Is the Huawei FreeBuds Neo worth the upgrade from the Powerbeats Pro 2?
Verdict
Meaningful upgrade
The Huawei FreeBuds Neo scores 6.8 points above the Powerbeats Pro 2. That's a real improvement, though not the kind you'd notice on every track. The gains are concentrated in value (7.0 to 9.0). You do give up ground on battery (8.8 to 8.0). On paper: microphones 3 to 4. Worth checking: battery life (anc on) goes 8 h to 6.5 h and battery incl. case goes 45 h to 40 h. One caution: this steps down a line tier (Powerbeats Pro 2 to FreeBuds Neo), and base models usually trade away tier features - check the codec and ANC rows above before trusting the score gap alone. It's also $141 cheaper, which makes this an easy call. Worth doing if you're replacing anyway; harder to justify as a pure upgrade if what you have still works.
What actually changes
Sub-scores both products have, on the same 0-10 scale. Bars extend right for a gain, left for a loss.
- Sound7.98.0
- Noise cancelling8.28.0
- Battery8.88.0
- Calls8.38.0
- Value7.09.0
Spec differences
Only where the two genuinely differ - everything they share is omitted.
| Spec | Powerbeats Pro 2 | FreeBuds Neo | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Codecs | AAC | LDAC | |
| Water resistance | IPX4 | IP55 | |
| Battery life (ANC on) | 8 h | 6.5 h | |
| Battery incl. case | 45 h | 40 h | |
| Microphones | 3 | 4 | |
| Controls | both | touch | |
| Driver | 9.5 mm dynamic | dynamic | |
| Frequency response | 20 Hz - 20 kHz | 10 Hz - 48 kHz |
About this verdict
Direction matters here: this page answers "Powerbeats Pro 2 to FreeBuds Neo". The other direction is a separate question with a different answer. Scores blend published review verdicts across true wireless and shift as new reviews land, so a marginal call today may not be one next quarter.