A couple of months back, Huawei Philippines introduced to the country its latest TWS or True Wireless Stereo earbuds — the Huawei FreeBuds 3i. It’s the company’s budget offering that promises useful features for everyday usage.
While we prepare for its full review, join us in this unboxing and first look.
The FreeBuds 3i comes in this compact and simple packaging. As seen on the product image, it comes with its own charging case in the same color. Speaking of colors, this model is available in two options — Ceramic White and Carbon Black.
The contents are pretty basic and are limited to the essentials. Opening the lid of the box, you’ll be greeted with the charging case containing the two earbuds.
Digging a bit deeper introduces you to two smaller boxes — one containing all the warranty, quick start guide, and safety information, while the other houses the USB-C cable and three additional sets of ear tips in varying sizes to fit the user.
The earbuds are comfortably resting inside their case and are kept secure using a magnet.
Up front, the charging case has a small LED that changes color to indicate the status of its battery. While at the back, we have a single USB-C port for charging and a Function button to power up the case.
Huawei says that one earbud only weighs 5.5 grams so it’s not cumbersome to wear for long periods of time. And having been able to hold the buds and put them on, they are indeed light and wearing them both isn’t heavy at all and I don’t think I’d have problems using them for hours.
So now that the device is out of its box, it’s time to start setting it up. A simple press and hold at the charging case’s Function button wakes it up and is now ready for pairing. This is made possible through Huawei’s AI Life app. Simply download it on your phone and it should already detect the FreeBuds 3i and pair with it in a matter of seconds.
After set up, there’s a firmware update that will prompt you to download and install. But again, it takes no more than two minutes to complete this part. Once the phone has paired with the earbuds, they’re now ready for use.
Just like other TWS, the back part is touch-enabled to give you the usual controls for music and calls. You can set these controls on the app itself.
Two taps could play/pause the music, go to the next song, or activate your voice assistant. On the other hand, touching and holding it will cycle through its different noise control modes/ You can also assign these commands separately for each earbud.
The FreeBuds 3i features active noise cancellation using a 3-mic system meaning it will block off external noise so you can fully enjoy your music or hear the person you’re talking to better. It also comes with support for Wearing Detection — once you take them off, they automatically pause the music to better conserve battery.
Speaking of battery, the FreeBuds 3i carries a 37mAh battery per earbud and 410mAh capacity for the charging case. The company claims it can last up to 3.5 hours of continuous music playback and 2.5 hours of talk time on a single charge. Using its case, it can supposedly go up to 14.5 hours of playback. We’ll be testing the device to see if it does live up to its claims which we’ll include on its full review in the coming days.
The Huawei FreeBuds 3i is priced at PhP 5,990 and is now available for purchase.
Huawei FreeBuds 3i specs:
10mm dynamic driver Active noise cancellation Call noise cancellation Wearing Detection support Bluetooth 5.0 37mAh battery (per earbud) 410mAh battery (charging case) 5.5 grams (per earbud) 51 grams (charging case) Ceramic White and Carbon Black colors
In the last few years, the pandemic caused most of us to stay indoors, in the safety of our own homes. Now that the world is a little safer than it was two or three years ago, there’s more reason to head out.
While things have changed – work habits, ways of life, technology, and even us as human beings, it’s nice that I’ve found myself more confident in working outside and taking in inspiration from the outside world.
Because of this, the need for a lightweight laptop surfaced.
Now, if I were to pick up an ultraportable for myself there are three things that I think I would look out for – its looks, all-around performance, and long battery life.
The Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Carbon seems to provide all that.
A looker, undoubtedly
There’s no denying it’s one attractive laptop, especially in this gorgeous white color (though that may just be my penchant for white-colored devices).
Minimalist yet still striking, the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Carbon doesn’t need to beg for attention.
The clean and elegant design is something that seemingly never fails to draw other eyes whenever I bring it outside to work. I’ve also become a fan of these rounded corners not just because they add elegance but also because they don’t snag on things. It also makes for a better fit inside my bag.
And it’s just so light.
Weighing just under 1kg and just 14.8mm thin, it’s effortless to bring around so much that I would have it in my bag all the time – even when I didn’t need it.
The coating is fingerprint resistant so you can keep it looking clean and pristine, making it quite easy to maintain. In terms of durability, this Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Carbon withstood a series of military-grade tests alongside the company’s in-house reliability tests.
With that, this laptop should be able to endure, well, quite a lot, so you won’t have to worry about it when you bring it around on your adventures.
Open it up to find an edge-to-edge keyboard which is probably another thing I love about this laptop. It’s comfortable and well-designed. The key spaces are quite generous and do not at all feel cramped which makes for easy typing and operation – even for a laptop this small.
We also have an adequately sized and responsive trackpad that supports gestures for quick actions and easier navigation.
And despite being a tiny laptop, the 13.3-inch display didn’t really leave me wanting more when working on my everyday tasks. Bezels are tiny at just 2.56mm all around save for the chin and this helps maximize the space available.
Its only weakness, in my opinion, is that its brightness comes up just a bit short. Since I work indoors most of the time, it wasn’t much of a bother but there were a couple of times that I found myself wanting a little more from this display.
