Accessories

Huawei FreeBuds 4i review: “The” audio daily driver

An audio experience you simply can’t miss

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A great set of earphones becomes as integral to your everyday life as your preferred devices. Whether you like it wired or wireless, it’s simply something you can’t live without these days. From the early morning commutes to playing games with the squad, a daily driver like this comes in handy for all of those.

For the past few years, Huawei ventured into the wireless sound space much like their contemporaries. From the earphones and headsets to speakers, each iteration brings something new to the table. This is, what I felt, the Huawei FreeBuds 4i shapes itself up to be: something different, something more.

So, how much more does this new pair of TWS earphones bring to the table? For starters:

It comes in an oval-shaped charging case w/ an optional cover

Inside the box are a fast-charging USB-C cable and different earbud tip sizes

You have three colorways to choose from: Ceramic White, Carbon Black, or Red

Breaking down the full audio experience

As I was writing this, I went ahead and looked back at everything I said about the Huawei FreeBuds 4i the very instance I got my hands on it. I briefly touched on the audio experience, and even went out of my way to call it a great first impression — all things considered. After some more time using these wireless earphones, I have some more things to call out.

Enjoying the music every tone of the way

From my first impressions, I could already tell that these earphones were designed for you to listen to your music better. This isn’t just hearing the songs without any noise in the background, but rather for you to truly appreciate the songs you’re listening to. See, the Huawei FreeBuds 4i comes with two major audio enhancements: a dynamic 10mm audio driver and Active Noise Cancellation.

With the dynamic audio driver, I’m assuming that the music you’re listening to has some more explicit bass to it. Well, I wasn’t wrong but it was actually more than that the longer I listened to my playlist. When I was listening to most of the “pop” songs in my playlist, I could hear some level of depth to the tones and vocals. It’s those little intricacies that you only get to hear from a great set of headphones, to be honest.

However, the biggest selling point here is that sweet Active Noise Cancellation technology inside. Essentially, when it’s on, only your songs exist in your ears and not much else. It does a fantastic job blocking all background noise out, so you can immerse in your songs a bit longer. Honestly, it was a joy simply listening to all my songs with ANC on — especially early in the morning.

No delays with VODs, streams, and movies all the way through

In all honesty, this was the use case I was most concerned for because of my experience with my FreeBuds Lite. For some reason, I experienced some delay in my audio when I’m watching videos whether on YouTube or Netflix. For the longest time, it wasn’t a huge bother to me until I tried out the FreeBuds 4i and knew what I was missing.

Huawei included these low latency algorithms into the audio drivers that essentially remove lag between audio and video. While I was watching music videos and a KDrama on the side, it felt smooth to just see and hear the A/V sync like that. At least now, I wouldn’t laugh so hard when the audio is lagging behind.

Playing games and engaging in team comms

Where the ANC also shines in comes from, quite possibly, my 2nd most regular use case: gaming. In particular, I decided to play team-based games like League of Legends: Wild Rift and Call of Duty Mobile with full team comms. I’ve already touched on the ANC’s capabilities for rich, deep sounds, and it’s quite evident with games as well.

However, I’d like to touch on how the ANC helped out with team comms since I was sort of playing in a noisy environment. Essentially, apart from the ANC blocking out noise you hear, it also blocks out additional noise picked up by the microphone. In theory, it should project your voice in a clearer way.

I hopped on a Discord call on my phone, and my friends could tell the difference if I switched to wired earphones. They mentioned how they could hear the strong wind and my electric fan before switching to the FreeBuds 4i mid-game. Although, there were times they couldn’t hear me through my mic when I switched, but it didn’t happen regularly.

Define “daily driver?” for me please

Apart from the Active Noise Cancellation technologies, the FreeBuds 4i boasts 10 hours of continuous audio playback. Whether it’s a Spotify playlist or random YouTube videos, that’s quite a lot of nonstop audio banging in your ear. Actually, this is more of a battery life situation more than anything but it certainly stacks up.

What I love about the longevity of this accessory is that it still lasts long even if you charge for a few minutes. Within ten minutes of charging, I managed to use the earphones for a good 3-4 hours before running out of juice. That’s honestly quite long in itself, especially with the amount of songs and videos you can squeeze in at 50% volume.

