Huawei FreeArc review: these open-fit earphones are more my style

Introduction

Huawei’s audio division has really stepped up its design game lately, branching out from your typical wireless earbuds into fashion-led ‘phones that make a style statement in addition to sounding great. But not everyone can pull off the jewellery-inspired Huawei FreeClip open-fit buds – so the firm has added a more traditional pair into the mix.

The Huawei FreeArc take the secure, hook-style approach seen on established names like the Shokz OpenFit and value-minded newcomers such as the Nothing Ear Open. They’re not aimed exclusively at fitness fanatics, though, with the promise of clear voice calls and less sound leakage than the rest of the open fit field.

These also have the edge on value. The FreeArc will set you back £99/€119, undercutting the competition by a fair whack. Does that make them worthy of a spot around your ears? I’ve been finding out.

Design & build: comfort first

The FreeArc’s large charging case is the first clue these aren’t your typical true wireless earphones. The soft, pebble-like finish and smoothed-off corners aren’t too dissimilar to the original Shokz Open Fit’s case, only here the dimensions are a little smaller and pocket-friendly.

Flip the lid and the hook-style buds reveal themselves, in a criss-cross formation that basically makes it impossible to stash them in a way that breaks contact with the charging pins. If you discover they’ve gone flat, it’s because you forgot to plug ’em in.

Each one is wrapped in silicone rubber, with a metal alloy inner that’s brilliantly flexible. They wrap comfortably around the top part of your ear, with the bit holding the battery nestling behind your ear lobe and the bit with the speaker driver sitting just above your ear canal. I could pop them on at the start of my work day and had no discomfort when I took them off at the end, even around my prescription glasses.

My review unit arrived in a soft, sand-like Grey colour, but there are also Black and Green versions on offer. I’d say the Grey gets closest to skin tones, so would be the one to pick if you don’t want your headphones to also be a style statement. A subtle metal ring and Huawei logo are the only real design flourishes.

Features & battery: day tripper

Huawei doesn’t pitch the FreeArc as a pair of fitness earphones, but the IPX7 rating makes them a great fit for exercise nuts. They’ll cope with sweaty workouts and wet weather training sessions like the best running headphones, and can be rinsed off or wiped down if they get mucky. The case doesn’t have an IP rating, so is best left in your backpack when getting your pump on.

You can probably leave your phone there, too: these earbuds have an absolutely huge outdoor range. With no obstructions they can stay connected as far as 400m away, or 100 m² while indoors. I didn’t have a running track or football pitch handy for testing, but could walk to the other end of my local dog park and still hear a podcast from the phone I left with my wife at the entrance.

I found the touch-sensitive side panels a little fiddly at first, until I realised they don’t actually recognise single taps. This majorly cuts down on accidental track skips, but might mean having to break a habit if you’re used to one tap pausing your tunes. A tap and hold can wake your phone’s voice assistant, and I like being able to adjust volume with a slide – there are way too many earphones out there that force your to reach for your phone every time you want a little less audio oomph.

The FreeArc largely lived up to Huawei’s battery life claims, lasting close to seven hours before needing a trip back to the charging case. This was closer to six on a day I spent mostly outdoors, as I had to listen at a higher volume to hear music clearly over the sounds of passing cars. That’s a little less than the slightly more expensive Nothing Ear Open can manage, but still a good showing.

The case has enough juice for three full top-ups, which should mean up to 28 hours of playback before it’ll need charging itself. The Shokz OpenFit 2 can go nearly double that distance, but equally costs almost twice the price. You’re only getting wired charging here, but that’s what I would expect for a sub-£100 pair.

Interface: there if you want it

You’ll need to grab Huawei’s AI Life app directly from the firm’s website and side-load it onto your Android phone, instead of the usual Play Store download. A QR code on the box takes you straight there, but it’s still an extra step over rivals that could confuse less tech-savvy shoppers.

I wouldn’t say it’s an essential install anyway, as the FreeArc isn’t exactly stuffed full of features. The homescreen shows how much juice is left in case and the buds themselves, lets you pick which two paired gadgets are using the dual device connectivity, and offers a few choices for customising the gesture controls. There’s no low latency option and no hi-res codecs to pick from.

There are four EQ presets on offer, but there’s really not a huge amount of difference between them. Elevate tries to add extra low-end oomph but just ends up muffling the treble. Voices does the opposite, which could be handy if you struggle to hear spoken word podcasts while on the move, but Treble Boost goes too far into sharp and sibilant territory.

I was surprised Huawei included a ten-band equaliser, and that you can save as many different custom modes as you like, but even after lots of tweaking I couldn’t get anything that sounded significantly better than the stock EQ.

Sound quality: loud without low-end

It doesn’t really matter what speaker tech is being used – open fit earphones simply aren’t going to be able to match a pair of traditional in-ears for bass response. That said, the Huawei FreeArc puts in a rather good effort. At 70% volume on my paired smartphone, there was more depth to Chase & Status’ Backbone than I was expecting. Sub-bass doesn’t have much presence, but the bassline didn’t sound weedy either.

There’s a natural airiness to tracks on account of the open design, but the angled drivers ensure the audio is actually making it to your ears, rather than being lost into the ether. Sound is kept relatively contained, though some leakage is unavoidable; I could listen at low volumes without my wife complaining while we shared a sofa.

Unfortunately that’s when a lot of the mid-range and low-end would dissipate, and vocals would lose a bit of bite. Treble is otherwise quite precise for open-fit earbuds, almost stepping into sharp territory on certain tracks, so there’s a middle ground to be found here. I often had to go the other way while out in public, as background chatter could be enough to drown out detail.

Ultimately no pair of open fit earphones should be your first choice for sound quality, and if you accept the tech’s limitations, you’ll be happy enough with how these sound.

Huawei FreeArc verdict

I can’t knock the Huawei FreeArc for comfort, and they’ve got battery life to spare. The styling is a lot more mainstream than the FreeClip, too, so I was much happier to wear them in public. They earn points for being more affordable than most of the big-name open fit competition, too.

But while sound quality is decent enough given the form factor, it’s still a few furlongs behind traditional earphones for bass and overall clarity. That means I wouldn’t recommend anyone picks them as their only pair of earphones. If having a second set just for workouts or when you need situational awareness isn’t too extravagant, though, be sure to check them out.

Huawei FreeArc technical specifications