If that’s something you can look past, there isn’t much fault to it considering it also has the usual favorites including QHD+ resolution, 100% sRGB color, 90Hz adaptive refresh rate, and TUV Rheinland low blue light EyeSafe certification.
Dependable daily performance and then some
For an ultraportable, you expect to get a certain kind of versatility when it comes to what it can do and its overall performance. While it may not be the most powerful around, it should be a device that can handle the usual dailies and maybe a little bit more.
In using the Yoga Slim 7i Carbon as my daily driver, I’ve come to find it as a very reliable machine to take on everyday tasks.
Intel Evo-certified, powering the laptop is a 13th Gen Intel Core i7 processor partnered with Intel Iris Xe graphics. It comes with up to 16GB of RAM and up to 1TB SSD storage.
It really is that perfect little laptop to tote around for answering emails, managing our social media, taking on the daily video calls or chats, and even some light photo and video editing. And with that touch display, navigation was a breeze and more intuitive making my workflow faster, and my to-do list, shorter.
Even through hours of use, I didn’t feel the laptop significantly slow down. This, of course, is in handling light to medium tasks like the ones I just mentioned.
I was also able to edit photos quite effortlessly, too, and could count on that color-accurate display to help me out.
But editing 4K videos took a bit of a toll in the long run. If you’re doing simple and quick video edits, you might not run into this problem. But in editing a 4K video over 10 minutes, and with graphics too, the Yoga Slim 7i Carbon started having a harder time. Not that it didn’t do the job, it just started to slow down.
It did show better performance, however, when I kept the laptop plugged in and turned to performance mode while working on heavier tasks.
But in all honesty, it may not be fair to expect an ultraportable to take on heavy multimedia work. But for everything else, it offers pretty solid, stable, and consistent performance.
Connectivity is also a necessity these days and Lenovo knows that and boosts it by offering Wi-Fi 6E on this device.
I’m just a little bit disappointed with the port selection though I suppose it was a compromise to achieve this lightweight of a laptop.
We only have two USB-C ports here and one is used to charge the device. Because of that, having a dongle became a necessity for connecting other devices or peripherals. Luckily, we have Thunderbolt 4 here so we’re at least getting high transfer speeds.
And like most people who own a laptop, I also use it during my downtime to catch up on some shows or films. The size is just enough for my ‘Me Time’. With lights down low, the display is beautiful and, being matte, makes it easy on the eyes as well.
Paired with Dolby Atmos-certified speakers tuned by Harman Kardon, needless to say, spending a few hours binge-watching wasn’t a hard thing to do.
Apart from everything I just mentioned, I also ended up appreciating certain features that improved my overall workflow.
For example, Smart Login and Zero Touch login worked seamlessly and added peace of mind that the laptop would lock as soon as I stepped away from it. And, just as seamlessly, log back in when the camera detects my presence.
Overall, while I do have complaints, I feel they aren’t enough to negate the positive things about this laptop definitely, and is a small price to pay for everything else you’re getting.
With you ’til the end
A good ultraportable should be matched with good battery life, in my opinion. It only makes sense that a laptop that’s designed to be brought around would have enough juice to last a good part of the working day – and this one did.
I’m glad to report that the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Carbon was able to keep up with my day lasting about 10-13 hours of intermittent use. Continuously using it for an hour, less than 20% of the battery is consumed which isn’t bad either and I assume you should be able to get about 8-10 hours if working without breaks.
No portability is lost with its charger either since it does come with a pretty small one. And if you do forget it, you can luckily use a phone charger as well. This happened to me on a trip and I ended up using my phone’s 67W charger to power the laptop.
The ease of Lenovo’s after-care service
Owning a laptop isn’t just about having it and that’s why I also put importance on the after-care services available. Thankfully, Lenovo has got this covered with the 3-Year Lenovo Premium Care that comes with the device.
From setting up to troubleshooting, Premium Care will grant you access to expert technicians who can help you with whatever problems you may have. And there are many ways to contact them – phone, email, 24/7 chat, and even through WhatsApp.
If it can’t be solved remotely, you can also request on-site support and have a check-up right from the comfort of your own home. With Premium Care, you also get annual PC Health Checks so you can keep your device in tip-top shape through the years.
Additionally, there’s also a 3-Year Accidental Damage Protection to give you ease of mind. Whether it be spills, bumps, or hardware issues, you can again request assistance and have Lenovo’s trained technicians help you out.
And if it’s unrepairable? The whole system can be replaced with no additional charges.
Final thoughts
With lots of pros and some cons, I stopped to think about who this laptop was designed for.
Well, after spending some time with it, I found that it’s for the user who not only appreciates the lightweight form factor but someone who values style and long battery life as well. Heavy multimedia work isn’t its strong suit, obviously, but it excels at all the usual tasks someone who is always out and about may encounter.
And I can’t not again bring up how eye-catching it is despite its minimalist design. It’s definitely a laptop that will have people asking you about it. But thankfully, it goes beyond just looks and offers pretty good performance as well.
Price and availability
The slim and durable Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Carbon is now available locally starting at PhP 89,995.00 and can be purchased through Lenovo’s official site and physical stores. Lenovo Accidental Damage Protection is also available as an add-on with various options available when purchasing through the official website.
This post is in partnership with Lenovo Philippines.
