Yesterday evening I flew a 17m Freeride 2 and a 17m Awak 3 back to back and here's what I experienced.
The Freeride 2 is way faster. Up until this point, I had thought the Awak 3 was fast and then the Freeride 2 just blasted past. These were by no means official tests but both pilots weighed about the same. "Unofficial" speed tests will be taken here soon.
The Awak 3 has a MUCH lighter brake range. The Awak 3 brakes are nearly effortless to pull and the Freeride 2 has heavy brakes. After about 20 minutes on the Freeride 2, my arms were tired whereas on the Awak 3, they were not.
Didn't realize how much I love tip-steering until I flew the Awak 3 (which doesn't have tip-steering) and the Freeride 2 (which does) back to back. There is definitely a difference in turns and maneuvers with tip steering and without it.
The Awak 3 feels like it carries energy a little bit better but all maneuvers are much slower. The wingovers are huge and slow which I find very fun. The Freeride 2 wingovers are faster and more aggressive.
I love them both for their own reasons and am not claiming any of this information to be a "fact" or "accurate" but Instead just stating my opinion. Take it for what it is.