Huawei Free Buds Pro 5 review: Air Pods Pro alternatives I didn't expect to love this much | Tech Radar

Overview

‘A serious Apple Air Pods Pro rival’: five sweet stars prove Huawei’s new Free Buds Pro 5 are the real deal

Premium sound, standout ANC, price that undercuts most rivals… what's not to love?

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These excellent earbuds are easily the best from Huawei’s Free Buds Pro line yet, and a serious rival to the Apple Air Pods Pro. They're smaller, lighter and genuinely premium-looking. They also fit incredibly well even during workouts, and carry a welcome IP57 rating. Sound is full, detailed and clear and makes for a really enjoyable listen across genres. ANC is much improved and it performs incredibly well in all sorts of environments. They’re excellent value too, at a price that undercuts most rivals. They’re not flawless — the battery with ANC on falls a little short of top-tier, the design is a tad chunkier than rivals and there's no lossless unless you have a Huawei phone — but none of these minor issues spoil an otherwise excellent package.

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Let’s be clear from the start. For everyday listening, the Huawei Free Buds Pro 5 are the best earbuds you can get without spending significantly more. They tick every box, deliver across the board and make a compelling case that there’s life beyond Apple for those who have been reluctant to shop around.

They’re the fifth generation of Huawei’s Free Buds Pro line, which has been around since 2020 and we’ve always rated them well. In fact, I tested the Free Buds Pro 2 back in 2022. The Free Buds Pro 4 landed in November 2024 and scored four stars in our review. They were strong but not quite there. The Pro 5 are different and good enough to go head-to-head with the best at this level, including the Apple Air Pods Pro 3.

The Free Buds Pro 5 look and feel more premium than their price suggests, and so does the charging case. They’re smaller and lighter than the Pro 4 at 5.5g per bud, which is noticeable. Build quality is excellent, the stems have a high-shine finish and the case has a satiny coating that feels upscale.

Most importantly, the design translates into a supremely comfortable wear. As someone with small, particular ears who put these through gym sessions, runs and full working days, I can tell you the fit is impressive.

The feature set is extensive. There’s smooth multipoint connectivity, customisable gesture controls that are responsive and the Huawei Audio Connect app is one of my favourites at this level. Battery life reaches around 8.5 hours with ANC off and nearly 6 with it on, with 38 hours total from the case. That’s not as good as rivals for ANC listening time, but the amount of power the case holds is great.

ANC is one of the headline upgrades here. The Free Buds Pro 5 use a dual-driver system and they work together as noise-cancelling engines, paired with an AI sensing model. In practice, it’s close to silence but without that airless, pressurized quality that heavy ANC can sometimes produce. Call quality benefits from the same tech, I found it to be clear and natural, even in busy environments.

Then there’s sound, which is very good indeed. The dual-driver acoustic system delivers a wide, rich soundstage with strong low-end response, excellent instrument separation and detail that holds up across genres, from driving rock to expansive orchestral soundtracks. I think you’d have to spend significantly more or go wired to do meaningfully better.

Our audio editor Becky Scarrott called these “hands-down Huawei’s best buds yet” after five days of early testing at launch. After several weeks with them, I wholeheartedly agree. They earn their five stars because they’re excellent value, genuinely well-made and perform at a level that earbuds costing more would be proud of.

Now, are they perfect? Not quite. Lossless audio requires a Huawei device, which many don’t have. The design is fractionally chunkier than some rivals at this price too and you don't get foam tips in the box like you did with the Pro 4. But if those are the only cons (and they are), they’re doing well. I’d bet none of these would register on the radar of most everyday listeners.

That’s precisely who I think these buds are for. Not the audiophile chasing the absolutely best sound or the dedicated athlete who needs purpose built workout buds. But the everyday listener who wants the best all-rounders. They've got wide appeal, strong value and no meaningful ecosystem restrictions.

Huawei Free Buds Pro 5 review: Price and release date

The Huawei Free Buds Pro 5 were released in February 2026 in many markets across the UK, Europe and Asia. Though there are still ongoing trade restrictions between Huawei and the US.

The buds cost £179.99 in the UK. But it's worth noting that, at the time of writing, the official Huawei website is offering a £30 off coupon for the Free Buds Pro 5. This may not last long, but it makes an already great value pair of buds even easier to recommend.

Whether you find them for £179.99 or get the £149.99 deal, they're a good price for earbuds designed to compete with high-end rivals.

Let's put that into context. The latest Air Pods Pro cost

They're pricier than some of our favorite mid-range picks, like the Cambridge Audio Melomania A100 at

The Free Buds Pro 5 are packed with features, and almost all of them live inside the Huawei Audio Connect app, which is one of the cleanest companion apps I’ve tested. Everything is easy to find and nothing is buried in sub-menus.

