The Honor Magic Earbuds look remarkably similar to AirPods Pro
After three generations of wireless earbuds from Huawei, sub-brand Honor has made a statement of intent with its own premium offering to rival the likes of Apple and Sony. Launched alongside theHonor 9X Prosmartphone and MagicBook laptop, the Magic Earbuds offer another option in the burgeoning true wireless earbuds market.
There’s an obvious resemblance to the £249AirPods Pro, albeit without the premium price tag.
Honor says theMagic Earbuds have been designed with fitness enthusiasts in mind, but the three different sizes of tips should ensure a solid fit in all scenarios. It’s nice to see Robin Egg Blue offered as an alternative to the standard Pearl White we see on so many wireless earbuds.
There are three microphones on each earbud, which help with a feature Honor is calling ‘Hybrid Active Noise Cancellation’. While this is not full noise cancellation as we know it, it should be effective at reducing outside noise during calls. It’s unclear whether this effect will extend to music playback.
Samsung’s Galaxy Buds+have really increased expectations when it comes to battery life, so on first impressions the Magic Earbuds seem a little underpowered. Honor is claiming 3 hours of calls or 3.5 hours of music playback on a single charge, while this becomes 12 and 13 hours respectively via the charging case.
Unfortunately, there’s no wireless charging here, so you’ll have to use USB-C.
The Magic Earbuds will work with any phone via Bluetooth, but they have a few tricks up their sleeve if you’re using a phone running EMUI 10. Like AirPods, the buds can connect to your phone seamlessly as soon as you open the case, as well as automatically wake and play/pause thanks to intelligent wearing detection.
However, to get these extra features you’ll probably be compromising on Google Play services. The only smart feature to be available across no matter what device you connect to is the touch controls on each earphone. These can be customised in the Huawei AI Life app.
Honor is set to continue its tradition of undercutting parent company Huawei on price. While theFreebuds 3cost £169.99 upon release, the Magic Earbuds will retail for just €129 (approx £108) when they launch in April.
Of course, these earbuds cannot be judged until we’ve had a chance to test audio quality. It remains to be seen whether they can be considered among thebest true wireless earbudson the market.
Author: Anyron Copeman, Mobile Editor, Tech Advisor
Anyron is Mobile Editor at Tech Advisor, where he’s been a mainstay of the editorial team since 2019. In his current role, Anyron is responsible for all smartphone, tablet and mobile network coverage on the site. A BA Journalism graduate, he has experience with a wide range of consumer tech products and services, including smartphones, tablets, foldables, wearables and more.
