Huawei has repeatedly proved that it can make exciting accessories for smartphones. The Huawei FreeBus Pro TWS headphones aren’t just interesting, though – they’re just delicious.
The Samsung Galaxy Buds Live has attracted plenty of media attention for their kidney bean-shaped design, and rightfully so: these non-sealing, noise-canceling earbuds are unlike any other earbuds on the market.
Pros and Cons
| Huawei FreeBuds Pro | Samsung Galaxy Buds Live |
| Case with wireless charging function | Good sound and call quality |
| Long battery life | charging via USB C or wirelessly |
| Well-functioning ANC | intuitive gestures |
| No water resistance | Sound isolation isn’t as good |
| No iOS app support | Mediocre sound quality |
General
| Huawei FreeBuds Pro | Samsung Galaxy Buds Live | |
 | | |
| $ | CHECK PRICE | CHECK PRICE |
| Brand | Huawei | Samsung |
| Type | In-Ear | In-Ear |
| Colors | Silver Frost, Ceramic White, Carbon Black | Mystic White, Mystic Black, Mystic Copper, Mystic Red, Mystic Blue |
| Battery life | Up to 7 hours Qi wireless charging | Up to 8 hours (29 with charging case) |
| Weight | 12 g | 5.6g |
| Connectivity | Wireless, Bluetooth | Wireless, Bluetooth |
Huawei FreeBuds Pro
The Huawei FreeBuds Pro headphones are real computers in our ears. Each has the latest technology to ensure high-quality music and calls playback while reducing unwanted background noise.
Inside each earphone, apart from the dynamic converter and the digital-to-analog converter, we find three microphones, a bone conduction sensor supporting the ANC system and two Bluetooth antennas to make the connection with the paired device stable in all conditions.
Huawei has contributed to the reduction of ambient sounds to such an extent that the shape of the headphones is not only to ensure high wearing comfort, but also to reduce aerodynamic drag, perceived by the user as noise. For this reason, my attitude to the news from Huawei was rather skeptical.
Samsung Galaxy Buds Live
Galaxy Buds Live are sold in a small box, inside which you will find a charging case with headphones inside, spare rubber bands of a larger size than the default ones, and a short charging cable.
The set does not include any travel case, but it is hard to expect one since the power bank acts as a protective case. However, I will not be surprised if there are special silicone “protectors” for this case, just like in the case of Apple’s AirPods – there is a lot of it on the market.
The case, which is also a 472 mAh power bank, is made of shiny plastic. It looks perfect and is small, which makes it easy to move from place to place. On the front, we find a diode informing us about the charging process of the case. When it is connected to charging, it lights up red. When it is charged – green, on the back, we have a USB type C, thanks to which we can charge the case with a smartphone cable – we do not need any dedicated charger or other cables.
Design
| Huawei FreeBuds Pro | Samsung Galaxy Buds Live | |
| Type | In-Ear | In Ear |
| Wireless | Yes | Yes |
| Noise Cancelling | Yes | Yes |
Huawei FreeBuds Pro
Huawei FreeBuds Pro goes to the buyer in a white box with a design very similar to the other packaging of Huawei products. We will find, among others, the image of the headphones in white, a list of key features (adaptive ANC, mode dedicated to calls, parallel use of two devices) and an incentive to install the accompanying application, along with a QR code leading us to the AppGallery store (the code works correctly only if AppGallery is already installed on the device).
Although the headphones visible on the packaging are white, I received the gray version, unfortunately. Unfortunately, because it is by far the ugliest color version available. Gray headphones, at first glance, do not look very appealing. It’s good that there are also other colors.
Samsung Galaxy Buds Live
The headphones themselves are shiny on the outside and matte on the inside. The white version I tested is probably the least noticeable, and I admit that it suits me. There are, however, two other colors – black and copper. Samsung believes that these headphones are to become a piece of jewelry, and, looking at their design, it actually makes sense.
Well, that’s … design. Anyone who looks at Galaxy Buds Live sees beans in these headphones from the very first moment, and nothing is surprising in that. Samsung explains that such a shape is as ergonomic as possible and provides the user with the best audio experience while maintaining high comfort of use.