Huawei claims the Free Buds Pro 5 are the world’s first dual-driver ANC earbuds, meaning both the dynamic driver and the micro planar diaphragm unit work together to tackle noise. The low-frequency driver targeting rumble and bass-heavy interference, the high-frequency driver handling sharper sounds. This hardware is then paired with a real-time AI sensing model that samples ambient noise 400,000 times per second (yes, you read that right!), which means it’s continuously adapting to whatever environment you’re in.

In practice, it’s incredibly effective. I tried them in all sorts of environments and low rumbles, like traffic, air conditioning, the hum of a commute, are all handled incredibly well. The overall effect is close to silence without tipping into the slightly pressurized, airless quality some ANC can produce. I know some people do prefer that, but what Huawei does here is my preference. There’s also a good passive isolation baseline here thanks to the secure fit.

There are four ANC models to pick. Dual-Engine, which adapts automatically to your surroundings. Cozy, which is for quieter environments. General for everyday noise and Ultra for loud environments. With Ultra you might notice more of a pressure sensation, which is worth knowing if you’re sensitive to that feeling, but it does do a good job at eliminating almost all ambient sound.

There’s a good Awareness mode here, which has a bunch of options within it. Standard, Voice Awareness, which filters in voices while suppressing other noises, and Adaptive Awareness, which adjusts dynamically.

Conversation Awareness is also on board. When you start speaking, the buds automatically switch from ANC to Awareness mode and lower the volume, then gradually fade back after around ten seconds once you stop. I found I could hold a natural conversation without touching the buds at all, and the transition back was gradual and smooth rather than jarring. Sony’s Speak to Chat works similarly.

The Free Buds Pro 5 move up to Bluetooth 6.0 from the Pro 4’s 5.2, and multipoint pairing of two devices is supported. Switching between my laptop and phone during testing was smooth with no lag. There’s also Find My Earbuds, which emits a round from whichever bud you’ve lost. I used it several times when one slipped under my desk, it’s one of those features you’ll be more grateful for than you’d expect.

A new internal antenna promises a 38% improvement in Bluetooth range alongside better interference rejection. I had no dropouts during testing across gym sessions and on the move.

On the codec side, i Phone users get AAC, Android users get LDAC and Huawei devices get access to lossless audio via L2HC 4.0 at 2.3 Mbps. So that lossless tier is firmly Huawei ecosystem only. For the rest of us though, LDAC and AAC are still solid options and the good news is very few other features here are gated behind a Huawei device.

Control across the stems are tap, pinch and swipe, which is a good range for buds. You can customize these in the app and I really liked that they registered with a satisfying, audible little click. Head gesture controls let you answer or reject calls with a nod or a shake, which worked well most of the time. Wear detection pauses playback when you remove a single bud, and you can listen with ANC active in just one earbud, which I liked. There’s also a low-latency mode here for gamers.

Huawei says the Free Buds Pro 5 last 9 hours with ANC off and around 6 hours with it on, with 38 hours in total from the charging case. During testing, I got just over 8.5 hours with ANC off at 50% volume. I then got nearly 6 hours with ANC on. So that’s close to the claimed figure, though it is worth bearing in mind that these real-world results with ANC active do tend to vary based on environment and mode – I had the Dual-engine setting on for testing.

For context, the Air Pods Pro 3 offer 8 hours with ANC on and 10 hours with it off, with 24 hours in total from the case. The Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro come in at 6 hours with ANC on and 7 hours with it off, and 30 hours from the case.

So the Free Buds Pro 5 don’t beat those figures, but do hold up fairly well. Though the case’s 38 hour total is an advantage over the Air Pods. Worth knowing if you travel a lot and know you may have to rely solely on the case for a few days.

One final point worth making when it comes to the battery is that thanks to the solid fit and passive isolation, you won’t always need ANC. I found that for lower noise environments, running on ANC off really extended my listening time without a sacrifice.

Design is smaller, lighter and more comfortable than ever

IP57-rated buds make them genuinely workout-friendly

Lovely case with strong magnets and a handy ring light

The Free Buds Pro 5 are a clear evolution of the Pro line, and that’s a good thing. As long as you’re on board with stems. They work particularly well for smaller ears and make gesture controls far more reliable than tap-based alternatives. That said, stem-free designs might suit some ear shapes better, so this is a subjective thing.

Huawei says the Free Buds Pro 5 are 10% smaller and 6% lighter than previous buds and at 5.5g per bud, you can feel it. I do think they’re a fraction chunkier than say the Air Pods Pro 3 and a few rivals at this level, but once they’re in the comfort level is genuinely impressive.

I wore them for around three hours straight one morning and for a further four in the afternoon without any ache or fatigue, and this is coming from someone with smaller ears who can be sensitive to heavier buds.