With all the time I spent charging the buds, I managed to stretch my usage to 24 hours (yes, even in my sleep). This alone already made me believe that it fits the description of what a daily driver is all about. Plus, it charges quite fast while in its oval case, and its oval case also fully charges fast too (about an hour and a half).

Why the Huawei AI Life is a must-have

Like I mentioned before, I’m not a big fan of downloading additional software to make certain hardware work well. I mean, it just takes up more space on my phone that I would have needed for more photos and games. However, for the FreeBuds 4i, I installed the Huawei AI Life app to further maximize my use for it — and thank God I did.

See, if you’re not that big of a fan of using the gestures on the earphones, the AI Life app is where you need to go. In essence, it allows you to switch the ANC on/off, and you can even customize the touch gestures. Also, it even shows you the battery percentage of the buds and charging case. Honestly, I felt this added a bit more personalization to the FreeBuds 4i, something I was dying to experience.

Initially, I thought that you couldn’t change the gestures outright. I preferred having a gesture to play/pause songs and skip some of them — something the AI Life app covers. I genuinely think this is an app you should consider downloading if you plan to pick these earphones up.

Is this your GadgetMatch?

At PhP 3,599, the Huawei FreeBuds 4i provides an audio experience that you simply cannot turn a blind eye to. Apart from the simple yet fashionable aesthetic, it comes with a pair of TWS earphones that bring deeper sound quality for any use case. With its long battery life and quick charge capabilities, it’s something worth using every single chance you get.

While there were some hiccups along the way, it doesn’t ruin the audio experience entirely. With integrations in the AI Life app, you can easily find ways around these hiccups to help ease these off. Also, the level of control it gives you makes the whole experience more personal.

It’s not something different in every sense of the word, but the Huawei FreeBuds 4i brings something more to the table. It’s simply not just great, but it poses itself as one of the best options for wireless earphones out there.

Accessories

England, Wales start banning Meta Glasses

The smart glasses are now banned in courtrooms.

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Earlier this year, New York became the first state to issue a blanket ban against smart glasses in courtrooms. The new regulation marks one of the first public spaces to prevent the contentious devices. Now, England and Wales are following suit in their courtrooms by banning Meta glasses inside.

As reported by The Guardian, courtrooms in both countries will confiscate Meta Glasses from those taking them into the building. Owners can retrieve them again upon exit.

Like the decision in New York, the English and Welsh bans are simple enough to follow. As it is everywhere, it’s forbidden to record video inside courtrooms in England and Wales. Because Meta Glasses have cameras (and are primarily used for their video capturing capabilities), they fall under prohibited items.

Notably, smartphones are not included on this list, despite having sizable cameras themselves. Although, to be fair, it’s much more difficult to discreetly record video using a smartphone. Smart glasses pride themselves with the ability to take videos seamlessly.

Meta Glasses are having such a moment today. Though some users, especially creators, are excited for them, a significant chunk of the population is concerned over their ability to take videos without subjects knowing they’re being recorded. Some users have even found ways to disable the built-in LED indicators which should, in theory, warn the public that the glasses are recording. It’s since turned into a privacy nightmare.

SEE ALSO: New York becomes first state to ban smart glasses

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Peak Design’s new City Line combines minimalism and color

Less padding, more personality

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Known for its camera-friendly bags with generous padding to protect photography gear, Peak Design is taking a different approach with the City Line.

The new collection prioritizes lightweight construction and everyday functionality, stripping away unnecessary bulk while still delivering the thoughtful organization the brand is known for.

The new collection includes the City Backpack in 15L and 22L sizes, the 15L City Tote, the City Crescent in 6L and 12L options, and the compact 2L City Sling. While each bag serves a different purpose, they all share the same minimalist aesthetics and intuitive organization.

To achieve that lighter design is Peak Design’s new weather-resistant MonoShell material, along with a seam-reduced construction that cuts down on unnecessary bulk.

It also comes with Peak Design’s built-in BagLev hook, allowing you to hang your bag from a table instead of placing it on the floor.

Beyond the neutral and muted finishes we’ve seen in the past, Peak Design is also introducing brighter options that add more personality to the collection.

The vibrant Lapis blue, in particular, stands out as a fun alternative for anyone looking to move beyond the usual black everyday bag.

The City Line is now available through peakdesign.com and authorized retailers worldwide.

