Huawei FreeBuds Neo review: tiny, fun earbuds only let down by the software situation

TechRadar Verdict The Huawei FreeBuds Neo are perhaps the ideal small and affordable earbuds, offering you a tiny carry case and light buds without skimping on sound quality or ANC — which is good enough, for the money. However, software issues really hold them back and the stamina isn't too impressive either. Still, as small earbuds go, they're some of the best out there. Reasons to buy +Small, light buds +Tiny carry case +Great value for money Reasons to avoid -Borderline-unusable app -ANC good, not great -Battery life not amazing Why you can trust TechRadar We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you're buying the best. Find out more about how we test. Jump To: Two-minute review Price and release date Specs Features Design Sound quality Value Should I buy it? Also consider How I test Huawei FreeBuds Neo: Two-minute reviewStoried Chinese company Huawei may still be struggling to win friends in the phone and tablet worlds, with its lack of access to the Play Store still making the company's hand-held products impossible to recommend, but the brand's been a surprisingly reliable maker of admirable earbuds.We gave the Huawei FreeBuds 5 Pro a perfect score earlier this year, and I maintain that the Huawei FreeArc are the best hook-style open earbuds I've ever tested. But now, instead of doing something better than everyone else, Huawei is doing something different.The Huawei FreeBuds Neo seem to be the result of someone thinking the AirPods Pro 3 are perfect except for being too big; the brand continues its mission of all-but imitating Apple, while slyly improving the formula. That is to say, these are wireless in-ear buds which are ice-white (note: other finishes are available) but really small.Latest Videos FromTechRadarWe've seen small earbuds before (see the JLab JBuds Mini for something really diddy) but they often tend to be cheap and feature-light. Not the FreeBuds Neo, which don't ask you to make compromises and are still affordable, compared to the FreeBuds 5 Pro or AirPods.The carry case is a slender pill, which was second to none when it came to how easy it was to slip into my pocket and forget about. The buds are light, with shortened stems which make them look truncated.It's not all about the design. These buds sound fun and energetic, with a V-shaped sound profile that adds some zest to your music. They're not the best-sounding buds I've tested, even at the price, but only audiophiles will be let down by what you're getting.Now for the let-down, and it's a common one for Huawei: software. You see, the brand's app isn't on the Play Store, and you have to download it through its own app store, which you have to side-load on your phone. A complicated process which literally didn't work for me. Throughout my testing process, I couldn't access the app, and I know from past experience that this isn't an unheard-of occurrence.Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inboxSign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more.Admittedly the app isn't that useful if you don't want EQ — a problem in and of itself — but if features are locked behind the roll of the dice that is 'will the app download?', it's not great.Add to that the knowledge that the battery life and ANC are both good, but not particularly stellar and you'll see compromises — but these are all more understandable when you bear in mind the small size.Despite the setbacks, these are still the best small earbuds you can buy — the best of a small bunch, if you'll pardon the pun — but they might not be mighty enough to sway people who don't care all that much about the compact and oh-so-portable size of their earbuds.Huawei FreeBuds Neo review: Price and release date (Image credit: Future)Released in September 2026, sold OctoberGoes for £119.99 / AU$290 (about AU$160)Don't get excited though; there is unlikely to be a US releaseThe Huawei FreeBuds Neo were unveiled on September 2, 2026, ahead of a release later in the month.The buds cost £119.99 / AU$290 (about $160, but Huawei doesn’t officially sell them in the States). So they’re about a third cheaper than the brand’s top buds, including the FreeBuds Pro 5, which go for £179.99 (about $240, AU$360).It’s a smart price, for buds which feel like a ‘Lite’ alternative to the Pro model, as you can consider them a streamlined pick. Swipe to scroll horizontally Drivers 11mm Active noise cancellation Yes Battery life 6 hours (ANC on), 9 hours (ANC off) Weight 4.8g (buds) 31.4g (case) Connectivity Bluetooth 6.0 Frequency response 20-40kHz Waterproofing IP55 Huawei FreeBuds Neo review: Features (Image credit: Future)Significant app download problemsUnimpressive 6-hour battery lifeANC is fine, not greatInstalling Huawei’s Audio Connect is a real challenge for Android users like me. It’s not on the Play Store, so you have to side load the Huawei AppGallery, and use that to download it. (If you have an iPhone, you’ll find Audio Connect on the App Store, easy peasy).Not only