Huawei FreeBuds 6 Review – Sleek Open-Fit Headphones with ANC and Rich Sound

Alongside the new MatePad Pro 12.2-inch 2025 tablet, Huawei also launched a new pair of open-fit earbuds dubbed the Huawei FreeBuds 6 that feature several refinements for superior sound and comfort. They’ve graciously issued us a sample for testing and after taking it for a whirl around the block and through our favourite playlist, here’s our Huawei FreeBuds 6 review.

Huawei FreeBuds 6 review – Build and Design

Huawei has been on a roll of late on the audio front and exploring with a variety of form factors for their wireless earbuds line-up. In addition to the open-ear FreeArc that we tested recently, Huawei also released another form factor – the open-fit FreeBuds 6 that are the first open-fit earbuds with dual drivers and, belying their open-fit design, actually feature active noise cancellation with the ability to mute sounds up to 95db which is what you’d hear with a noisy bike or an electric drill going at full tilt. 

Aesthetically speaking, our Huawei FreeBuds 6 review sample won’t look out of place in a Salvador Dali art exhibition with its unusual metallic purple finish that’s a clear step away from the usual black or white colourways and stylised, teardrop-shaped earbuds. 

The design itself is as functional as it is practical as Huawei has gone through tens of millions of data points of ear data to create an optimised design for maximum comfort that also stays in place even with aggressive head shaking. Our test sample proved exceptionally comfortable and didn’t require any significant adjustments to fit. 

They’ve also made the design lighter than its predecessor by 9%, weighing in at just 4.9g. The earbuds also have IP54 splash resistance, allowing it to survive splashes of water but not immersion in water. 

On closer inspection, the upper portion of the earpiece features an 11mm dynamic driver with a flat diaphragm that emphasises treble as well as three microphones and a Voice Pickup Unit (VPU) for better voice call quality. Further down, the narrow stem portion contains a set of touch controls while the base of the earbuds contains a 35mAh battery. 

Unlike prior generation earbuds, the FreeBuds 6 actually integrates volume controls with swipes up and down of the earbud allowing you to increase and decrease the volume. This is an absolute lifesaver especially as you needn’t have to fish around for your phone to modify the volume. The earbuds also have an accelerometer, allowing you to take or reject calls by simply shaking or nodding your head.

Of note with the FreeBuds 6 is that it supports up to 2.3Mbps lossless audio transmission though this comes with some caveats as it needs to connect to their foldable Mate X6 or a Huawei phone running EMUI 15.0 and up to get this kind of transmission speed. If you’re using a Pura 70 series phone, which is their most recent candy bar shaped flagship design in Malaysia, you’re relegated to a slightly slower but still respectable 1.5Mbps transmission speed. However, if you’re using a non-Huawei phone, you are relegated to 990 kbps lossless transmission.

The charging case itself has a smooth pebble-shaped design that hosts a 510mAh battery and a USB-C port at the base for charging. Opening it can be done one-handed and the smooth design makes it easy to pocket. Unfortunately, it lacks any dust or water resistance unlike the earbuds so some care must be taken in daily use.

There’s a fair selection of extra kit bundled with our Huawei FreeBuds 6 review sample. On top of the charging case and earbuds itself, you get a quick start guide, a USB-C charging cable as well as a large and medium sized set of plastic ear tips that slip on to the earbuds to offer a better fit. 

While the case and the earbuds of the Huawei FreeBuds 6 are quite obviously made of polycarbonate, it nonetheless feels sturdy though the metallic purple finish does make it look toy-like to some.

Huawei FreeBuds 6 Review – Setup and Audio Quality

On top of making it lighter, Huawei has improved audio quality significantly with the addition of a dual driver (11 mm dynamic driver + flat diaphragm) for richer midrange, deeper bass and better treble. They have also expanded codec support with LDAC in addition to their own L2HC 4.0 2.3Mbps lossless codec though this is only supported when paired with the Mate X6 foldable or other Huawei phones with EMUI 15 and up on top of the generally supported SBC and AAC codecs.

