arkivoAPI

Earbuds / Compare

Huawei FreeBuds Pro 5 vs Nothing Ear (3a)

66 of 157 fields differ

Download CSVDownload JSON
  • 34 different values
  • 32 known for one only
  • 27 the same
  • 64 missing for both

Biggest differences

Each bar uses the scale of all 138 earbuds.

  1. Battery lifeA: 9hB: 10hNothing is 1 h higher.

Size, drawn to scale

Front and side.

Weight

0 to 80 g

Weight per bud
A5.5g
B4.53g
Case weight
A43g
B40.92g

All 166 fields

Every value links to where we found it.

AHuawei FreeBuds Pro 5
BNothing Ear (3a)

General

5 of 8 differ
GTIN / EAN
Not available
Not available
Announced
Not available
Not available
Successor
Not available
Not available
Launch price (US)
Not available

Design

1 of 4 differ
Form factor
RGB lighting
Not available
Not available

Drivers and sound

11 of 17 differ
Driver size
11mm
12mm
Drivers per bud
2
Not available
Sensitivity
Not available
Not available
Sensitivity reference
Not available
Not available
Max bit depth
Not available
Adaptive EQ
Not available
Not available
Personalised sound
Not available
Not available
Onboard EQ
Not available
Not available
Volume limit
Not available
Not available

Spatial audio

2 of 2 differ

Noise cancelling

3 of 11 differ
ANC type
Not available
Not available
ANC microphones in both earbuds
Not available
Not available
ANC levels
Not available
Adjustable transparency
Not available
Not available
Automatic ANC and transparency blend
Not available
Not available

Measured

5 of 23 differ
Frequency response notes (measured)
Not available
Bass amount (measured)
Not available
Not available
Treble amount (measured)
Not available
Not available
Deviation from target (measured)
Not available
Not available
Consistency between fittings (measured)
Not available
Not available
Sound leakage (measured)
Not available
Not available
Noise isolation (measured)
Not available
Not available
Noise isolation, best (measured)
Not available
Not available
Passive isolation (measured)
Not available
Not available
Call quality notes (measured)
Vocals were clear without added distortion in ideal conditions. In a loud office or on the street the microphones struggled to block background noise.6Measurementsoundguys.com/huawei-freebuds-pro-5-review-154929Read 14 October 2026Reviewer ideal, office, street, wind and reverberant tests. Phone and codec are not reported. No numeric microphone value is stored.
Not available
Mic low-frequency extension (measured)
Not available
Not available
Mic high-frequency extension (measured)
Not available
Not available
Mic speech-to-noise ratio (measured)
Not available
Not available
Latency (measured)
Not available
Not available
Bluetooth latency, worst (measured)
Not available
Not available
2.4 GHz latency, worst (measured)
Not available
Not available
Latency in game mode (measured)
Not available
Not available
Longest tested use per charge
9.13h
10h
Battery life with case (measured)
Not available
Not available
Full charge time (measured)
Not available
Not available
Weight per bud (measured)
Not available
Not available

Microphones and calls

1 of 7 differ
Bone conduction voice sensor
Not available
Call audio bandwidth
Not available
Not available
Mic mute control
Not available
Not available
Sidetone
Not available
Not available

Connectivity

5 of 18 differ
Chip
Not available
Not available
Bluetooth profiles
Not available
Not available
Auracast
Not available
Not available
Multipoint with LDAC
Not available
Not available
Automatic switching between own devices
Not available
Not available
Fast pairing
Not available
Audio sharing
Not available
Not available
Wireless receiver
Not available
Not available
Receiver connector
Not available
Not available
Simultaneous 2.4 GHz and Bluetooth audio
Not available
Not available

Latency

1 of 3 differ
Claimed latency
Not available
Not available
Lowest claimed latency
Not available
Not available

Compatibility

2 of 4 differ
Connection per platform
BNothing Ear (3a)
Not available
Features that need a specific device
AHuawei FreeBuds Pro 5
FeatureNeeds
Lossless audio (L2HC 4.0, up to 2.3 Mbps)Needs a Huawei phone. The global page names the Mate X7 on EMUI 15 or later. The German store names the Pura 80 series and the Mate X6 and X7 series on EMUI 15 or later. It needs an OTA update and reduces battery life.
Proximity pairingHuawei phone running EMUI 10 or later.
Unlimited Spatial AudioOff by default. Update the earbud firmware and turn it on in the HUAWEI Audio Connect app. Modes are Off, Fixed and Head Tracking.
Adaptive Volume and Conversation AwarenessOff by default. Turn them on in the HUAWEI Audio Connect app.
Head gesture call controlOff by default. Works during cellular calls. Nod to answer and shake the head to reject.
BNothing Ear (3a)
FeatureNeeds
LDAC playbackCompatible Android source with LDAC enabled. The maker lists Android 8.0 or later and iOS 13 or later for device compatibility. iOS uses AAC rather than LDAC.
Audio SnapshotNothing X account. Capture up to one minute of source-phone audio, optionally including the preceding 30 seconds. Snapshot stops automatically at the selected duration. Pre-recording increases power use. Recorded audio syncs to Nothing X on Android or iOS.
Call RecordingNothing X account and a supported region, including the United States. Disabled by default until enabled after the app region check. Record up to two hours of calls or online meetings, with an audible notification.
Cloud Pro transcriptionInternet connection and Nothing X account. Current maker offer includes 120 minutes monthly for the first three months. Continuing cloud Pro access requires a subscription. Exact pricing is only shown in the app.
Essential Space integrationSelect Nothing devices with an Essential Key and current software. Ordinary recording does not universally require a Nothing phone.
Low Lag ModeGame Mode on a compatible Nothing phone, or enable through Nothing X. Under-120-ms support wording differs from an as-low-as-120-ms product disclaimer, so no exact latency is stored.
Basic local transcriptionBasic local transcription is free, separate from the cloud Pro subscription. The recording features still require a Nothing X account.
Source12Press releasenothing.community/d/59486-ear-3a-available-nowRead 8 October 2026Original current product Specs and Disclaimer sections 9 to 14 give recording-account, regional, trial, subscription and Essential Key conditions. Exact current call-recording support confirms United States in the supported list. Recording feature availability is not extended to unlisted regions. No future feature rollout or unlisted subscription price is invented.16Measurementnotebookcheck.net/High-quality-in-ear-headphones-at-a-fair-price-Nothing-Ear-3a-review.1411007.0.htmlRead 8 October 2026September 29 review of firmware 1.0.1.65 explicitly confirms free basic local transcription, distinct from the cloud Pro service. Account requirement comes from the current maker recording disclaimer.17Maker product pageus.nothing.tech/products/ear-3aRead 8 October 2026Exact current product Disclaimer gives account, supported-region and paid-cloud-service limitations. The United States is explicitly supported for call recording. Essential Space requires eligible Nothing hardware, while the ordinary recording app supports Android and iOS.18Maker product pagesupport.nothing.tech/hc/en-us/articles/48012760112145-Why-can-t-I-use-Call-RecordingRead 8 October 2026Exact current maker region list includes the United States. Unlisted regions are not assumed to support Call Recording.20Maker product pagesupport.nothing.tech/hc/en-us/categories/47340233372561-Nothing-Ear-3aRead 8 October 2026The model-specific How-to section explicitly describes automatic Snapshot completion at the configured duration, with no need to end it manually.
Official licence
Not available
Not available

