Huawei has announced that its FreeBuds 4i true wireless earbuds will be available in the US and Europe.

This is significantly cheaper than the $249 AirPods Pro, from which the FreeBuds 4i apparently got its design inspiration. It is even cheaper than the standard Apple AirPods, which do not feature active noise cancellation (ANC) at all, and likely undercuts the often-leaked AirPods 3. However, it is unclear if the FreeBuds 4i will be available in the U.S., as Huawei has banned them in the U.S.

Available in white, black, and red, the Huawei FreeBuds 4i will be easily distinguishable from the AirPods Pro from a distance.

However, battery life could be even better than Apple's effort, as Huawei promises up to 7.5 hours of ANC playback on a single charge. In addition, repeated use of the charging case is said to allow 4 hours of playback on a 10-minute charge.

A 10mm dynamic driver provides the sound, which appears to include "powerful bass performance." Huawei has produced several excellent-sounding wireless earbuds in the past, such as the Huawei FreeBuds 3, so we expect the FreeBuds 4i to output even better audio.

FreeBuds 4i also supports fast pairing with Huawei smartphones running EMUI 10.0 or later, similar to how the AirPods series can quickly pair with iOS devices.

Still, the biggest draw here is definitely the price. It is very difficult to get a true wireless ANC bud for such a small price, in contrast to another recent Huawei release, the Mate X2, a Huawei foldable smartphone in the $3,000 range.

Speaking of cell phones, Huawei will find fewer buyers for its EMUI fast pairing than in China; Huawei devices are not banned in the UK as they are in the US, but they are still sold without Google apps, which does not help their appeal not help their appeal. Perhaps FreeBuds 4i will have better luck, as it does not seem to lose functionality as a result of these legal issues.

This set of ANC Buds will be available in the UK on March 26, including a £5 discount and a free gift of a Huawei Band 4 fitness tracker worth £40.