One of China's biggest tech companies has launched new affordable wireless earbuds with 80-hour battery life, but you really shouldn't buy them yet

Huawei FreeBuds SE 5 MAX — (Image credit: Huawei)

Huawei has just launched a new pair of wireless earbuds that not only promise an astonishing 80 hours of battery life and high-resolution audio but also seriously undercut the Apple AirPods Pro 3 in price.

But as tempting as they might sound, I'd strongly advise against buying them today.

That's because the FreeBuds SE 5 MAX are already scheduled for a substantial price cut in just 10 days, just in time for Black Friday.

Going the distance

Huawei claims the FreeBuds SE 5 MAX can deliver up to 80 hours of total playback with the charging case, although that figure assumes ANC is switched off.

The earbuds themselves last up to 10 hours on a single charge without noise cancellation, dropping to seven hours with ANC enabled, which is still respectable, especially for budget-friendly earbuds.

Fast charging is another welcome addition, with Huawei claiming that a 10-minute top-up provides up to four hours of additional listening time, provided ANC is disabled.

Interestingly, Huawei reckons the FreeBuds SE 5 MAX could last up to two weeks between charges in a typical daily-use scenario, including a mix of listening and calls.

More than meets the ear

The FreeBuds SE 5 MAX feature multi-mode ANC that can reduce noise by up to 52dB under specific laboratory conditions, with Ultra, General, and Cosy settings for different environments.

In Dynamic mode, the buds automatically adjust noise cancellation based on your surroundings, and Huawei says that the three-microphone system uses AI-powered noise reduction to help isolate your voice during calls.

On the audio front, Huawei has equipped each earbud with a 10mm dynamic driver and support for Sony's LDAC codec, which can transmit audio at bitrates of up to 990kbps on compatible devices.

You can also fine-tune the sound using four preset listening modes or a customisable 10-band equaliser.

Huawei has opted for a semi-transparent charging case, available in White, Blue and Black, while the earbuds themselves weigh approximately 4.3g each, making them the company's lightest in-ear ANC earbuds to date.

Other features include Bluetooth 6.0, dual-device connectivity across Android, iOS and Huawei devices, and IP55-rated dust and water resistance for the earbuds, although the charging case doesn't share that protection.

The Huawei FreeBuds SE 5 MAX are available now on Amazon UK for £79.99. The buds will drop to £49.99 from 19 November to 29 December.

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Matt Kollat is a journalist and content creator for T3.com and T3 Magazine, where he works as Active Editor. His areas of expertise include wearables, drones, action cameras, fitness equipment, nutrition and outdoor gear. He joined T3 in 2019.

His work has also appeared on TechRadar and Fit&Well, and he has collaborated with creators such as Garage Gym Reviews. Matt has served as a judge for multiple industry awards, including the ESSNAwards. When he isn’t running, cycling or testing new kit, he’s usually roaming the countryside with a camera or experimenting with new audio and video gear.