FreeLace Pro | Mobiles365

HUAWEI FreeLace Pro review: excellent value

Posted on December 1, 2020December 1, 2020 by Anton D. Nagy

If you’re looking for a sporty pair of wireless earbuds, or you simply don’t want to take your premium headphones or earphones to the gym, HUAWEI has got you covered. The company has a product portfolio that offers something for everyone, for every taste, and basically every wallet.

Today we’re looking at the HUAWEI FreeLace Pro, which has a lot of tricks up its sleeve. Not only is it wireless, but it also offers active noise cancellation, an IP55 rating, and whopping 24-hour battery life.

We’re looking at all of that, in our HUAWEI FreeLace Pro review below.

Design, materials, and fit

There are three color options to choose from: Obsidian Black, Dawn White, and the Spruce Green we’re using for this review. HUAWEI chose the neckband style for the FreeLace Pro, which means that you’re wearing the base around your neck, with the two earbuds being connected to the band by a cable each.

They weigh 34 grams, and, except for the two metal portions in the middle (housing the batteries and other tech), they have a nice rubbery feel to them.

The controls (volume up, volume down, play/pause) reside on the right metal portion, together with the power button. This is also where you charge them: you can pull off the bottom portion of the metal part to reveal a USB-Type C connector. You can plug it into a USB-C charger or use the cable adapter provided inside the box.

If you have a recent HUAWEI smartphone, plugging the earbuds directly into the smartphone will not only charge the FreeLace Pro but will also pair it to the phone, should you choose to do so.

Small, Medium and Large are the three bud sizes provided with the FreeLace Pro. Once you identify the right size for your ear, it’s a perfect fit, which is not only snug, but it will stay inside your ears when doing any activity without a problem. They won’t fall out unless you manually pull them out.

There’s an additional way to control the FreeLace Pro: the left earbud’s exterior doubles as a touch surface. Touching and holding it cycles through HUAWEI’s proprietary active noise cancelation modes: ANC on/Awareness/ANC off.

Hardware

I’ll be completely honest, I love the sound of the FreeBuds Pro. I think they’re the best sounding ANC-enabled true wireless earbuds. That’s until I started listening to the FreeLace Pro. No wonder they sound that good (more on sound in a segment below), as HUAWEI crammed in a pair of 14.2mm dynamic drivers, opposed to the 11mm ones in the FreeBuds Pro.

With a total length of 862.4mm you might think they are a tad too long, but we don’t think it should worry you as it doesn’t interfere with your activity or movements.

They also pack two microphones for Active Noise Cancellation, and in-call noise cancellation is handled by a triple-mic system.

That 24 hour playback time is possible thanks to the rather large, 150mAh battery, which takes more or less about an hour to fully charge.

As previously mentioned, if you’re rocking a relatively recent HUAWEI smartphone model (on EMUI 9.1 and above), you will also benefit from HUAWEI HiPair and its quick charging.

The Bluetooth radio is compatible with BT 5.0 standard, and the entire system is rated IP55 for splash, water, and dust resistance.

Experience

We’ve used the HUAWEI FreeLace Pro paired both to a HUAWEI Mate 40 Pro and an iPhone 12 Pro Max. We didn’t find any differences in the experience, except for the fact that when paired to a HUAWEI smartphone, the entire UX is seamless. This, of course, should come as no surprise.

Pairing

Pairing with the Mate 40 Pro was as easy as plugging them into the phone’s USB Type-C charging port. EMUI 11 detects the earbuds automatically and asks you whether you want to pair them or not. Once paired, you have access to the settings and firmware updates, which we’ve received during our review period: 1.0.0.139 and 1.0.0.145.

Pairing with the iPhone (or even a computer) is as easy as putting the FreeLace Pro in pairing mode (pressing and holding the power button), and, once it pops up in your iPhone’s Bluetooth menu as a discovered device, simply tap on it to pair.

Battery life

While it comes with some juice out of the box, we plugged them in to make sure we have 100 percent battery life on our first run.

HUAWEI advertises all-day battery life, which is something we obviously couldn’t test out on a single run. We’ve used it for around 3 hours on a daily basis for an entire week, and we still have some battery left on it.

If you own a modern HUAWEI phone, you can simply rely on it to charge the FreeLace Pro, by plugging it in directly to the device’s USB Type-C port.

If you don’t, you can plug it into a USB Type-C charger directly, and if you don’t have that, HUAWEI is bundling a USB Type-C to Type-A cable so you can easily charge your earphones using any charger that you have handy.

