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The Huawei FreeBuds Pro 5 is different from the FreeBuds Pro 4 because it’s got the new Nearlink E2.0 connection with up to 4.6Mbps transmission for even more reliable lossless audio, one of the highest in the industry. This is done using Huawei’s L2HC 5.0 codec.

The problem is, it only works with certain Huawei devices running Harmony OS 6+ like the Mate 80, so most of us won’t get to use it, although we can still use LDAC which is available on pretty much all Android devices. Another difference that surprised me is that these don’t come with foam tips anymore, even though the Pro 4 had foam tips.

If you had the Pro 4, you can use its foam tips on the Pro 5 because the nozzle is the same shape and size. There’s even the setting to adjust the Pro 5’s sound and noise canceling for foam tips. But for those of you who don’t, you may have to get third party ones.

Huawei also promises better noise canceling compared to the previous model, due to the new Kirin A3 chip and new microphones, so it will be interesting to see what the differences are compared to the Pro 4, not only in terms of mic pickup and noise canceling, but also their sound quality and transparency. So buckle up!

Microphone Quality

The Huawei FreeBuds Pro 4 had the best mic pickup, in fact, I ranked it S-tier. As for the Pro 5, well, it has the same superb background noise reduction and filtering. But it’s a bit inferior to the Pro 4 because in very noisy conditions, the ‘S’ sounds were filtered out, which makes my voice sound more muffled and bloaty, while the Pro 4 kept the ‘S’ sounds in. That is why I’m giving the Pro 5 a Rank A. I was hoping that newer would mean better, but it appears that this time, that is not the case.

👉 Have a listen to the mic quality samples

Active Noise Cancelling

The FreeBuds Pro 5, like the Pro 4, has a few levels of noise canceling which includes an Adaptive mode called Smart Dual Core, adjusting the intensity depending on external noise levels.

I prefer to fix it at the highest Ultra level, and with both models set to Ultra noise cancelling, the Pro 5 does indeed cancel more noise than the Pro 4 whether with Silicone or foam tips. According to these measurements, the Pro 5 without foam tips can even cancel more noise under 1.5khz than the Pro 4 with foam tips.

And with foam tips, it cancels more noise in the higher mid and treble frequencies too. But actually testing under various situations, the difference isn’t that huge. I will say the Pro 5 is better but only marginally, and it does have less white noise masking.

👉 Have a listen to the ANC quality samples

Transparency Mode

For transparency, the FreeBuds Pro 5 is much better. The Pro 4 feels more occluded in the mids and highs so voices feel more muffled, especially my own voice when I’m speaking, and the passthrough also feels darker than the Pro 5. The Pro 5’s transparency feels airier, less muffled, and more natural, so it’s easier to have verbal exchanges with people. This is true whether you’re using silicone tips or foam. I will say, though, that the Pro 4’s transparency is not terrible, it’s in fact, good enough for general awareness.

Sound Quality

For sound quality, frequency sweeps show that by default, the Pro 5 is tuned very differently from the Pro 4, whether it’s on silicone or foam. When normalized to the harman curve, it’s less emphasized in the sub-bass region, and darker in the mids above 900hz.

In actual listening at the same volume level, the Pro 5 has a fuller, heavier, and richer sound, whereas the Pro 4 sounds thinner in the bass, and brighter in the upper mids and highs. With foam tips, the difference is even more stark. The Pro 5 emphasizes the upper mids a lot less than the Pro 4, otherwise keeping to its original tuning, whereas the Pro 4 sounds a lot more V-shaped compared to its default silicone tip signature.

Soundstaging wise, both are quite similar. In my opinion, I prefer the heavier sound of the Pro 5, but some of you may prefer the flatter, crisper signature of the Pro 4.

👉 Have a listen to the sound quality samples

EQ Setting

If you want to, you can customize the sound of the Pro 5 whether through a range of presets or a 10-band graphic EQ in the Huawei AI Life app. For me, I bumped up the bass and highs a bit more, and pulled down the 4khz to smoothen out the vocals.

It sounded great to begin with but this made it sound a bit more lively and smooth. Speaking of the AI Life app, the Pro 5 has all the same settings as the Pro 4, but it also has Adaptive Audio which auto compensates the volume based on outside noise, and Conversation Awareness, which, when you’re listening to music, turns on transparency when you start speaking.

So face to face conversations feel more natural. This is only good for very short verbal exchanges though, because it doesn’t pause your music, and there’s no way to decide how long it stays in transparency so it will keep switching back after 5 seconds. Also, it doesn’t work unless you play music.

(The AI Life app is readily available on iOS, but on Android, you will have to download the AI Life app from Huawei’s app loader to get all the features and updates.)

Conclusion

So is the FreeBuds Pro 5 an upgrade from the Pro 4? If it’s about performance, it is somewhat an upgrade, better in some ways but not in others. And even though I do prefer the Pro 5’s sound quality, others may prefer the sound signature of the Pro 4.

The real upgrade is in terms of connectivity when you’re using NearLink, but as mentioned, it only works with certain Huawei devices. If you’re like me, always using an iPhone or other Android devices, Nearlink doesn’t benefit us at all, as far as I can tell. Apart from that, battery life is comparable, up to 5 hours with noise canceling, 22 hours with case. And as I mentioned, no foam tips this time. So overall, it’s more like a side grade rather than an upgrade.

But what do you think? Do you think the Pro 5 is actually an upgrade over the Pro 4? Let us know in the comments.

Check latest price:
Huawei FreeBuds Pro 5 - Link TBA (Amazon)
Huawei FreeBuds Pro 4 - https://amzn.to/42FQXLP