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DJI Osmo Mobile 8P: From a videographer’s perspective

Better tracking, fewer buttons

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DJI’s smartphone gimbals have always chased one goal: delivering cinema-smooth footage without forcing you to carry a heavy rig.

The Osmo Mobile 8P (OM 8P) makes its priorities clear right out of the box. This is not a simple refresh. DJI rebuilt how you control the gimbal, and that decision shapes the entire shooting experience.

Freedom behind the lens

The biggest change is the FrameTap remote, and it’s the kind of upgrade that fixes a problem you didn’t realize was slowing you down until it’s gone.

On the standard OM 8, adjusting your framing meant reaching for your phone every time, which broke the flow of shooting and pulled you out of the moment.

FrameTap puts that control back in your hand. You can reframe shots and manage the gimbal without touching your phone at all, and for anyone shooting solo, that alone changes how usable the whole setup feels. Tracking has taken a real step forward too.

ActiveTrack 8.0, paired with Module 2, held onto its subject even after they stepped out of frame for a moment, then picked them back up without much fuss.

It also lets you sit off-center in the shot instead of forcing you into the middle every time, which gives you more room to compose something that doesn’t look like every other gimbal video.

None of that would matter much if the gimbal itself wasn’t solid, and it still is. The OM 8P holds onto the same foldable design, magnetic phone clamp, and built-in tripod that made the OM 8 easy to live with.

And it remains one of the better compact options for stabilization, tracking, and portability in one package.

The tripod legs are a touch wider this time, and that extra width does make a noticeable difference on uneven ground.

The trade-offs in touch

The trade-off for all that new remote functionality is a control scheme that takes more getting used to. More of the gimbal’s functions now live on the FrameTap touchscreen, the joystick is smaller, and switching between shooting modes takes a few extra taps compared to the OM 8. It’s not a dealbreaker, but it’s a learning curve you’ll need to budget time for.

DJI also removed the zoom and focus wheel, so if you leaned on that dial for quick adjustments, you’ll feel its absence here. Module 2 no longer lets you plug a DJI wireless mic in directly either.

You’ll need to connect it to your phone instead, which adds a step to a setup that used to be simpler. Phone compatibility is still a limiting factor as well. DJI lists support for phones up to around 300g and 11mm thick, so bigger phones or ones in chunky cases may not clamp in properly.

Finding your ideal workflow

The OM 8P makes the most sense for solo creators who want dependable tracking and the freedom of remote framing without stepping up to a dedicated camera like the DJI Osmo Pocket.

If you’re already shooting on a phone with a solid camera, this fills the gap nicely. It’s a tougher sell if you prefer physical buttons over touchscreen menus, or if your phone runs on the larger and heavier side, since fitting it onto the clamp might be a problem before you even get to shooting.

Price, availability

DJI is offering the OM 8P in three combos, so how much you pay depends on how much of the ecosystem you actually need.

  • Standard Combo (PhP 7,499): the gimbal itself, with 8th-gen stabilization and the detachable FrameTap remote included.
  • Advanced Tracking Combo (PhP 9,199): adds the Multifunctional Module 2 for the improved subject tracking we tested.
  • Creator Combo (PhP 11,099): the full kit, built for creators who want everything DJI bundles in from the start.

Is the DJI Osmo Mobile 8P your GadgetMatch?

The DJI Osmo Mobile 8P asks you to relearn a few habits in exchange for a gimbal that finally lets go of your phone. If hands-free framing and steadier tracking matter more to you than a dedicated zoom dial, this is worth the adjustment.

If you’d rather keep things exactly as they were on the OM 8, that learning curve might be the deciding factor.

Swipe right if you shoot alone often and have been waiting for a gimbal remote that actually works. The FrameTap remote alone justifies the upgrade if reaching for your phone mid-shot has been slowing you down.

Consider this if reliable tracking matters to you, especially if you’ve had a subject wander out of frame and stay lost on older gimbals.

And of course, get this if you already own a capable phone under the weight and thickness limits, and you’d rather invest in a smartphone rig than jump to a dedicated camera like the Osmo Pocket.

Swipe left if you lean on physical dials for zoom and focus, and moving those functions to a touchscreen sounds like a downgrade rather than an upgrade.

This is not for you if you use a DJI wireless mic and want it plugged directly into the module without routing through your phone first. Or, your phone runs heavier or bulkier than DJI’s limits allow, since no amount of enthusiasm fixes a clamp that won’t close.

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