Huawei says it used more than 10,000 ear profiles to inform the fit here, and it shows. Four silicone tip sizes are included, and I found the medium worked well for me, despite usually needing to reach for the smallest pair.

The one minor gripe here on comfort is the absence of foam tips, which have come with some previous Free Buds Pro models and are still mentioned in the app, which suggests they may arrive later. Most people seem to prefer silicone anyway, but foam can add passive isolation and a slightly more immersive ANC effect. Though this omission isn’t a dealbreaker by any means.

The stems themselves have shifted from rectangular to a flat oval profile, with a high-shine front panel and metallic detailing round the edges that reads as genuinely premium. I tested the sand/gold shade, which adds to the premium feel, though white, silver and a blue option with a vegan leather case are also available too.

The new IP57 rating on the buds is a real highlight. That covers sweat, splashes and brief submersion, making them as workout-friendly as an everyday pair of buds gets. I took them out on several runs and to the gym throughout testing and they stayed secure throughout.

The charging case is nicely designed too. At 43g it’s light and pocket-friendly with a smooth, rounded shape and soft film coating that feels premium when you gold it. Strong magnets snap it shut and a hidden hinge keeps the lines clean.

On the front, the halo ring light glows in different colors to indicate battery and pairing status, which is both practical and a nice-looking design touch. The case is IP54-rated now as well, offering solid splash and rain resistance.

All in all, there’s very little to fault where design is concerned. If you want stems, these are among the best-looking and best-built options at this price.

The big hardware news for the Free Buds Pro 5 is a new dual-driver acoustic system, combining a low-frequency dynamic driver with a high-frequency micro planar diaphragm driver.

The low-end response is strong and present from the get-go, with the buds leaning into bass-forward tuning that feels deliberate and punchy. There’s also a bass boosting mode available if you want to push that even further. Impressively, even with that boost applied, the low-end stays controlled. No muddiness or bloat, just a lot of energy and power.

Crucially, they’re not bass-heavy though, a lot of detail survives alongside it. That dual-driver setup handles separation well across the whole frequency range, which keeps mids and highs really clean even when the low-end is doing a lot of work. So the overall character is dynamic and energetic, nothing feels lost in the mix here.

Listening to Queens of the Stone Age’s No One Knows, that dynamic quality is front and centre. Josh Homme’s vocals have a real presence, they’re bright and cutting, but the guitars still drive hard underneath without crowding them out of the picture. Instrument separation is confident here too, and there’s this pleasing sense that the track is opening up at higher volumes rather than compressing. It’s the kind of rock mix that rewards earbuds with genuine low-end grunt, and the Free Buds Pro 5 deliver that in spades.

But I also loved listening to anything orchestral with them too. Hans Zimmer’s Dune soundtrack is a demanding test, spanning whispered, layered vocals, sweeping strings, dark percussion and heaps of bass, and the Freebuds Pro 5 handle it without flinching.

The Bene Gesserit chants land with an appropriately unsettling, layered depth, while Ripples in the Sand opens into a wide, rich soundstage where every element holds its place. Strings, percussion, and those haunting high vocals all occupy their place in the mix. The soundstage here is genuinely impressive for earbuds at this price, with no detectable distortion even pushed to higher volumes.

All of the above was tested on default settings, but there’s plenty of room to customize the sound. Eight EQ presets are available, each developed in partnership with the Beijing Central Conservatory of Music. Balanced is the default, which is the most accurate and natural-sounding. That’s the one I kept returning to despite trying and enjoying many of the rest.

Voice brightens things up for vocals. Classical adds a concert hall quality that worked particularly well with those big movie soundtracks, and Bass does exactly what it promises. There are also some purpose built presets for movies, podcasts and games. If none of these work for you, there’s also a 10-band custom EQ that gives you full control.

Spatial Audio with head-tracking is also on-board here and it doesn’t require Dolby Atmos tracks, it works with whatever you’re playing. It’s not usually my preference for music, but paired with the movie preset it added a genuinely immersive quality to films and TV. Worth knowing too that you don’t need a Huawei device to access it.

Call quality is also worth noting here. In a quiet space it’s clean and natural. In a busy market with chatter, loud sounds and low-level rumbling of vans and traffic nearby, some background noise crept in. But my voice remained clear and isolated, which I still found impressive given the conditions. Wind interference caused some wobble on a really blustery day, though I was still perfectly audible. As a serial voice note leaver, these passed that test too.

Between the new hardware, tuning options and the spatial audio, the Free Buds Pro 5 make a strong case across almost any genre or use case you throw at them.

It's a bold claim, but I think the Free Buds Pro 5 are the strongest all-round option at this price right now for everyday listening.