Another great feature is the magnetic back of the earbuds. Not only holds the two earbuds in place, preventing them from dangling around, but it also disconnects from your device’s Bluetooth when they’re magnetically connected together, and reconnects once you take them apart. You can save battery without the need to press the power button on the neckband.

Phone calls and audio quality

With in-call noise cancellation, thanks to the multiple microphones on the FreeLace Pro, people on the other end will hear your voice loud and clear, without any background noise, irrespective of where you are. You can be outdoor and the traffic noise won’t go through, or you can be indoor with fans on or air conditioning, the other party won’t hear any distractions.

On the other hand, you will hear the interlocutor loud and clear, thanks to the rather large dynamic drivers powering the FreeLace Pro. If your carrier supports HD voice, or you’re on a WhatsApp/Facebook/Face Time call, you will hear crystal clear voices.

When it comes to music, as I mentioned at the beginning of this review, it is my personal opinion that the FreeLace Pro sounds a tad better than the FreeBuds Pro. That’s not to say the latter sounds bad. They both sound great, with the FreeLace Pro having a richer, ampler, and somewhat louder sound. That’s due to larger drivers on one hand, and an independent low-frequency sound tube on the other hand.

You can hear tones on the entire spectrum, from rich lows to punchy mids and crystal clear highs. Irrespective of the type and genre of music that you prefer, as long as it’s a high-quality stream or encoding, you will be able to enjoy your music at a premium-grade listening experience and audio quality.

Noise cancellation

There’s an outward-facing microphone that picks up external noise (and actively counters it with equal anti-noise sound), and there’s an inward-facing microphone that picks up the in-ear noise (and generates additional anti-noise sound to eliminate it).

Just like on any modern HUAWEI earbuds or headphones (FreeBuds Studio), the company is bringing its proprietary and innovative noise canceling system. It has three stages. When off, you will still get some passive noise cancellation due to the fact that the FreeLace Pro adopts an in-ear canal design. By this alone, some of the noise will be physically blocked from entering your ears.

Switching active noise cancellation on will take advantage of those two microphones per bud to intelligently measure and cancel out noise detected, so you can enjoy your audio content without any distractions, regardless if you’re outdoor, commuting, in a car, or on a plane/train.

There’s also a special mode called Awareness, which blocks out all the noise except for the frequencies on which we human beings communicate when speaking. It not only lets voices get through, but it also amplifies them, acting as a hearing aid in a sense. This is useful if you want to have a conversation without removing the earbuds, or if you’re at the airport and you’re waiting for that particular flight announcement.

Conclusion

There’s no way we can’t recommend the FreeLace Pro. It’s got everything working for it, from great battery life to stellar audio quality, good fit, active noise cancellation, and IP55 rating. If you’re the active type of person, these should definitely be on your shortlist.

Normally going for €119, they’re currently priced at €99,00 in Germany. In the Netherlands, they go for €129,99, but you get a free HUAWEI Band 4 Pro Pink Gold valued at €80. In the UK they regularly set you back £119,99, but now you can grab them for £99.99, and also get a free HUAWEI Band 4 Sakura Pink valued at £40.

Pros and cons

Pros:
+ excellent battery life
+ great sound quality
+ convenient charging (if you have a modern HUAWEI phone)
+ active noise cancellation
+ IP55 rating

Cons:
– color options might not be for every taste
– lack of wear detection

Gallery

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HUAWEI Developer Conference 2020: All the landmark announcements and launches

Posted on September 16, 2020September 16, 2020 by Nadeem Sarwar

The HUAWEI Developer Conference 2020 concluded a few days ago. But in terms of key announcements regarding new product launches and the company’s software ecosystem as a whole, this year’s dev conference was the most significant one.

HUAWEI launched the impressively thin and powerful MateBook X ultrabook, debuted the sleek HUAWEI Watch GT2 Pro, unveiled a new noise-canceling true wireless earbuds, and more.

But more importantly, the company talked in detail about its in-house cross-device operating system – HarmonyOS 2.0 – while detailing the advancements made with AppGallery and HMS core as a whole. It was essentially a flood of announcements, but here the most important ones that really stood out:

HarmonyOS 2.0

HDC 2020 served as the introduction platform for HarmonyOS 2.0, an updated version of HUAWEI’s homegrown OS that is faster and more functional. HUAWEI finally announced that Harmony OS is coming to smartphones next year (with SDKs planned to be released later this year), and will make its way to tablets and wearables soon.

