Previously, we did a detailed teardown report on the two products. This time, according to the teardown report, we will compare HUAWEI FreeBuds Pro and HUAWEI FreeBuds Pro 2, and share with you the similarities and differences in appearance design and internal structure configuration.
Previously, we did a detailed teardown report on the two products. This time, according to the teardown report, we will compare HUAWEI FreeBuds Pro and HUAWEI FreeBuds Pro 2, and share with you the similarities and differences in appearance design and internal structure configuration.
Huawei FreeBuds Pro 2 review ($219) | Huawei FreeBuds Pro review ($161)
01/ Product Appearance
Appearance Design
Huawei FreeBuds Pro and Huawei FreeBuds Pro 2 have the same design, with a strong business style. FreeBuds Pro 2 is further optimized compared to FreeBuds Pro. The approximately oval-shaped rounded square charging case is 11% smaller in size and 13% lighter in weight, making it more compact and portable. The handle-shaped in-ear earphones, the square headset stem is shorter, and the connection curve with the earphone head is smoother, which further improves the appearance and wearing comfort.
Charging Case Interface
Both charging cases use the current mainstream Type-C interface, which has a wide range of compatibility and can be shared with Android mobile phone charging cables. Both support wireless charging for a more convenient charging method.
Weight
In terms of weight, after actual measurement, the overall weight of Huawei FreeBuds Pro is about 72.0g, and the weight of a single earphone is about 6.15g. The overall weight of Huawei FreeBuds Pro 2 is about 64.5g, and the weight of a single earphone is about 6.2g.
02/ Earphones
Master Chip
Huawei FreeBuds Pro uses Kirin A1 chip. The main constituent units include AP, RAM, Bluetooth, DSP, sensor matrix, power management module, etc. It supports Bluetooth 5.2 and Huawei’s self-developed dual-channel synchronous transmission technology, which solves the problems of lag and disconnection caused by signal interference.
The main control chip of Huawei FreeBuds Pro 2 is BES BES2700YP, which is the latest generation of ultra-low power consumption and highly integrated bluetooth audio SoC from BES. It adopts 12nm process, integrates dual-mode Bluetooth 5.3, and supports BT&BLE. The main processor has built-in Arm Cortex-M55 CPU and Tensilica HiFi 4 DSP, which greatly improves the computing performance of the chip. The sensor hub subsystem has built-in STAR-MC1 MCU and BES self-developed neural network processor BECO NPU, which not only significantly reduces power consumption, but also achieves rich application processing capabilities.
Huawei FreeBuds Pro is plugged in with an ADI ADAU1787 audio DSP chip. Built-in quad ADC and dual DAC for active noise cancellation. Huawei FreeBuds Pro 2 is controlled by BES to integrate active noise cancellation function.
Pressure Sensing IC
Both Huawei FreeBuds Pro and Huawei FreeBuds Pro 2 use pressure-sensing sensors, together with pressure-sensing ICs, to achieve more precise control. The pressure sensing IC of Huawei FreeBuds Pro uses CHIPSEA CSA37F61 force sensor. Built-in 8 differential input channels, 1 ForceTouchAFE, support I2C/UART communication, and reconfigurable ForceTouch algorithm. The CSA37F61 supports various forms of border touch interaction for mobile phones/headphones and other products, such as swiping, gestures, and pressing.
Huawei FreeBuds Pro 2 is equipped with AWINIC AW86862 pressure sensing IC, and the size is as small as 1.41mm × 1.41mm. Compared with the previous generation, the area is reduced by 67%, which is very suitable for the use of TWS in small spaces. With pressure sensing signal acquisition, amplification and processing functions, it integrates an I²C communication module, a system control module, a power management module and an AFE module (including 2 analog input differential channels and multiplexers, 2-stage PGA, 11-bit offset calibration DAC, 14-bit ADC and intelligent push logic processing module).
Earbuds Battery
Both Huawei FreeBuds Pro and Huawei FreeBuds Pro 2 earphones are equipped with a steel-shell button battery, which is the same specification. Battery model: HB1160ECW, capacity: 55mAh, nominal voltage: 3.82V, charging limit voltage: 4.4V.
Charging IC
In terms of earphone battery charging, Huawei FreeBuds Pro uses the Awinic AW32001ACSR chip, which is a lithium battery charging IC with power path management. Input withstand voltage 28V, support 2-500mA charging current. Parameters can be set by the I²C interface.
Huawei FreeBuds Pro 2 uses the Cellwise CW6305B low-power linear charging chip. The maximum input current limit of the chip inlet is 500mA. It supports a maximum charging current of 470mA and a minimum charging cut-off current of 1mA. The charging parameters can be dynamically adjusted by the I²C interface. When powered by a lithium battery, the quiescent current of the chip is as low as 7uA.
