Skip to content
HearWiki

Honor Magic Earbuds/ Huawei Freebuds 3i with ANC vs Realme Buds Air8 Pro: which should you buy?

On aggregated review scores the Realme Buds Air8 Pro comes out ahead with a HearWiki score of 84. The full breakdown - sub-scores, specs and what reviewers actually said - is below.

Our pick: Realme Buds Air8 Pro - Outstanding overall at around $74.

Score breakdown

Each axis is a 0–10 blend of what reviewers scored, not a lab measurement.

Realme Buds Air8 Pro leads on 6 of 7 measures.

  • Honor Magic Earbuds/ Huawei Freebuds 3i with ANC
  • Realme Buds Air8 Pro
HearWiki score
47
84
Sound
6.0
8.4
Noise cancelling
5.8
8.4
Battery
2.5
7.2
Calls
5.6
8.5
Value
5.4
9.2
Price (USD)
$51
$74

Generation & platform

The scores rank quality. This is the other question: is the newer one actually newer technology, or the same platform in a new shell?

New platform

Realme Buds Air8 Pro (2026) against Honor Magic Earbuds/ Huawei Freebuds 3i with ANC (2020). The Realme Buds Air8 Pro is the newer platform here: Bluetooth 6.1 against 5.0, Top codec LHDC against AAC and ANC type Adaptive against Hybrid. It also adds Multipoint pairing, Custom EQ, Companion app and Water resistance (IP55).

  • Magic Earbuds/ Huawei Freebuds 3i with ANC2020
  • Buds Air8 Pro20266 yr newer
What differsMagic Earbuds/ Huawei Freebuds 3i with ANCBuds Air8 Pro

Platform

Bluetooth
5.0
6.1
Top codec
AAC
LHDC
ANC type
Hybrid
Adaptive

Everyday features

Multipoint pairing
No
Yes
Custom EQ
No
Yes
Companion app
No
Yes
Water resistance
Not rated
IP55

Level on: USB-C, Wear detection.

Specifications

Magic Earbuds/ Huawei Freebuds 3i with ANCBuds Air8 Pro
Type
True Wireless
True Wireless
Price (USD)
$51
$74
HearWiki score
47
84
Released
2020
2026
Availability
Discontinued
Sold new
Driver
10 mm dynamic
2-driver hybrid
Driver type
dynamic
hybrid
Driver size
10 mm
11 mm
Drivers per side
1
2
Frequency response
20 Hz - 20 kHz
20 Hz - 20 kHz
Bluetooth
5.0
6.1
Codecs
SBC, AAC
SBC, AAC, LHDC
Multipoint pairing
No
Yes
Latency
-
45 ms
Battery life
3.5 h
12 h
Battery life (ANC on)
3 h
-
Battery incl. case
13 h
50 h
Full charge time
90 min
120 min
Quick charge
10 min → 2 h
10 min → 11 h
Wireless charging
No
No
Active noise cancelling
Yes
Yes
ANC type
hybrid
adaptive
Transparency mode
Yes
-
Companion app
No
Yes
Custom EQ
No
Yes
Wear detection
Yes
Yes
Controls
touch
touch
Weight
5.5 g
4.8 g
Case weight
51 g
53 g
Water resistance
none
IP55
Detachable cable
No
-
USB-C
Yes
Yes
Pad material
silicone
-
Connector
USB-C
-
Balanced connection
No
-
Microphones
3
6
Call noise reduction
Yes
Yes
Call NR technology
beamforming
AI ENC

What reviewers said

Honor Magic Earbuds/ Huawei Freebuds 3i with ANC

The Honor Magic Earbuds, also known as the Huawei Freebuds 3i, offer a polished design and hybrid active noise cancellation at a budget-friendly price. While they look and feel premium, their sound performance, noise reduction, call quality, and battery life fall short of expectations for the price point.

  • Pro:Premium build and design
  • Pro:Hybrid active noise cancellation
  • Pro:Touch controls and USB-C charging
  • Con:Unimpressive sound quality
  • Con:Weak noise cancellation
  • Con:Short battery life

Realme Buds Air8 Pro

The Realme Buds Air8 Pro are feature-rich wireless earbuds that deliver strong adaptive noise cancellation, clear call quality, and a versatile hybrid driver setup for under $100. They offer a long 12-hour battery per charge, Bluetooth 6.1 with triple-device multipoint, and IP55 water resistance, making them a solid everyday choice. Sound tuning requires some adjustment to get the best performance, but the overall package is impressive for the price.

  • Pro:Strong adaptive ANC and usable transparency mode
  • Pro:Long 12-hour battery life with 50 hours total via case
  • Pro:Triple-device multipoint connectivity
  • Con:Sound tuning needs effort to optimize
  • Con:No wireless charging support
  • Con:Battery life per charge may vary depending on usage

Summaries are AI-condensed and paraphrased from published reviews and specs - not original hands-on testing. More on our method.

Compare something else

Swap either side out, or start again from the picker.

New comparisonHonor Magic Earbuds/ Huawei Freebuds 3i with ANCRealme Buds Air8 Pro