Battery and charging

11 of 13 differ
Claimed battery life
Longest claimed use per charge
9h
10h
Playback per charge with ANC (claimed)
6h
6h
Playback per charge without ANC (claimed)
9h
10h
Total with case (claimed)
38h
42h
Total with case and ANC (claimed)
25h
25h
Talk time (claimed)
5h
6h
Full charge time, buds
Not available
Charging guidance
Wired charging needs a USB-C charger of 5 V 0.5 A or above. The case takes about 150 minutes without the earbuds on a wireless charger. Wireless charging is supported up to 5 W.2Maker product pageconsumer.huawei.com/en/headphones/freebuds-pro-5/specsRead 14 October 2026Charge time and charger lines of the Battery section.
The maker gives an unspecified-component USB-C full-charge estimate of 70 minutes and recommends a 5 V / 1 A or higher adapter. Five minutes in the case is claimed to provide one hour of earbud playback with ANC off. The specifications separately give ten minutes for ten hours including case recharges. A marketing footnote instead describes ten hours from the earbuds after ten minutes, so that component scope is unresolved. The original B190 safety booklet specifies a charger output range of 2.5 to 5 W. These are maker estimates and guidance, without an earbud-only or case-only full-charge time.2Maker product pageus.nothing.tech/products/ear-3aRead 8 October 2026Current Specs Charging table says Type-C wired charging-to-full time 70 minutes without a separate component label. Disclaimer says Ear (3a) 0 to 100 percent when the case is connected, with Nothing Power 45 W at 25 C. The test adapter rating is not device input power. Dedicated fast-charge support confirms 5 min / 1 h earbuds-only and 10 min / 10 h buds plus case. A conflicting 10-minute full-earbud implication in the marketing footnote and reviewer paraphrase is preserved here without assigning a numeric full-bud time.
Quick charge time
Not available

Charging case

5 of 10 differ
Case full charge time
Not available
Wireless standards
Not available
Not available
Wireless charging power
Not available
Speaker in case
Not available
Not available
Screen on case
Not available
Not available
Case works as audio transmitter
Not available
Not available

Controls

4 of 5 differ
Gestures
Tap twice: play or pause, answer or end a call, Tap three times: previous track on the left earbud, next track on the right earbud, Swipe up or down: volume up or down, Pinch once: play or pause, answer or end a call, Pinch twice: next track or reject an incoming call, Pinch three times: previous track, Pinch and hold: switch between noise cancelling, awareness and off, Touch and hold: wake the voice assistant, Nod to answer a call or shake the head to reject it2Maker product pageconsumer.huawei.com/en/headphones/freebuds-pro-5/specsRead 14 October 2026Controls section: double-tap, triple-tap, swipe, pinch and hold, pinch once, twice and three times, press and hold. The German store FAQ gives the default action of each gesture.3Maker product pageconsumer.huawei.com/de/headphones/freebuds-pro-5/buyRead 14 October 2026FAQ default gestures: tap twice for play or pause and calls, tap three times for previous on the left earbud and next on the right, pinch and hold for noise control modes, touch and hold for the voice assistant, swipe for volume. Pinch once, twice and three times as listed. Head gestures are off by default.

Sensors and health

1 of 9 differ
Heart rate sensor
Not available
Not available
Skin temperature sensing
Not available
Not available
Hearing aid feature
Not available
Not available
Medical clearances
Not available
Not available
Hearing test
Not available
Not available
Hearing protection
Not available
Not available
Health features
Not available
Not available

Fit and durability

2 of 7 differ
Stabilisers
Not available
Not available
Water resistance depth
Not available
Not available

Software

1 of 6 differ
Finding network
Not available
Not available
Precision finding
Not available
Not available
Live translation
Not available
Not available

Dimensions and weight

4 of 4 differ
Bud dimensions

Certifications

1 of 3 differ
Communication certifications
Not available
Not available

In the box

1 of 2 differ
Cables included
Not available
Not available

Warranty

None of 1 known
Manufacturer warranty (source market)
Not available
Not available

Both are also in the API. Back to all earbuds.