EarFun has been a recent upstart that continues to produce great wireless audio devices. The AndroidGuys team has had to pleasure of reviewing several items from its portfolio over recent months. I’ve spent three weeks with the latest EarFun Free 2 earbuds and have come away impressed.
Design
The EarFun Free 2 aren’t going to floor anyone with the design. This is an iteration of the tried-and-true wireless earbud look and feel. You get a solid teardrop-shaped pod with a silicon tip to help secure and seal the headphones into the ear.
The exterior of each earpiece is a capacitive area that can be used for simple capacitive touch controls. You will also see the undertone EarFun logo on both. Otherwise, these earbuds are fairly toned down with a black finish paint job.
Internally, the EarFun Free 2 has all the latest wireless tech you’d expect. Qualcomm’s aptX chip is on board along with Bluetooth 5.2 and cVc noise cancellation for calls. Rounding out the spec sheet is IPX7 water and dust resistance making these earbuds ready for most environments.
Touch controls
As mentioned in the specs above, the EarFun Free 2 offers a few interactive controls via the touch-sensitive area on the outside portion of each earbud. Tapping once is the easiest to accomplish and will lower the volume on the left side and raise the volume on the right ear.
SEE ALSO: EarFun Air Pro review
A quick two taps will play or pause audio playback like music or podcasts. Alternatively, the same gestures will answer or end a phone call while synced to your phone.
Triples taps are next in the pecking order of EarFun Free 2 controls. This movement on the left side will move to the next track for media while the right sends you back to the previous song. The triplet gesture will also transfer you between calls if another contact buzzes in while already in conversation on a separate call.
You can also initiate a few options with a touch and hold of the EarFun Free 2. Holding either side for two seconds will reject an incoming caller you don’t have time for that day. While your phone isn’t ringing this two-second press and hold will activate your favorite voice assistant on the right earpiece.
The left side will turn low latency mode on and off. This mode increases the quality of Bluetooth connection while in close proximity to your phone. It’s not a huge difference but is noticeable.
I’ll also note that I’m not a fan of the triple touch options. The timing takes a real learning curve to get them down correctly. I almost never got it on the first two tries. Thankfully, this motion defaults to settings you will most likely use the least.
Audio
Playing media on the EarFun Free 2 has been great. Sound is rich and robust for music and punchy for playing back more subdued podcasts. These earbuds strike a good balance of bass, mids, and highs.
I never felt one or the other was drowning out the other audio. From heavy metal to classical, the EarFun Free 2 sounds good to my ears. I have no complaints about media playback.
Calls are also solid. I had no issues with hearing another while in a conversation. I did have one phone call that the other end said my voice sounded muffled but I honestly think that was an exception. My other ten or so instances of taking a phone call went well.
Battery life and charging
This is another net positive for me with the EarFun Free 2 earbuds. While others may be OK with under five hours of playback per charge, I find that below standard. In a work-from-home environment, I need at least seven hours and these headphones don’t disappoint.
I consistently have achieved the estimated seven hours of battery per charge on the EarFun Free 2. This gets me through a full workday with zero issues with taking a lunch break. Again, it’s my new standard for battery endurance, and EarFun nails it.
Better yet, when you do need a recharge you can get three more charges for up to 30 hours of playtime. Another plus for me? Wireless charging. It just needs to be the standard for these wireless devices.
Oh, and the case supports quick charge. You can get two quick hours of battery with just ten minutes in the power charger. It is worth noting that this is using USB-C pass-through with a wall outlet and not just the standalone case.
Conclusion
I have enjoyed my time with the EarFun Free 2 earbuds. For the money, you’d never have buyer’s remorse picking these wireless earbuds. You get a good mix of mid to premium features for much less than some of the top-tier brands.
Speaking of pricing… the EarFun Free 2 are available in black for just $50 on Amazon. And if you pull the trigger to purchase at the time of this publishing, you can knock off another 10% from the retail cost.