Speaker
In terms of speakers, the Huawei FreeBuds Pro is equipped with a 11mm steady-state dynamic driver, which can provide powerful low-frequency effects. Huawei FreeBuds Pro 2 is equipped with TWS’s world-first four-magnet dynamic driver + micro-planar tweeter, which achieves a 14Hz low frequency extension and a 48kHz treble rise. It has a sound frequency beyond the perception range of the human ear, presenting richer sound details.
Microphone
Both Huawei FreeBuds Pro and Huawei FreeBuds Pro 2 are equipped with three microphones. One is located in the sound cavity, and the other two are located on the main board for active noise cancellation and call noise cancellation.
The difference is that the ANC function of the Huawei FreeBuds Pro only uses two feed-forward microphones to pick up ambient noise. The three microphones of Huawei FreeBuds Pro 2 are all used for active noise cancellation to pick up sound, which can more accurately capture the external environment noise and bring better noise cancellation effect.
There is also a bone voiceprint sensor inside the Huawei FreeBuds Pro earphones, which is used for functions such as call noise cancellation and bone voiceprint recognition.
Acceleration Sensor
Both Huawei FreeBuds Pro and Huawei FreeBuds Pro 2 are equipped with ST acceleration sensors for uplink call noise cancellation. The acceleration sensor of Huawei FreeBuds Pro 2 also integrates a six-axis gyroscope for the spatial audio function to collect user motion data.
Huawei FreeBuds Pro uses ST LIS2DW12 acceleration sensor, which supports tap sensing, VAD voice switch and bone conduction call noise cancellation.
Huawei FreeBuds Pro 2 uses ST LSM6DSV16BX 6-axis IMU and bone conduction two-in-one chip. 6-axis IMU is used for spatial audio function, bone conduction is used for uplink noise cancellation, and the software can support head tracking and VAD algorithm.
03/ Charging Case
Battery
The built-in lithium batteries of both charging cases use the same specifications. Battery model: HB781937ECW-A, rated capacity: 580mAh, rated voltage: 3.82V, charging limit voltage: 4.4V, from ATL.
Wired Charging IC
In terms of wired charging, the TI BQ25601 used by Huawei FreeBuds Pro is a highly integrated 3A switch-mode battery charging management and system power path management device. The low-impedance power path is optimized for switch-mode operation efficiency, reducing battery charging time and extending battery life during the discharge phase. Huawei FreeBuds Pro 2 failed to get details.
Wireless Charging IC
In terms of wireless charging, Huawei FreeBuds Pro uses ST STWLC33 chip, which is a highly integrated high-performance wireless charging IC. At the same time, it supports Qi wireless charging reception and reverse charging functions. Huawei FreeBuds Pro 2 uses a silkscreen WP5101GC wireless charging receiver chip, which is the same solution as Huawei FreeBuds 4.
MCU
Huawei FreeBuds Pro uses ST STM32F411CE high-performance basic series ARM Cortex-M4 MCU with DSP and FPU. Features 512 KB Flash, 100 MHz CPU and ART accelerator.
Huawei FreeBuds Pro 2 is equipped with Nations N32G4FRHE MCU microcontroller. The N32G4FR series adopts a 32 bit ARM Cortex-M4 core with a maximum operating frequency of 144MHz. It supports floating-point operations and DSP instructions, has a built-in cryptographic algorithm hardware acceleration engine, and integrates up to 512KB encrypted Flash memory and 144KB SRAM, which can be used to securely store fingerprint information. It supports mainstream semiconductor fingerprint and optical fingerprint sensors and up to 18-channel capacitive touch buttons, and integrates rich U(S)ART, I2C, SPI, QSPI, USB, ADC, DAC, SDIO and other general peripheral interfaces.
04/ Summary
In terms of appearance, Huawei FreeBuds Pro and Huawei FreeBuds Pro 2 continue the style of the Pro series and have a strong business style. The charging case adopts an approximately oval-shaped rounded square design. The headset stem is square and has a high degree of recognition. FreeBuds Pro 2 is further optimized in terms of the size, weight and earphone curve of the charging case, but at the same time, it limits the built-in battery with larger capacity, and the battery life is reduced with more functional applications.
In terms of internal configuration, in addition to the built-in lithium battery, different solutions are used. The sound unit is upgraded to a four-magnet dynamic+micro-planar tweeter dual unit. All three microphones participate in the active noise cancellation function to pick up sound. The main control chip was replaced with BES BES2700YP bluetooth audio SoC. Upgraded Bluetooth 5.3, integrated ANC function. Upgrade ST LSM6DSV16BX 6-axis IMU and bone conduction two-in-one chip to realize bone conduction call noise cancellation and dynamic head tracking spatial audio functions.
Source: 52audio
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Huawei FreeBuds Pro 2 Teardown: 3-mic ANC TWS earbuds, 4-magnet dynamic driver and micro planar driver
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