Huawei X Gentle Monster review

The idea behind audio sunglasses is simple: when you’re out and about and don’t want to be bogged down by headphones, you can stream audio through sunglasses that have speakers built into them pointing towards your ears. This way you can enjoy ambient music or a podcast in your personal space while also being aware of your environment by not having your ears covered.

Last year Bose unveiled their audio sunglasses, Bose Frames, with a generic plastic design and AR features. Huawei has launched their own version this year, skipping out on AR and opting instead for call functionality in the hopes to double as Bluetooth headphones.

On the design front, Huawei’s taken a different route by partnering with a renowned fashion brand, Gentle Monster, to make their frames look more appealing. They’ve succeeded for the most part by seamlessly blending tech into a slick-looking pair of glasses. The question is - do they function well and are they good enough to replace your headphones?

Pricing and Availability

You can buy the Huawei X Gentle eyewear through Huawei’s official stores and selected retailers for AED 1,460. They come in two variants - a sporty Jackbye model with dark lenses, and a fashion variant dubbed Eastmoon with slightly rounder lenses and a lighter tint.

Compared to the Bose Frames, they cost almost twice as much for similar functionality, however Huawei’s eyewear carries a renowned fashion brand name and come with a charging case.

Another point to consider is that standard Gentle Monster sunglasses come in close to AED 1,000, so you're paying just a little bit extra to get this tech.

Design

Most smart or audio glasses have distinctly bulky components that give them away as wearable gadgets. The Huawei X Gentle Monster’s greatest triumph is they don’t look like a tech product at all. Built from high quality plastic with a glossy finish and metal accents around the hinges, these frames look like they would fit in nicely with Gentle Monster’s fashion eyewear range.

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They’re lightweight at just 46g, but not too light to feel cheap. They sit snugly on your face and if it weren’t for music blaring from below the frame temples, you’d think you’re wearing a normal pair of sunglasses. 

The temples are impressively thin considering they pack a speaker and mic. They’re much thinner and sleeker than the temples on the Bose Frames that are bulky with awkward hinges. On the Huawei X Gentle Monster, the temples connect to the plastic rims via a polished metal block, adding a little polish to the overall design.

The only dead giveaway to the Huawei X Gentle Monster’s tech origins is the bulky charging case they come with. Larger than your average sunglasses pouch, Huawei’s faux-leather case has a single flap that tucks on the front. There’s an outer pocket on the front as well to store small items like cards, cash or a short charging cable.

On the bottom, you’ll find a power indicator that shows the level of charge left in the case, a pairing button, and a USB-C port. Inside, there’s soft lining and a raised cushion with a tiny metal pin where the frames make contact for charging.

Audio Quality and Performance

The main selling point of the Huawei X Gentle Monster frames is that they double as Bluetooth headphones. Tiny dual speakers on each arm of the frame direct sound to your ear and for the most part sound good, though not as good as the Bose Frames. 

You don’t get a rich full sound from Huawei's eyewear, and while bass is non-existent, the overall result is punchy and crisp enough to make your tunes enjoyable. There’s also considerable sound leak from the Huawei X Gentle Monster, especially if you turn the volume past 60% where it will surely be heard by those in your immediate surrounding.

Background noise is also a concern, with ample noise seeping in to keep you from getting immersed in playback. The dual mics embedded in the frame’s arms have intelligent noise reduction and do all they can to reduce noise from the environment, though this mostly works better during phone calls.

Since there are no buttons on the frames, controls are limited to taps on the temple. Double tapping on the left temple pauses and resumes music. Doing the same on the opposite temple will answer or end calls. There’s no way to control volume or skip tracks, which is a shame. 

As far as call quality goes, the Huawei X Gentle Monster are surprisingly good. The mics carry clear audio to the person at the end of the call and the entire time we used these frames we never had trouble listening to whoever we were talking to. Just know that these leak sound and folks around you will probably get to listen on your calls without trying very hard.

 Much like the Bose Frames, Huawei’s eyewear has us wondering whether bone conduction tech might’ve worked better in delivering a richer sound experience and isolating surrounding noise. As it stands, they are nearly unusable in loud places, and even if you find a quieter place you risk disturbing others if you keep the volume high.

Battery Life

The battery life is acceptable for listening in short bursts, but if you’re in for a long commute or relaxing on the beach, you’ll eventually have to interrupt your listening session and place them in the charging case.

The Huawei X Gentle Monster can last a little over two hours on full charge, falling short of their claimed 2.5 hours. With the charging case you can add another potential six hours, but mileage will vary depending on usage. On days with several calls of varying duration, mixed in with music playback, the charging case added just four and a half hours.

Final Verdict

As far as fashionable smart wearables go, Huawei has hit the sweet spot in terms of design. The tech is indistinguishable and melts into the eyewear’s stylish form factor. But the glasses themselves aren’t smart as such, and with limited functionality they’re unlikely to replace your headphones. 

The audio quality is painfully mediocre, and if you crank up the volume, the resulting sound leaks are bound to attract annoyed looks from passersby. Answering calls without reaching for your phone or headphones is the only convenient feature that we found ourselves liking a lot. To that end, the mics on the Huawei X Gentle Monster are decent enough with ample clarity. Once they get voice assistant support, they can come in handy for accessibility related tasks.

Other than that, there aren’t many scenarios that they’re suitable for since they can’t be used in noisy areas like public transport or crowded streets. However, if you’re looking to use them in quiet areas or just looking for a fun tech device (and don’t mind the steep price tag), then these might be worth considering.