Huawei FreeBuds SE 4 VS JBL Sense Pro

Both the Huawei FreeBuds SE 4 and the JBL Sense Pro share the same fundamental design DNA: true wireless, in-ear fit with no neckband, no wingtips, no RGB lighting, and an IP54 rating that makes them sweat-resistant — suitable for workouts but not submersion. For everyday wearability and gym use, both clear the same baseline bar.

The single most significant differentiator in this group is weight. The FreeBuds SE 4 comes in at just 8.6 g, while the Sense Pro is notably heavier at 23.2 g — nearly 2.7 times heavier. In practice, this gap is substantial: lighter earbuds reduce listener fatigue during extended sessions, stay more securely in the ear canal under movement, and are far less noticeable during sleep or long commutes. The Sense Pro's weight suggests a larger driver housing or additional internal hardware, but regardless of the reason, it translates to a more physically present feel on the ear.

On design, the FreeBuds SE 4 holds a clear advantage due to its dramatically lower weight, which directly impacts comfort and wearability — especially during prolonged use or physical activity. All other design attributes in this group are identical between the two products.

The most consequential split in this group comes down to a fundamental trade-off: the FreeBuds SE 4 offers active noise cancellation (ANC), while the JBL Sense Pro does not. For commuters, office workers, or anyone in noisy environments, ANC is a game-changing feature — it electronically suppresses ambient sound rather than just physically blocking it. The Sense Pro relies solely on passive noise reduction, which is entirely dependent on how well the eartip seals the ear canal. In loud environments, that difference will be immediately felt.

Flipping the advantage, the Sense Pro counters with a significantly larger 16.2 mm driver versus the FreeBuds SE 4's 10 mm unit. Larger drivers generally move more air, which can translate to fuller bass response and a more spacious sound presentation. More notably, the Sense Pro extends its frequency response up to 40,000 Hz — double the FreeBuds SE 4's 20,000 Hz ceiling. While human hearing tops out around 20 kHz, that extended range is relevant for hi-res audio formats and can contribute to perceived airiness in the upper frequencies. The Sense Pro also supports spatial audio, adding a three-dimensional soundstage that the FreeBuds SE 4 cannot replicate.

This group has no single winner — it hinges on the user's priority. Those who value noise isolation in real-world environments will find the FreeBuds SE 4's ANC indispensable. Audiophiles and users who prioritize raw sound fidelity and immersive listening will lean toward the Sense Pro's larger driver, wider frequency range, and spatial audio support.

Raw battery endurance favors the FreeBuds SE 4 across the board. It delivers 10 hours of playback per charge versus the Sense Pro's 8 hours, and its case extends that total to 40 hours compared to the Sense Pro's 30 hours. That 10-hour gap in total system battery life is meaningful for frequent travelers or users who go multiple days without access to a power source — the FreeBuds SE 4 simply needs to be topped up less often.

Charge speed further widens the gap. The FreeBuds SE 4 refills in 1 hour, while the Sense Pro takes 2 hours — twice as long. In practice, a quicker charge cycle means less downtime and more flexibility when you're rushing out the door. The Sense Pro does recover one point with wireless charging support, which the FreeBuds SE 4 lacks entirely. For users who already have a Qi pad on their desk or nightstand, that convenience is genuinely useful and reduces cable dependency.

On balance, the FreeBuds SE 4 holds the stronger power profile — it lasts longer, charges faster, and offers more total case backup. The Sense Pro's wireless charging is a worthwhile convenience feature, but it does not offset the meaningful deficits in both playback endurance and charge speed.

Shared ground dominates this category — both earbuds are wireless-only, use USB-C for charging, top out at 10 m of Bluetooth range, and lack fast pairing, NFC, and every high-resolution codec variant including LDAC, aptX, and LE Audio. Neither product is positioned as a connectivity powerhouse, but the differences that do exist are worth unpacking.

The Sense Pro runs on Bluetooth 6.0 versus the FreeBuds SE 4's Bluetooth 5.4. The newer standard brings architectural improvements in connection stability and channel sounding, though real-world range remains identical at 10 m in this case. Meanwhile, the FreeBuds SE 4 supports AAC — a codec that delivers meaningfully better audio quality over Bluetooth compared to the baseline SBC standard, and one that Apple device users in particular will benefit from. The Sense Pro offers no AAC support, meaning it falls back to SBC regardless of the source device.

These two advantages pull in opposite directions, but the FreeBuds SE 4's AAC support is the more immediately impactful differentiator for most users — it directly affects audio quality in daily use. The Sense Pro's Bluetooth 6.0 is a forward-looking spec, but without corresponding codec or feature support to leverage it, its practical advantage over 5.4 remains limited in this context.

Across the features category, these two earbuds are remarkably well-matched. Fast charging, a find-device function, on-device controls, mute, voice prompts, headset capability, and an included travel bag — all present on both. For the vast majority of everyday use cases, neither product leaves the user wanting for a feature the other provides.

The single differentiator in this entire group is ambient sound mode, which the FreeBuds SE 4 supports and the Sense Pro does not. This feature uses the earbuds' microphones to pipe in environmental audio, letting users stay aware of their surroundings — traffic, announcements, conversations — without removing the earbuds. It's a particularly practical feature for commuters, runners on open roads, or anyone who needs situational awareness while listening. Its absence on the Sense Pro is notable, especially given that the FreeBuds SE 4 already carries ANC as flagged in the sound quality group, making it the more complete noise management package overall.

The FreeBuds SE 4 takes the edge here by virtue of that one meaningful omission from the Sense Pro's feature set. Ambient sound mode is not a niche extra — it's a daily-use convenience that directly affects safety and social usability. Everything else is a wash.

Both earbuds include noise-canceling microphones, meaning call quality benefits from active wind and background noise suppression on both sides. That baseline is the same. Where they diverge is microphone count: the FreeBuds SE 4 arrays 6 microphones across its two earbuds, while the Sense Pro uses 4.

Microphone count matters because more pickup points allow for more sophisticated beamforming and noise isolation algorithms. With 6 mics, the FreeBuds SE 4 has greater capacity to triangulate the direction of the user's voice, reject off-axis noise more aggressively, and maintain call clarity in challenging environments like busy streets or open offices. It is worth noting that mic count alone does not guarantee superior call quality — placement and signal processing are equally important — but given that both products share noise-canceling capability, the higher array count on the FreeBuds SE 4 represents a structural advantage in potential voice pickup accuracy.

The FreeBuds SE 4 has the edge in this group. With 50% more microphones and the same noise-canceling foundation, it is better equipped for demanding call environments where voice isolation is critical.