Haven’t you heard that clip-on earbuds are all the rage? Companies are ravenous to stick their tech into the admittedly odd form factor. This year alone, we’ve tested out Sony and Beyerdynamic’s efforts. And now we’re looking to do it all over again once Huawei’s newly announced FreeClip 2 S buds make their way to South Africa.
We’ve already seen the Huawei Pura 90s at the launch event in Malaysia, which also birthed the company’s latest tablet: the new MatePad Air. While we’re pretty confident the buds and phone will wind up for sale locally, it’s a different story for the MatePad Air. We wouldn’t mind giving that new PaperMatte OLED display a spin, though.
You hear that, Huawei?
Without too much new tech to fall back on, it makes sense that Huawei wants the FreeClip 2 S to be a fashion statement. It’s doing so with the help of little accessories from Les Néréides — that you need to buy separately — that’ll zhoosh up the look. If you don’t already know that name, they’re likely out of your price range.
That technically old tech is very much worth listening to, especially if you don’t have Huawei’s last pair of clip-ons. It’s still rocking a 10.8mm dual-diaphragm driver unit, three mics for noise cancellation reasons, and nine hours of juice on a charge. Combine it with the glammy charging case, and it’ll throw another 29 hours onto that total. Not bad. They’re also more comfy this time, with Huawei claiming a 25% softer liquid silicone bridge here.
Read More: Huawei’s Pura 90s series is now official, features “industry-leading” 200MP camera
You might notice the buds aren’t trying to tell you which ears they’re meant for, and that’s by design. They’re smart enough to detect which ear it’s on, and adjust the audio channel automatically. Motion controls are also a thing here, as are tap and touch gestures. Finally, Huawei’s chucked in its third-gen audio chip, which adds a dedicated NPU into the mix. That’ll help the buds adjust your volume and voice depending on the situation.
All in all, it’s one fine little pair of buds, assuming the price is right. We’re still not sure what they’ll cost locally, but we have a pretty good idea. These went on sale globally today, starting at £200, roughly translating to R4,400 back home. Considering the regular FreeClip 2 still demands R4,000 here, that seems about right.
