The latest pair of noise cancelling earbuds from Huawei not only blends a style not known for strong noise cancellation, but also feels focused on women, and we’re not sure why.
If you’re the sort of person who likes your earphones to look like other products in your life, you may want to check out the doozy Huawei has decided to launch in Australia, as it marries two unlikely categories: sound and lipstick.
Yes, we’re serious.
Huawei’s FreeBuds Lipstick appears to be a pair of red earbuds modelled on lipstick, packaging the two coloured earpieces into a charging case resembling a tube of lipstick.
Outside of this design, Huawei’s earbuds look a little like a rehash of the older FreeBuds 3, with the company using earbud designs with active noise cancellation, a concept that didn’t sound like it would work when it launched, and indeed didn’t work when we reviewed the FreeBuds 3 two years ago.
They even rely on similar hardware, with Huawei’s Kirin A1 chip inside and a maximum of four hours battery life, though that’s without active noise cancellation. Turn ANC on, and that battery life drops to a max of 2.5 hours.
There’s also an app, though Huawei has yet to confirm whether it will be found on iOS or even on the Google Play Store, which has been a problem for previous Huawei FreeBuds models — FreeBuds 4i, we’re looking at you.
More than anything, the FreeBuds Lipstick appears to be going for that weird “it looks like a tube of lipstick” angle, which may resonate with some, but feels more like a gimmick than anything else, and at $399, feels like the sort of fashion accessory we’re not sure many will really connect with. However if you do, you’ll find the Huawei Lipstick earbuds at Huawei’s online and offline stores in Australia shortly.