Features
| Huawei FreeBuds Pro | Samsung Galaxy Buds Live | |
| USB | USB-C | USB-C |
| Microphone | Yes | Yes |
| Music Controls | Yes | Yes |
| Quick Charge | Yes | Yes |
| Speakers | No | No |
The very high quality of voice calls is another advantage that Huawei representatives emphasize when talking about the FreeBuds Pro headphones .
Huawei FreeBuds Pro are another TWS headphones that the high quality of calls is not a challenge. Well, it should only be applauded by the producers, because we know that if we decide to buy TWS headphones for a few hundred , we will be able to talk through them without interference and difficulties.
Samsung Galaxy Buds Live, according to the manufacturer, boasts three microphones and a VPU, a voice reading unit. On the day of the premiere of the device, Samsung assured that it should provide “best-in-class call quality”. Considering the current situation, which has forced many of us to work in the home office mode and conduct a lot of conversations (whether by phone or via communicators) in the comfort of our own apartment, the quality of calls is of great importance. So how is it with her?
Battery
| Huawei FreeBuds Pro | Samsung Galaxy Buds Live | |
| Battery Type | Li-Po | Li-Po |
| Battery Life | Up to 7 hours Qi wireless charging | Up to 8 hours (29 with charging case) |
| Charge Time | 40 minutes | 5min Charging/60 min Play |
| Charging Port | USB Type-C | USB Type-C |
Huawei FreeBuds Pro
Huawei declares that the headphones can work without charging for up to 30 hours when used to listen to music. In the case of calls, this time is reduced to 16 hours. How is it actually? After two long days of listening to music, the case remained about 50% charged. This would mean I was using them for 15 hours during this time. In practice – it was 10 hours.
The charging time is also OK – one hour of charging with a cable and two hours of wireless charging are good parameters. I charged the headphones with both the smartphone charger and the smartphone itself, using rechargeable charging. In both cases, the process ran smoothly.
The headphones only need 40 minutes of charging from the case to play continuously for up to 7 hours. This should be sufficient even for longer journeys by public transport.
Samsung Galaxy Buds Live
Directly in each earpiece, we have 60 mAh rechargeable batteries, based on the manufacturer’s data – are to allow up to 6 hours of listening to music with ANC / up to 8 hours without ANC or 4.5 hours of talks with ANC / 5.5 hours without ANC – with recharging the case (the case has 472 mAh), this time will be extended to 21 hours / 29 hours or 17 hours / 19 hours, respectively. How does this relate to reality? Very similarly.
With ANC on, the operating time is approx. 5.5-6 hours on a single charge. With the ANC turned off, it extends to approx. 7 hours. The right earphone discharges a bit faster, and the left earbud takes about 1-3 minutes.
Charging the headphones themselves using the power bank case takes an hour. A fully discharged case with headphones inside, the charger that comes with the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 (it was just at hand), we’ll charge in 2 hours and 15 minutes.
It is also worth adding that the case can charge the headphones three times, twice to full, and the third time to about 91-93%.
Connectivity
| Huawei FreeBuds Pro | Samsung Galaxy Buds Live | |
| Bluetooth | Bluetooth 5.2 | Bluetooth 5.0 |
| Sensor | Bone sensor supported | Accelerometer, Gyro, Proximity, Hall, Touch, Grip, Voice Pickup Unit |
| Multi-Device Connection | Yes | Yes |
Conclusion!
The Huawei FreeBuds Pro headphones are a really big, positive surprise. The list of their shortcomings is very short: not a very nice color version (glossy in addition), problems with taking the headphones out of the case and the availability of the accompanying application only in AppGallery are actually their only drawbacks, in addition, they fade in the face of the number of advantages. A case with a large-capacity battery with a wireless charging function, a very good ANC mechanism and an unusually pleasant sound are just some of them.
The Samsung Galaxy Live Buds headphones are a pleasant surprise. They sound great, fit the ears very well, thanks to which you hardly feel them and offer a very long working time. In addition, they can be operated with intuitive gestures, so you do not have to reach for your smartphone when you want to change the song or volume, as well as answer / reject a call.