does that mean you’re downloading an unwanted app just to get to another one, but the process is fraught with difficulty. Case in point, I simply couldn’t install the AppGallery onto my Samsung phone, despite trying multiple times and diving into the settings. The APK wouldn’t take, and so I couldn’t use Audio Connect.I’ve had troubles with the process before, and I’m ready to declare the app unusable for some people. Every time I need to use it on a pair of buds, it feels like I’m tossing a coin to see if it’ll work out this time.If you do download it, you’re offered the bare bones of such an app, including the ability to change the touch control functions, tweak ANC strength, adjust EQ, use multipoint connections and turn on spatial audio. I used the FreeBuds Neo just fine without Audio Connect, though if I’d paid money for the buds, I’d be irked that I wasn’t getting all of these tools. (Image credit: Future)The buds have a 6-hour battery life with ANC on and 9 hours with it turned off (not 6.5 and 10 hours, as Huawei advertises loudly — the small text on its website reveals that this is just for lower-quality music such as MP3s, which I really hope you don’t listen to).Using the case, you get up to 22 hours with ANC on, or 33 hours with it turned off. Again, those stats are for higher-resolution music streaming, but you'll get more if you listen to low-res tunes. Don't do that to yourself, though.It’s not an especially competitive battery life, but in my testing, it often felt like I’d eke an extra half hour or so out of the buds. And it’s hard to be too annoyed with the limited battery life with small buds: where would a chunkier battery pack go?ANC isn’t ground-breaking either, but it’s absolutely fine. I used it on planes, trains and buses; it removed the engine rumble from the last two and lessened it on the former, but didn’t do as much to silence people around me with all their unreliable or sporadic sounds.Features score: 3/5Huawei FreeBuds Neo review: Design (Image credit: Future)Tiny 31.4g lozenge caseLight short-stem budsReliable in-ear fitThe FreeBuds Neo’s entire pitch rests on their design: they’re the JLab JBuds Mini meets the AirPods Pro 3. They’re small earbuds, both in terms of the carry case and the buds themselves.As soon as I removed the lozenge-shaped charging case from the box, I was surprised by how small it was. It’s just shy of 7cm wide and 3cm deep, and weighs just 31.4g. It disappeared into my trouser pockets enough that I kept losing them, only to discover that what I thought was a rolled tissue was in fact the charging case.Like the earbuds, the case comes in white, black, silver or pink. The case basically just has enough space for the earbuds, along with a USB-C charging port and color-changing status indicator LED, which was useful for letting me know if the buds were at full charge. (Image credit: Future)Those earbuds don’t take up much space either, because like the case, they’re minuscule. Unlike those other baby buds from JLab, the FreeBuds Neo are ostensibly stem-toting earbuds, but with the tiniest stem I’ve ever seen. They look a lot like imitation AirPods Pro, but if Huawei changed its mind half-way through making the stem.True to the pint-sized promise, the FreeBuds Neo only weigh 4.8g, and the weight isn’t just useful for comfort. Tip-toting earbuds can be rather hit-or-miss when it comes to in-ear stability, but not once in my testing did the Huawei’s wobble or fall.Despite the small size, Huawei found space in the Neo to add touch controls — if you can set them up in the app. The buds also have an IP55 protection, ensuring they’re safe against limited dust ingress and gentle jets of water (including rain).Design score: 4.5/5Huawei FreeBuds Neo review: Sound quality (Image credit: Future)11mm driver per bud.Has V-shaped sound: focus on bass and trebleSupports LDAC playback on supported phonesHuawei hasn't returned the FreeBuds 5 Pro's dual-driver system in the FreeBuds Neo, and I don't blame it; the whole point is for them to be nice and small.Instead, you're getting a sole 11mm driver per bud, which acts as a jack of all trades across the audio spectrum.Don't expect audiophile-level sound, then, but I see these being pleasing for the average listener. They offer a V-shaped sound profile, which means the bass is hearty and the treble sharp.As is always the case with V-shaped sounds, it means that you'll sometimes find mids are lacking. For example in Mipso's Talking in My Sleep, you get lovely textured strings and vocals, and the bass is controlled and full, but it's hard to tell where the acoustic guitars begin and other instruments end. Likewise in What About Flamingos? by Lake Street Dive, you get lovely resonant low-end and articulate treble, but only the faint hint of all the other instruments making up the composition. (Image credit: Future)Of course, in plenty of songs, all you want is low-end and top-end. I enjoyed listening to pop and electronic music without feeling like I was missing out on anything. There's a reason this kind of sound profile