The FreeBuds 3 are barely adequate in a category where it's increasingly easy to find something exceptional.

Decent battery life; Wireless charging & fast pairing

Iffy noise-cancelling; Uncomfortable to wear

UPDATE: The AI Life app is now available to download in the Google Play app store. The copy has been amended to reflect this. When Huawei announced its FreeBuds 3, interested observers viewed them as a potential AirPods killer, with the inclusion of active noise cancellation cementing their promise.

Decent vocal clarity; Very fast charging; Optimised for Huawei smartphones

Inoffensive sound; ANC performance is meagre; Poor noise isolation; Best suited to Huawei smartphones due to quick pairing

It makes sense to invest in FreeBuds 3 if you're a Huawei user who wants quick pairing with your phone. They're a good addition to the Huawei brand and a comfortable companion to your Android device.

Comfortable and stylish; Noise-cancelling technology; Wireless charging

Incompatible with iOS; Bass is lacking; Touch functions can be unresponsive

Huawei phone owners may be keen to take advantage of the synergy the FreeBuds 3 offer. For everyone else, however, there’s no compelling reason to opt for the FreeBuds 3 over competing true wireless earbuds – much better-sounding efforts are available.

Decent vocal clarity; Very fast charging; Optimised for Huawei smartphones;

Inoffensive sound; ANC performance is meagre; Poor noise isolation; Best suited to Huawei smartphones due to quick pairing;

At the moment it seems that every smartphone manufacturer is offering matching headphones for their phones. This assumes that you will want your gadgets to be made by the development department of the same company that made your phone.

The Huawei Freebuds 3 may not be the best ANC headphones, but it is the best ANC open-fit earbuds. If you do not like in-canal earbuds and needed ANC, the Freebuds 3 is your saviour, and it helps that they don’t cost as much as other ANC earphones.

ANC works sufficiently for open-fit design; On-ear design alleviates in-ear canal pressure

Limited shortcut taps on the earbuds; Relatively short battery life; ANC is less effective in places with mid- to high-frequency noises; like restaurants

Offering great sound quality and impressively low latency, the Freebuds 3 are reasonably priced. The noise cancelling isn't effective in all situations though.

With the FreeBuds 3, Huawei offers users true wireless earbuds with active noise cancellation. With a list price of £169.99, are they a valid alternative to Apple's AirPods To find out, we've been testing them and can now reveal all in our full review.

Design and comfort; Battery life; Call quality; Overall experience

No volume control; Missing a gesture to answer or reject a call; ANC not great; Some features exclusive to EMUI 10

More than imitation AirPods, Huawei's lookalike buds offer impressive noise-cancelling in an affordable wireless package

ANC is impressive; Seamless pairing and auto-pause; Light enough to wear all day

Sound quality isn't superlative; Average battery life; Fit doesn’t always feel secure

At £169, the FreeBuds aren’t cheap, but they undercut the AirPod Pros (£249) and the Sony WF-1000XM3s (£219), the two most popular ANC bud options around. The FreeBuds also offer more for Android users than the similarly priced AirPod 2s (£159), which lack ANC. Snugger in-ears sound better when it comes to sound quality, isolation and noise-cancelling. Due to their open fit, though, the FreeBuds are less intrusive while still delivering clear sound, very good microphones and a great fit that stayed put whether we were walking or working out. If you don’t fancy jamming squishy buds into your ears but still want a bit of help drowning out the drone of your morning commute, provided you have an Android phone, the FreeBud 3s are the only way to go.

Stable connection; Stays put even when exercising; Fast charging;

Sound doesn’t best in-ear buds; Middling bass; No iOS app;