've used it for audiobooks and Podcasts as well too I think you know it Just it hasn't wed me in terms of what Else I've tested what else is out there In terms of air conduction Airbuds in terms kind of calls it's the Same thing I think it's fine in terms of Call Quality but I don't think you're Getting Best in Class in terms of that Clarity I think you're getting good Level of loudness but ultimately I don't Think you're getting the best performing Airbuds in terms of something to handle Calls as well too I think ultimately When you are in that kind of environment Where you need to have a good mix of Your outside sounds but also your audio I do think it does a pretty good job on
That side of things I have used it in Pretty bad when we've had some pretty Kind of treacherous windy conditions Here in the UK and I've gone and taken Them out they've been absolutely fine It's managed to retain that good audio Or the the audio it can deliver and also Not be totally kind of you know Obstructed by the wind or other kind of Sounds in my environment as well too so That kind of open air approach and that Design I do think it works very well but In terms of that overall sound quality I Just don't think it's as good of what I've experienced the shocks open fit in Actually some Cheaper Air conduction Open air airbuds as well too so sound Quality for me just been okay good Definitely not the best out there in Terms of what I've experienced from Other airbuds even at the cheaper end as Well Too terms of battery life I found the Hua 3 clip pretty solid overall nothing Out of the order in terms of what I've Experienced what I found is when I've Used kind of the default kind of EQ mode Out of the box that Huawei offers before I kind of update and use all the EQ Modes the battery drop off for an hour's Worth of running a pretty loud volume Was about 10% if I use the additional EQ Modes it's probably 15% so kind of what I expected to see in terms of battery
Performance you do have a kind of Handy Kind of quick charge Feature as well too to give you that Kind of Quick bump up you forget to Charge them that's quite handy to have It as well too as I said it's a USBC um Charging port in terms of charging them Up you do have wir is charging support Here so you can kind of drop it on there Kind of Qi certified kind of charging um Kind of setups and I've got a couple and They've worked absolutely fine from that Point of view so battery life nothing Out of the ordinary not any kind of Concerning drop in terms of performance That I've seen pretty much in line with What I've seen from other open air truly Wi airbuds in terms of battery so Battery life definitely a I would say a Solid kind of performer from the Huawei 3 clip in terms of what I've seen in my Running Time so my VCT on the Hawaii free clip And whether these make good running Earbuds is that you know I kind of Applaud Hawai for doing something a Little bit different here and I like the Fact they've gone a little bit different With the design and ultimately in most Scenarios when I've been running with Them they have been absolutely fine in Terms that fit I like the fact they're Nice and light they've been comfortable To wear it's just been those indoor runs
Where it's got a little bit sweatier Where they haven't fallen out but they Have kind of moved about a little bit For me I think the controls just didn't Work for me whatsoever and I think Particular when you're out running They're just not good enough just not Well executed enough for me to make them Use for and you get into sound quality I Just think you compare it to what else Is out there from Air conduction style Airbuds I just don't think they match up In terms of that performance even though You've got those additional EQ modes There as well too and I think you can Get cheaper airbuds than this that do a Better job in terms of of overall audio Battery life solid overall and that's Kind of definitely a plus for the Huawei Fre clip here so for me if I was picking A pair of truly wi airbuds that are open Air Style and use air conduction I would Be going actually for a cheaper pair I Would probably be looking at something Like the JBL sound gear sense or the Civa S1 which I've tested um I wouldn't Be going for the shocks open fit which Are clearly the the rivals for these or This is what they're set up against Because they're similar price £180 £179 um I would say the fit of these are Better or being more reliable for me Than the shocks open fit I think the Sound quality on the shocks open fit is
Better than the free clip overall and I Think you're just getting bigger more Powerful sound ultimately but one thing I have noticed and know you know my Shocks open fit time hasn't been Absolutely great in terms of the Secureness of the fit also they' one of The buds stopped charging since I've Tested as well so you know that has not Been a set of airbuds that hasn't been Immune from any problems as well too so For me I would be going for something Like the JBL sound gear sense which Obviously an air hook design and more Reliable design in terms of fit also has A neck band style design as well wear Them like kind of shocks open runs or Open run Pros as well too it gives you Nice bright sound as well customizable Sound good battery life as well there And it just feels like a more solid Option you can go even cheaper as well With something like the cka S01 which I've tested as well which I think gives You better Clarity definitely compared To the Huawei 3 clip also has that air Hook design as well too and overall just Feels I've had a better experience in Terms of the fit the overall Sound Performance and also the battery life as Well too so for me me I think there's Definitely some good qualities of the Huawei free clip But ultimately if I was Picking a set of chly wise airbuds based
On open a air conduction style design I Would be going for something like the JBL sound gear sense or the civa S so1 Just because I think you're getting Better overall performance so I think It's a good first attempt from Hawaii Here I actually prefer them to the Shocks open fit in terms of my time with Them I just think the sound quality and The ultimately you know what you're Getting in terms of that performance When you're out and kind of battling Other sounds I think the open fit do a Better job but I mean those are not Headphones or airbuds that I've Absolutely loved either okay so there That is out for running review of the Haawi fre clip now if you've got any Questions about these airbuds that we Haven't covered in this video or there Are other airbuds you would like to see It compare to that we haven't already Referenced do let us know in the Comments as always like And subscribe Hit that little bell to find out about Latest videos and yeah we'll see you the Next R Test's Video I Would