While the earbuds can be used straight out of the box by pairing with a phone via Bluetooth 5.3, you’ll need to download and pair it with the Huawei AI Life app to tweak settings and customise the controls to taste. If you’re already on a Huawei phone, it’s as easy as it gets. However, you’ll have to jump through a few extra hoops if you’re on another platform with iOS users needing to download it from the Apple App store. Android users will need to scan a QR code on the packaging to download the app as it isn’t available on the Google Play store.

With the Huawei AI Life app, you’re able to toggle noise cancelling or adaptive modes; select your preferred sound profile from a choice of balanced, classical, balanced, symphony, boost bass or treble or prioritise voices and Hi-Fi Live, toggle optional head gestures to accept or reject calls and create your own custom equaliser settings to taste.

The formalities take a good half an hour to sort through though seasoned users can likely shave this down by half and the built-in tap controls proved to be relatively easy to master. A double tap on either earbud pauses or answers a call, a triple tap moves to the next song while a swipe up or down controls volume playback. Pressing and holding down on the step lets you enable or disable noise cancelling.

During the course of my review, my Huawei FreeBuds 6 review sample was put to use across the daily commute paired with my primary phone as well as a work laptop. The open-fit nature of the design addresses the uncomfortable ear pressure build-up of conventional in-ear buds and proved exceptionally comfortable for extended wear. While it would seem prone to falling out, the earbuds remained in-place and secure even across sprints, jogs and walks when tested over the course of several weeks.

Belying its nature as an open-fit design, the active noise cancellation on the earbuds proved effective and was able to mute out most of the background murmur on the train and in busy coffee shops. While it doesn’t quite approach what would be possible with in-ear buds which have silicone ear tips that offer passive noise insulation, it’s among the best for open-fit designs that we’ve seen.

On its default audio profile, our Huawei FreeBuds 6 review sample delivers a balanced sound signature with a decent amount of bass, detailed vocals, and clear treble. Avicii’s “Levels” landed with energy and bounce, while Joanna Wang’s “Vincent” with its simple yet elegant vocals came across smooth and expressive.

On paper, the FreeBuds 6 is rated for about 4.5 hours of usage on a single charge with ANC and this was the case during testing with a full run through my playlist lasting just short of five hours before running out of power. In tandem with the case, you get up to 36 hours of battery life in total. Charging the case and charger together takes an hour or so while topping up your earbuds takes about 30 minutes which are fairly average times. The battery life per charge is sufficient for regular use though frequent travellers may find the per-charge time a bit short.

Should you buy the Huawei FreeBuds 6?

The Huawei Freebuds 6 are some of the most comfortable open-fit earbuds we’ve tested, with strong audio performance, solid ANC, and thoughtful upgrades that make a real difference in daily use. The fit is secure, the sound is surprisingly full-bodied for the form factor, and the built-in gesture and touch controls are genuinely useful.

If you’re using a Huawei phone, you’ll get the best performance with higher audio transmission speeds and seamless app integration. But even outside the ecosystem, the FreeBuds 6 are a standout for anyone looking for open-fit comfort without sacrificing sound quality.

Battery life could be better, and the case lacks dust or water resistance, but if you can live with those trade-offs, the Huawei FreeBuds 6 are an easy recommendation.

Specifications
Price RM599
Drive: 11mm dynamic driver + planar diaphragm driver
Supported codecs: SBC, AAC, L2HC4.0, LDAC
Battery 39.5mAh [earbuds[ | 510mAh [case] | 4 hours per charge, 24 hours with case [sound quality prioritisation] | Wired and wireless charging
Size/Weight 30.6 x 18.5 x 24mm / 4.9g  [earbuds]   | 66/2 x 49.9 x 26.8mm / 40.3g [case]

Huawei FreeBuds 6 review sample courtesy of Huawei Malaysia. For more details and to purchase, please visit https://consumer.huawei.com/my/headphones/freebuds6/