If you have a very specific priority, such as dedicated workout buds or audiophile-grade lossless sound, you may find better value elsewhere. And if you're one of the few people who think the weaknesses are dealbreakers, like no Huawei phone for lossless audio or a preference for tiny, stemless designs, then it's worth factoring that in.

But everyone else who wants great sound, strong ANC and a comfortable, premium-feeling design with all the essential features, then these deliver a lot.

They're even easier to recommend because they're priced lower than most of their rivals at launch. In fact, Huawei is already offering a discount code on them at the time of writing if you head to their official site, which makes them even harder to argue with on value. Can I give them 5.5 stars out of 5 for this section? No? Fine.

An excellent suite of features, upgraded driver system and lovely app. Battery life with ANC playback is good but is bested by high-end rivals.

An excellent suite of features, upgraded driver system and lovely app. Battery life with ANC playback is good but is bested by high-end rivals.

Smaller and lighter than predecessors. They fit very well, look more premium than they should and gestures work are nice with that stem.

Smaller and lighter than predecessors. They fit very well, look more premium than they should and gestures work are nice with that stem.

They sound great, call quality is improved and there's a lot of customisation. You only get lossless with Huawei phones, though.

They sound great, call quality is improved and there's a lot of customisation. You only get lossless with Huawei phones, though.

Everything you need is here at a price that undercuts most rivals.

Everything you need is here at a price that undercuts most rivals.

You want an Air Pods Pro alternative Maybe you’re on Android, want a cheaper option or just don’t gel with the sound signature of the Air Pods. Whatever the reason for wanting to ditch Apple, these are a solid alternative pick.

You want all-rounders for everyday listening If you really care about audio, workouts or ANC you can find high-end options that specialize in those things, sure. But for an everyday listening experience that ticks all of the boxes, they’re really hard to beat.

You want premium sound, looks and build at a good price They really do look, feel and sound more premium than they should. And while we wouldn’t describe them as affordable, they’re certainly excellent value for the price.

You don’t like the stem design They have long stems, there’s no getting away from it. Some people love how they look, fit and work with gestures. But if you’re not a fan, you might prefer a more compact look, like the Technics EAH-AZ100.

You want lossless If you have a Huawei phone these are a no-brainer, have at it. If you don’t and you’d really like lossless sound, you won’t find it here. Try the Cambridge Audio Melomania A100 instead.

You already own the Free Buds Pro 4 There are upgrades here, so if only the best ANC, transparency and calls are a priority for you, it’s worth it. For everyone else, you shouldn’t rush to upgrade.

Air Pods Pro 3 The Freebuds Pro 5 give them a run for their money. But Apple's Air Pods Pro are still some of the best wireless earbuds for i Phone owners, with great ANC, unique features and slightly better battery life with ANC playback. Read our full Air Pods Pro 3 review

Technics EAH-AZ100 Not many earbuds will beat the Free Buds Pro 5 for sound, but these Technics are the best. They also don't have a stem-like design, which some of you may prefer. Though they are considerably more expensive. Read our full Technics EAH-AZ100 review

Tested at home, on walks, on public transport in a city, working in a cafe and a co-working space, while running and at the gym

I tested the Huawei Free Buds Pro 5 for just over three weeks to write this review. I mostly had them paired with an i Phone 16 Pro, but I also used them with a Mac Book Pro.

I used a range of different music and film apps to test the buds. They played music from Spotify, Qobuz and tunes from internal storage, as well as videos from You Tube, Prime Video and Mubi.

I’ve tested many headphones and earbuds over the past 13 years as a tech journalist. Including devices from top audio brands, like Bose, Sony, Sennheiser, as well as cheaper buds from the likes of JLab, Nothing, Skullcandy and more. I’m interested in tech that prioritises comfort and ease of use.

Becca is a contributor to Tech Radar, a freelance journalist and author. She’s been writing about consumer tech and popular science for more than ten years, covering all kinds of topics, including why robots have eyes and whether we’ll experience the overview effect one day. She’s particularly interested in VR/AR, wearables, digital health, space tech and chatting to experts and academics about the future. She’s contributed to Tech Radar, T3, Wired, New Scientist, The Guardian, Inverse and many more. Her first book, Screen Time, came out in January 2021 with Bonnier Books. She loves science-fiction, brutalist architecture, and spending too much time floating through space in virtual reality.

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Key Takeaways

• ‘A serious Apple Air Pods Pro rival’: five sweet stars prove Huawei’s new Free Buds Pro 5 are the real deal

• Premium sound, standout ANC, price that undercuts most rivals… what's not to love

• When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission

• These excellent earbuds are easily the best from Huawei’s Free Buds Pro line yet, and a serious rival to the Apple Air Pods Pro

• What are the best Air Pods to buy today