is chosen by earbud manufacturers; it's a crowd-pleaser.Perhaps a symptom of the small size or driver configuration, but I didn't hear as prominent or pronounced a sound stage as you often do in earbuds like this. Sometimes instruments sounded a little more squished together than I'd like, but it was only an issue in songs with a complex instrumentation.If you perked up at my earlier mention of high-res and low-res playback, in the battery section, then you'll be happy to know that the buds do support the LDAC codec (as long as you're on Android, because iPhones somehow still don't support it).Sound quality: 4/5Huawei FreeBuds Neo review: Value (Image credit: Future)Cut the costs from premium alternativesCost more than alternative small budsIs size all you care about when it comes to your earbuds? Then as a super-small option, you're likely going to find these poor value for money. Buy the JLabs — the JLab JBuds Mini ANC even have noise-nixing!For everyone else, though, these are a good get. They look like premium earbuds, they feel like premium earbuds, and they sound like them... However, they cost a fair bit less than you'd expect.I'd happily recommend the FreeBuds Neo at their retail price. Obviously, discounts are always great, but you shouldn't wait for one before buying them if you're interested.Value: 4/5Should I buy the Huawei FreeBuds Neo? (Image credit: Future) Swipe to scroll horizontally Huawei FreeBuds Neo score card Attributes Notes Rating Features The battery life and ANC won't wow you, but the app problems make the features worth ignoring. 3/5 Design They're lovely and compact, and I never had comfort or fit issues 4.5/5 Sound quality A charming V-shaped sound will be a crowd-pleaser, but not ideal for audiophiles. 4/5 Value You're getting some solid ANC headphones for a smaller price. 4/5 Buy them if…You want small-form earbudsThat's the main appeal of these, right? If you want something smaller than the average earbuds, these are the best ones to look at.You want premium-feeling earbudsI kept forgetting that the Huawei cost what they do, because they feel like buds which cost 50% more.You want a charging indicatorIt's a small feature, but many brands do it poorly; the Huawei's LED is great so you know as soon as your buds are charged.Don’t buy them if…You're a frequent app userAlways using your earbud app to tweak with settings? Fine if you're an iOS user, a bit risky if you're on Android. You need top-tier ANCThe FreeBuds Neo are fine for noise cancellation, but you can do better, and you don't need to pay that much more for it either.Huawei FreeBuds Neo review: Also considerLooking for alternative over-ears? Here are a few small-sized ones we would recommend. Swipe to scroll horizontally Header Cell - Column 0 Huawei FreeBuds Neo JLab JBuds Mini ANC Sony WF-C710N Drivers 11mm 6mm 40mm Active noise cancellation Yes Yes Yes Battery life (ANC on) 6 hours (buds) 22 hours (case) 7 hours (buds) 25 hours (case) 8.5 hours (buds) / 30 hours (case) Weight 4.8g (buds) 31.4g (case) 3.4g (buds) 20.7g (case) 5.2g (bud) 38g (case) Connectivity Bluetooth 6.0 Bluetooth 6.0 Bluetooth 5.3 Waterproofing IP55 IP55 IPX4 JLab JBuds Mini ANCThese are small and, more importantly, roughly half the price of the Huawei. You won't get the same audio quality, but the even-smaller case and buds will please those who just want something tiny. Read our hands-on with the JLab JBuds Mini ANC Sony WF-C710NAnother tiny premium option comes from Sony, so you know they're good. They have fantastic ANC and sound great, but they don't support LDAC and don't have great touch controls.Read our full Sony WF-C710N reviewHow I tested the Huawei FreeBuds NeoTested for a monthPaired with Android phone for Bluetooth playbackUsed on multiple holidays as well as use at home and around neighborhood.The Huawei FreeBuds Neo got the pleasure of an entire month of use before I wrote this review, which gave me time to fully appreciate how they work.That time included multiple holidays, so I brought the buds to various countries and tested them on flights, train journeys and coach trips. Of course, I also used them at home, at the gym, and on walks around my neighborhood.During the testing process, the buds were connected to my Android phone. I listened primarily on Spotify and to my own music library of WAV tracks, but also conducted calls, played games and streamed lots of TV on Prime Video.I've been reviewing tech for TechRadar since early 2019, and in that time have tested many other pairs of earbuds, as well as countless Huawei products.First reviewed in October 2026Read TechRadar's reviews guarantee Tom Bedford is a freelance contributor covering tech, entertainment and gaming. Beyond TechRadar, he has bylines on sites including GamesRadar, Digital Trends, Android Police, TechAdvisor, WhattoWatch and BGR. From 2019 to 2022 he was on the TechRadar team as the staff writer and then deputy editor for the mobile team. You must confirm your public display name before commenting Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.