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The Huawei FreeClip 2 take a bit of a left field approach to the open-ear design philosophy, but once you get used to how they fit on your ears, the sound quality is worth all the hassle.
The Good
- Great bass clarity and depth
- Very lightweight and comfy
- Loads of battery life
The Not So Good
- Can be fiddly to get the right fit
- Similarly priced to bone-conduction alternatives
Need-to-knows
- The ‘clip’ design can be a bit fiddly to get used to
- Sound quality is excellent for this design, especially the bass
- Super light and comfortable
- 38 hours of battery life with the case
When the FreeClip earbuds debuted back in 2024, there were immediate reactions that ranged from scepticism to astonishment. Because, if you’ve never encountered these earbuds before, they are profoundly weird. And I mean that in an entirely positive way.
Open-ear earbuds are one of my favourite tech categories at the moment, precisely because of this. Everyone has a different take on how to ‘do’ them best. You’ve got the bone conduction masters over at Shockz, the chunky Bose Ultra Open, the zany Nothing Ear Open and then Huawei’s FreeClip 2.
In some sort of blend between a pair of earrings and earbuds, the FreeClip somehow manage to provide brilliant sound quality, and I mean really exceptional in this field. But the main issue with the first generation was the way the fit varied between different people’s ears and the lack of controls.
So has all of that been fixed now? And therefore, can I recommend that you buy them? Let’s find out!
How I reviewed the FreeClip 2
These earbuds became my go-to choice for a full week so that I could get a rounded view of their strengths and weaknesses. The open-ear design is obviously meant for doing things like exercise or if you just want to be aware of your surroundings whilst walking down the street, so I did those things, including going for a run and to the gym.
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However, just to put them through their paces, I also took them on some trains and the London Underground to see just how loud the outside world could get before you could no longer hear the FreeClip 2.
At a glance
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Design | Ear-clip open-ear design (left/right interchangeable) |
| Weight (per earbud) | 5.1 g |
| Audio Drivers | 10.8mm with dual-diaphragm design |
| Audio Features | Adaptive volume, real-time awareness, adaptive voice enhancement |
| Call Quality | 3-mic system with multi-channel DNN noise cancellation, AI-enhanced voice isolation and background noise filtering |
| Privacy | Reverse sound wave system to minimise sound leakage |
| Water & Dust Resistance | IP57 |
| Battery Life (Total) | Up to 38 hours (with charging case) |
| Colours | Blue, White, Black, Rose Gold |
| Price | £179.99 |
Design and fit
Let’s not beat around the bush here, the main sticking point when considering buying the FreeClip 2 is the fit on your ears. And honestly, there is no way of knowing how these will suit your ear shape without physically trying them. But I can tell you how they fit me.
As you can see, these earbuds slip over your ear rather than being fully fixed into your ear canal or hooked around the back of your ear. I would say the ‘clip’ part of the name is slightly misleading because there is no magnetic attachment that pinches the two ends of the earbuds together. They sort of just sit there, thanks to the very light pressure applied by the band that connects both ends.
It takes a few tries to get the positioning correct, but you do get the hang of it quite quickly. Within a few days, you’ll be slipping them into place with ease. Where that place is exactly depends on your ear shape; undoubtedly, for some people, these earbuds will sit slightly higher or lower than the average person.
Once they’re on, though, these are highly comfortable buds. They are 9% lighter and 11% smaller than the previous generation and only weigh 5.1g each. You genuinely forget that you are wearing them.
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The way these earbuds fit isn’t entirely constant, though. Huawei’s press images show the FreeClip 2 sitting quite high up and almost horizontally on various different ears. In reality, the earbuds start here and stay there if you’re not moving, but once you start doing something like running, they inevitably slip down until they come to rest near your earlobe.
This isn’t particularly a problem; the sound quality remains largely unaffected, but it can be a bit annoying and require some on-the-fly adjustments. I know why Huawei hasn’t put stronger magnets in these earbuds (because it might lead to discomfort), but I can’t help but wonder if the fit would be more secure with some in there.
As for the aesthetic design, they will divide opinion. Huawei has obviously gone down the route of trying to make these a bit of a fashion statement and some will absolutely love that. The pair I reviewed were white with chrome ends, which certainly stands out, but I think I’d be going for the black colourway which is something I rarely ever say!
Controls
Another area of criticism with the first FreeClips was the control system. Because these earbuds have a relatively low surface area compared to other designs, there is less space to implement reliable and responsive touch controls (which are already fiddly at the best of times).
Related: Nothing Ear Open review
I am pleased to say that this has improved on the FreeClip 2. You can tap anywhere on the earbuds, including the middle band, to control playback and swipe on the rear of the ‘comfort bean’ (the bit on the back of your ear) to adjust volume. It isn’t perfect and takes a while to get used to it, but the touch controls do work.
There are other features that help with controlling them too. For example, you can shake your head to reject a call and there is very responsive auto-pause/play when you remove the FreeClip 2 from your ears. All of this comes with multi-device connectivity.
Whilst these aren’t the easiest earbuds to control, for what they are, the FreeClip 2 do the job. It just takes a bit of practice.
Audio quality
I wasn’t expecting to be surprised by the FreeClip 2 when I started reviewing them. After all, I’d tried the FreeClip 1 and found the sound quality to be fine if not extraordinary. But as soon as I started listening to the second generation, I immediately had my eyebrows raised.
These earbuds have no right to sound this good considering the compact design.
Most impressive is the level of bass. You can really feel it booming away when you have them positioned correctly, and it isn’t some rubbish fuzzy, muddy quality; the clarity is genuinely impressive for an open-ear design.
The rest of the spectrum is covered well, too, with mids and highs feeling well-mixed without one outshining the other. These earbuds sound better than Huawei’s in-ear FreeBuds 7i (no, I’m not joking) and that is likely down to the redesigned 10.8mm drivers.
Best open-ear audio? Bose Ultra Open review
You can’t go into too much detail with audio quality and open-ear earbuds because they aren’t really designed to give you the ultimate listening experience. They need to hit an acceptable middle ground that provides good sound with the benefits of being open, and the FreeClip 2 absolutely surpass this criteria on the audio front.
In fact, I’ve found myself using these earbuds when just sitting around the house because of how comfortable they are and how good they sound. If that is endorsement enough, then I don’t know what else I can tell you.
Case and battery
One other thing I need to mention before wrapping this review up is the case. There’s nothing special about it; I just like the dimensions of it. It’s like a rounded square that’s very small; it easily fits in the palm of your hand and feels excellent in your pocket.
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The battery life is brilliant too, with nine hours in the buds themselves and a total of 38 hours when combined with the case. That’s more than most earbuds in existence.
Wrapping up
I think you can probably tell from this review that I’ve been thoroughly impressed with the Huawei FreeClip 2. I already liked the first generation, but they weren’t the easiest to recommend due to the ok-but-not-amazing sound quality and the issues getting a secure fit.
Whether these earbuds will fit your ears as desired is something I obviously can’t predict, and I think Huawei could do more to make them more universal with magnets/a malleable band, but I can say that the FreeClip 2 sound amazing for what they are.
For £179, they aren’t exactly cheap, and there might be better options out there for similar money, but if you like this specific design, the FreeClip 2 are genuinely great.
1 Comment
@That’s Not My Neighbor Based on your experience running and riding the train, do you think the FreeClip 2 is suitable for long-term strenuous activity, or would you still prefer open-ear models with a more secure, fixed design?