It brings improved latency, high throughput, high reliability, and dynamic delay calibration to make cross-device file transfer more convenient, all thanks to the distributed data management system.

HUAWEI has also made major advancements in the area of security and privacy as well. HarmonyOS 2.0 relies on a versatile authentication portfolio that includes everything from facial recognition and fingerprint data to voice match and even heart rate data to grant access to system information and capabilities.

HUAWEI says it is also more efficient when it comes to collaborative meeting space and motion-control games. HUAWEI plans to fully open HarmonyOS for the dev community in October next year.

AppGallery

HUAWEI also made major revelations talking about progress made when it comes to the AppGallery and initiatives being taken to welcome aboard more developers. The company revealed AppGallery now serves over 490 million users in more than 170 countries, app downloads reaching 261 billion in the first half of 2020, and that over 1.8 million developers have joined the ecosystem so far.

The company is also offering the dev community a ton of incentives such as marketing resources and more favorable revenue-sharing models to help them reach a wider audience, 360-degree support to developers ranging from ideation and development to distribution and operation management, as well as promotion opportunities for their apps via tactics like gift codes and offering rewards for downloading certain apps.

EMUI 11

The next major upgrade for HUAWEI’s Android 11-based smartphone skin – EMUI 11 – also made its debut at the dev conference. Talking about new features, EMUI 11 introduces a customizable always-on display, a smarter multi-window interface that now lets users adjust the size of floating windows, and Multi-screen Collaboration 3.0 to easily share your smartphone’s screen on a PC and run up to three floating windows at once.

Users can directly edit files saved on the smartphone through the PC, and even take audio or video calls. The Notepad app has received a scan to create and Extract Text features, which allows users to pull text data from an image. Talking about privacy, users will now be able to remove data such as location, time, and device details before sharing it, while the memos can now be protected behind a PIN or biometric lock.

HMS 5.0

The Chinese giant also detailed v5.0 of the HUAWEI Mobile Services (HMS) Core which brings improvements in five key service areas – payments, ads, browsing, maps, and search. HMS 5.0 brings Computer Graphics Kit, Scene Kit, Accelerate Kit, AR Engine, and more such upgrades to offer an all-round performance improvement.

It also offers WidePlay DRM that offers copyright protections for music and entertainment apps and also ensures that AppGallery now connects with the HUAWEI Cloud. HUAWEI also talked about HMS Core’s advanced AR and ML capabilities to boost e-commerce, its gaming potential, and the advancements it brings in the domains of transport and navigation.

HUAWEI MateBook X and MateBook 14

HUAWEI launched the ultra-sleek MateBook X last week, introducing it as one of the thinnest laptops out there. It is smaller than a sheet of A4 paper and weighs just around 1kg.

It packs a 13-inch 3K display and draws power from Intel’s 10th Gen processors. It also supports 65W fast charging and is also the first HUAWEI laptop to come with Wi-Fi 6 support.

The MateBook 14, on the other hand, is the more mainstream option and hence is also more affordable. It comes with a 14-inch 2K display and is powered by AMD’s Ryzen 4000 series processor. It features a pop-up camera that is hidden underneath a function button, supports 65W fast charging, and ships with the HUAWEI Share tech.

HUAWEI Watch GT 2 Pro

The HUAWEI WATCH GT 2 Pro is a looker, rocking a watch face that is made of sapphire while the watch frame is made from titanium. It supports 24-hour heart rate monitoring, all-day stress monitoring, and blood oxygen saturation (SpO2) monitoring, among other fitness-centric features.

It is claimed to last two weeks on a single charge and supports over 100 workout modes. It features a 1.39 inch AMOLED display and also comes with a 5 ATM water-resistance rating.

HUAWEI Watch Fit

The company also launched the HUAWEI Watch Fit sports watch that features a rather larger rectangular display. It supports real-time heart rate monitoring, and blood oxygen saturation (SpO2) levels, can last up to 10 days on a single charge, and offers 5 ATM water resistance too. It packs a 1.4-inch AMOLED display with a resolution of 280×456 pixels, which translates to a pixel density of 326ppi.

HUAWEI FreeBuds Pro

In addition to smartwatches and laptops, HUAWEI also launched the FreeBuds Pro true wireless earbuds. They offer the in-house Dynamic ANC tech to recognize the ambient noise and negate it, providing a distraction-free music listening experience. Each earbud features two Bluetooth antennas to offer 360-degree signal coverage, while custom-tuned 11mm drivers handle the audio output.

