Huawei Free Clip Running Review: Clip-On Open-Air Earbuds Tested

Introduction

The Huawei Free Clip is the company’s first take on true wireless earbuds with an open-air design, and it is clearly aimed at rivals like the Shokz Open Fit. Instead of sealing a bud inside your ear canal, it uses air conduction: small speakers sit in close proximity to your ears, delivering fuller sound than bone conduction headphones while still keeping you aware of traffic, other runners, and the world around you. That awareness-first approach is exactly why open-air earbuds appeal to runners, so we put the Free Clip through weeks of indoor and outdoor runs, long training sessions, and even a race.

Design, Fit and Controls

The design is genuinely unique. If you picture a mashup of Samsung’s Galaxy Buds bean-style earbuds and the little metal jacks you played with as a kid, you are close. Each bud clips on: the speaker unit sits in front of your ear, and a flexible connector links it to a bean-shaped comfort section that rests behind your ear. There are no ear tips and no wing tips, so the design itself has to keep everything in place.

In practice, the fit held up well for most runs, including a race where we expected them to come unstuck. They are light, comfortable, and they cling to your ears rather than clamping tightly. The weak spot is sweat: on indoor runs, once things got a bit sweatier, the buds shifted and needed nudging back into place, though they never fell out. The only other dislodging moments came from pulling a hood or jumper over them. Windy outdoor conditions were not an issue at all.

The controls are the bigger disappointment. Gesture-style double-tap and triple-tap controls are hidden inside the thin stem connector, and the touch area is so small and tucked away that activation felt hit and miss, even when sitting still. When running, it was worse. A larger responsive zone along the full stem would make far more sense.

Protection is rated IP54, so rain splashes and light dust are handled, though it is not the strongest rating available on earbuds. Setup runs through the Huawei AI Life companion app on Android and iOS, which offers four EQ modes, a find-my-earbuds feature, and multipoint support mainly for Huawei devices. There is also a Share My Audio feature similar to what Apple and Beats offer, though it is really intended for Huawei smartphones and headphones.

Sound Quality and Calls

Sound quality is where the Free Clip struggles to justify its position. Compared with other air-conduction open-air earbuds we have used, from budget options like the Caviw S01 up through the JBL Soundgear Sense and the Shokz Open Fit, the Free Clip sits somewhere in the middle rather than at the top. It lacks the power of the Shokz Open Fit, the clarity of the Sony LinkBuds and Caviw S01, and the bright, enjoyable sound of the JBL Soundgear Sense.

The four EQ modes available through the AI Life app help a little. The vocal-focused modes work better than others, but the Elevate mode, which is meant to add power, bass and warmth, did not genuinely elevate anything. Across music, audiobooks and podcasts, the sound simply did not win us over. Call quality is fine rather than class-leading: loudness is good, but clarity is not the best we have tested.

Where the open-air design does shine is wind and environmental noise. In genuinely blustery UK conditions, the buds kept delivering their audio without being completely overwhelmed by wind, which is a real advantage of this design for outdoor running.

Battery Life and Charging

Battery life is a solid point. With the default out-of-box EQ mode at fairly loud volume, an hour of running cost roughly 10% of the battery; using the extra EQ modes pushed that to around 15%. That is in line with other open-air true wireless earbuds and nothing to be concerned about.

Charging is well covered too. The case, which Huawei describes as seashell inspired, tops the buds up over USB-C and supports Qi-certified wireless charging, which worked without issues in testing. A quick-charge feature gives you a handy bump when you forget to charge before heading out.

Buying Advice

Here is the honest verdict: the Huawei Free Clip is a good first attempt with real strengths, particularly the light, comfortable fit, the reliable battery, and the wind resistance of the open-air design. We would take them over the Shokz Open Fit for fit reliability, and the Open Fit has had its own problems in our time with it, including a bud that stopped charging. But the Shokz delivers bigger, more powerful sound, and both sit around the £179 to £180 price point.

If you are choosing open-air air-conduction earbuds purely on overall performance, cheaper options are the smarter buy. The JBL Soundgear Sense offers a brighter, more reliable experience with an ear-hook design and a neckband option, and the budget Caviw S01 delivers better clarity than the Free Clip alongside a proven fit. Both felt like more solid options in our testing.

Conclusion

The Huawei Free Clip earns credit for doing something different: a genuinely novel clip-on form factor, a mostly secure fit, discreet controls in concept, four EQ modes, and dependable battery life. But fidgety, hard-to-hit controls, a fit that loosens in sweat, and merely average sound hold it back against both its direct rival and cheaper alternatives. If you want open-air earbuds for running and value performance, look at the JBL Soundgear Sense or the Caviw S01 first. If you love the clip design and prioritise awareness and comfort, the Free Clip is a respectable starting point from Huawei.