Is the Nothing Ear 3 worth the upgrade from the Huawei FreeBuds Pro 5?
Verdict
Downgrade
The Nothing Ear 3 actually scores 7.0 points below the Huawei FreeBuds Pro 5, so on aggregate review consensus this is a step backwards. The gains are concentrated in value (5.0 to 8.0), battery (6.0 to 8.0) and sound (7.0 to 8.0). On paper: battery life 9 h to 10 h, full charge time 90 min to 70 min and driver size 11 mm to 12 mm. Worth checking: codecs goes SBC, AAC, LDAC, L2HC 4.0 to SBC, AAC, LDAC and bluetooth goes 6.0 to 5.4. One caution: this steps down a line tier (FreeBuds Pro 5 to Ear 3), and base models usually trade away tier features - check the codec and ANC rows above before trusting the score gap alone. It is at least $79 cheaper, so the lower score comes with a saving. Only worth it if a specific feature above matters more to you than overall quality does.
What actually changes
Sub-scores both products have, on the same 0-10 scale. Bars extend right for a gain, left for a loss.
- Sound7.08.0
- Noise cancelling7.07.5
- Battery6.08.0
- Calls6.07.0
- Value5.08.0
Spec differences
Only where the two genuinely differ - everything they share is omitted.
| Spec | FreeBuds Pro 5 | Ear 3 | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Battery life | 9 h | 10 h | |
| Codecs | SBC, AAC, LDAC, L2HC 4.0 | SBC, AAC, LDAC | |
| Bluetooth | 6.0 | 5.4 | |
| Water resistance | IP57 | IP54 | |
| Full charge time | 90 min | 70 min | |
| Wireless range | 12 m | 10 m | |
| Driver size | 11 mm | 12 mm | |
| Drivers per side | 2 | 1 | |
| Case weight | 43 g | 71.4 g | |
| ANC type | adaptive | hybrid | |
| Quick charge | 3 min = ~1 h | 5 min = 10 h | |
| Driver | hybrid | dynamic | |
| Frequency response | 10 Hz - 48 kHz | 20 Hz - 40 kHz |
About this verdict
Direction matters here: this page answers "FreeBuds Pro 5 to Ear 3". 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.