The FreeBuds Pro also supports gestures such as long press to toggle the ANC mode, swipe to control volume, and pinch to control music playback. They are claimed to last 7 hours on a single charge, while the charging case adds another 23-hours of playback time. Plus, they can be connected with two devices simultaneously and offer a seamless switching experience as well.

HUAWEI FreeLace Pro

Lastly, HUAWEI also launched the FreeLace Pro neckband-style Bluetooth earbuds that also offer Dual-mic Active Noise Cancellation for an immersive music listening experience. They feature a larger 14mm driver and an aluminum-magnesium alloy diaphragm to deliver punchy bass and a wide soundstage. They can be charged directly by plugging them via the USB Type-C port into a smartphone. The new HUAWEI offering is claimed to last an impressive 16 hours on a single charge with noise-cancellation enabled.

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Huawei officially launches new FreeBuds Pro and FreeLace Pro earphones

Posted on September 10, 2020September 10, 2020 by Samuel Martinez

Huawei’s latest presentation has also included the official launch of the long-rumored FreBuds Pro and FreeLace Pro. Two new pairs of headphones that come to improve what Huawei had already offered with the original FreeBuds and FreeLace earphones.

HUAWEI FreeLace Pro

We will start talking about the new FreeLace Pro, as its Huawei’s latest neckband earphones with stylish design and intelligent noise cancellation. These new earphones retain several characteristics from the original FreeLace, as they include 24 hours long battery and USB-C fast pairing. Still, they now come with a better design and enhanced fast charging and battery life that you can top off in 60 minutes.

The new FreeLace Pro also includes improved noise cancelation, as it features a combination of active noise cancelation tech with leading robust noise-reducing algorithms. This new noise cancelation tech sets a new standard reaching up to 40dB, meaning that they will give you a reliable noise cancelation experience whether you’re doing sports, working, or commuting in crowded and noisy environments.

However, you also get a new Awareness Mode that will let users hear their surroundings, talk to people, and pay attention to whatever is happening around them without taking the earphones off. They come in three color variants, Graphite Black, Spruce Green, and Dawn White. They also feature Dual ANC, Bluetooth 5.0, and aIPX5 water resistance. The new neckband-style earphones from HUAWEI cost ~€119 (~ $140) and will be available later this month.

HUAWEI FreeBuds Pro

We now focus on the Huawei FreeBuds Pro, the world’s first intelligent dynamic noise-canceling earphones. These are Huawei’s flagship as far as earphones go. Noise cancelation in these babies can also go up to 40dB, but its intelligent and dynamic new noise cancelation tech quickly identifies the type of noise in the user’s environment and automatically switches to the best noise cancelation mode for the occasion.

The FreeBuds Pro also supports better HD sound quality, with a large 11mm dynamic driver and dynamic equalization. They support full dual connectivity across devices, so they can easily switch automatically between them. They also include Awareness Mode and Voice More, as they will let you hear your surroundings when it is required. Its Voice Mode will allow you to properly sear other people’s voices clearly, despite the noise around you, and it will also be useful to hear important announcements in train stations, bus stops, or airports.

As far as comfort goes, the Huawei FreeBuds Pro come with three varying sizes of silicone earplugs, which combine with a detection feature to allow users to find a perfect fit with the help of Huawei’s AI Life app. You can also choose between its new color options, as they will be available in Carbon Black, Ceramic White and Sliver Frost.

Huawei has also managed to add a customized dynamic suspension between the speaker and the dynamic driver, stabilizing the earphone’s acoustic system. This translates to a reduction in vibrations and the possibility of delivering crisp and clear sounds. We also find a new feature called Dynamic EQ Adjustment, which allows your earbuds to sense the user’s environment and automatically switch between three noise cancelation modes. These are the Ultra Mode, Cozy Mode, and General Mode – to effectively cut out environmental noise.

Now, if we focus on battery life, the FreeBuds Pro will let you make a call that can go for four hours, listen to seven hours of non-stop music on a single charge, or you get eighteen hours of calls and thirty hours of music with the charging case, but this is if noise cancelation is off. If you were to have noise cancelation on, you would receive three and a half hours for calls, or sixteen hours with your charging case, and four and a half hours of music playback that can be extended to twenty hours with your charging case. Still, you can easily charge them with wires or wirelessly. Charging with wires will get you 30% in ten minutes or 55% in thirty minutes, or you can go wireless and receive 18% and 32% with a ten minute or a thirty-minute charge. The HUAWEI FreeBuds Pro cost €199 (~ $236) and will go on sale starting October.

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