‘Surprisingly affordable’ earbuds perfect for running now even cheaper
When I reviewed the Huawei FreeArc open earbuds last year I called them ‘surprisingly affordable – I was very impressed with the amount of tech they crammed in for the great £99.99 price. A secure hook design with decent audio quality and volume with solid battery life made them great for everyday and exercise use – and they’re an even better deal right now for £59.99 in the Amazon Spring Deal Days sale.
Open earbuds have become very popular in recent years, as they offer a secure fit for runners and gym goers while not blocking the ear canal, so wearers can still hear the world around them. This is great for safety – like avoiding traffic – but also works well for use in offices or at home, meaning you can pause audio and still chat to those around you because you don’t have in-ear tips blocking out sound.
I found the FreeArc a competent and comfortable open earbud, with notably decent volume levels. This design sits outside your ear so needs to be loud enough for you to be able to hear your tunes, and there are no issues with that here.
The buds even have noise cancellation, which is difficult to implement with such an open design. In this case, the tech won’t shut out the world around you like it would with in-ear earbuds, but I found it does a good job of minimising and toning down the world around you when you’re somewhere a bit noisier. It helps you still hear the audio.
With IP57 dust and water resistance you can rest assured that rain and sweat aren’t going to bother the FreeArc, and you can also use them for hands-free calls, though I did find that the quality here wasn’t great, even though connection was reliable.
The FreeArc easily connects to your iPhone or Android phone, and you can set up a dual connection if you like, so you can stream audio from another device such as a laptop without having to fiddle about with Bluetooth settings every time you want to switch devices.
Battery life is solid at seven hours, and with a fully charged case you can expect 28 hours in total before you’ll need to charge the case again, which is done via USB-C. If you’re low on battery but in a rush, Huawei says you’ll get three hours of playback from a ten minute charge.
If you split your time between home, work and the gym, or if you are a keen runner, I can recommend the Huawei FreeArc as a performant and now more affordable open earbud option for 2026.
