LG offers a wide range of audio products in India and one such unique product of the company is its Tone Free FP9 true wireless earbuds. This latest pair of earbuds come with UVnano technology which promises to kill 99.9% of germs and bacteria on the device. Along with this, the earbuds also promise to offer an impressive audio experience. We used these unique and stylish-looking earbuds for time and here’s our complete review.
Design
LG Tone Free FP9 is one of the most ergonomically designed earbuds available on the market. The true wireless earbuds come in a round-shaped charging case and can be carried easily in the handbag or pocket. The earbuds are available in two colour options -- Charcoal Black and Pearl White. We got the Pearl White unit for review. The charging case offers a smooth finish and its matte finish keeps fingerprints at bay. The case is quite light in weight and it can be easily opened using one hand. The left side of the charging case houses a small toggle plug and wireless mode switch, while the back has the USB Type-C charging port. The front of the charging case has the battery status indicator and below it is a small indicator for UVnano. The charging case also comes with strong magnets which keep the earbuds in place and also prevent them from falling down.
As soon as you open the case, you will see a glowing blue light. This is the ultraviolet light that promises to eliminate 99.9 per cent of germs and bacteria present in the earbuds. This function only works when the device is connected to the charger and it takes 5 minutes to perform this task. It is definitely an interesting feature on paper, but we were not able to test how well it sanitised the earbuds.
Coming to the earbuds, LG has collaborated with a leading ergonomic design technology lab and has claimed to analyze hundreds of subjects' ears before finalizing the design of the LG Tone Free FP9. The true wireless earbuds come with an in-Arc Design and stem 4.4mm shorter as compared to its previous models. The top part of the stem houses the touch panel. The company is also offering medical-grade ear tips with the device. These ear tips are made from non-toxic, hypoallergenic silicone. The earbuds are light in weight and you can easily wear them for long hours without feeling any fatigue. LG Tone Free FP9 comes with an IPX4 rating which makes the earbuds water-resistant and also your partner to the gym. LG Tone Free FP9 is a nice-looking pair of earbuds available in the overcrowded hearable market.
Features and performance
LG Tone Free FP9 supports Bluetooth 5.2 and AAC code. The earbuds promise to offer a connection range of 10 meters. In order to pair the earbuds to your smartphone, you will have to keep the earbuds in the charging case and open the cover. Now you have to press and hold the touch-sensitive area on the left and right earbud for up to 5 seconds and the battery indicator blinks in blue to enter pairing mode. The earbuds also come with Google Fast Pairing support so if your smartphone supports the functionality then the earbuds can be connected by simply opening the charging case. We tested the earbuds with the OnePlus 10 Pro 5G and we never faced any issue with the pairing.
The earbuds offer multiple touch controls -- you can touch them once to answer a call and play or pause the music. You can decrease the volume by touching the left earbud twice. The volume can be increased by touching the right earbud twice.
You can skip to the next song by touching the left earbud three times. Lastly, you can long-press to activate noise cancellation and ambient sound mode. These are the default settings, but you can also customize the touch settings as per your liking using the LG Tone Free companion app. The app is available on both Android and iOS operating systems. The LG Tone Free app also allows you to enable the gaming mode from the Tone Free Lab. The earbuds also offer a whispering mode that offers greater privacy and clarity to users during calls. The mode allows users to hold the right earbud to their mouths as a dedicated microphone for answering and making calls.
Apart from this, the LG Tone Free FP9 also offers an interesting and useful feature -- External device connection mode. The true wireless earbuds offer a plug and wireless mode that enable users to connect the headset to a device that does not have Bluetooth connectivity like a radio or desktop computer or an in-flight entertainment system. To activate the mode, you will have to push the Plug and Wireless Mode switch present on the charging case. Now you will have to connect the USB Type C cable to the charging case and connect the other end of the AUX cable to the headphone jack and then you can start listening to the sound using your LG earbuds. The feature works fine but the volume levels are not that high.
The LG Tone Free FP9 features an 8mm custom-built driver unit. The company has collaborated with Meridian Audio for the tuning of the driver. The LG Tone Free FP9 offers pretty good audio quality. You can clearly hear the vocals and instruments. For a better sound experience, we would recommend you to download the LG Tone Free app.
The app offers multiple settings such as Immersive, Natural, Bass Boost, Treble Boost, and 3D Sound Stage. These settings enhance the sound out of the earbuds. You can also customise the equalizer settings using the app for better audio performance. The earbuds only have AAC support and the low-latency gaming mode will be liked by the gamers out there.
The LG Tone Free FP9 manages to offer quite decent noise isolation and the triple microphones embedded in the device ensure proper voice clarity during calls. The earbuds also work well in reducing the background noise to some level when you are using them in a crowded place. As mentioned earlier, LG Tone Free FP9 comes with active noise cancellation support. The earbuds do offer active noise cancellation but the level of noise cancellation was not that great. Earbuds from Apple and Samsung offer much better performance in this department.
Battery
LG Tone Free FP9 performs well in terms of battery backup. The earbuds manage to offer up to 8 hours of music playback in a single charge with ANC off. The battery life is reduced by 2 hours when we use the earbuds with ANC on. The earbuds also offer different colour indicators when informing the users about the battery left. The green light indicates more than 80% battery, while the yellow light indicates 20 to 80%. The red indicator means that the light is below 20%. You can also use the companion app to know the battery level of the earbuds.
Verdict
LG Tone Free FP9 comes with a price tag of Rs 21,990. The premium true wireless earbuds offer a fresh and lightweight design. The device also comes with ANC and offers good audio performance and clear call quality. The earbuds, however, lack support for wireless charging which is available in its competing earbuds. If you are a fan of LG products then you can consider going for the earbuds.
Design
LG Tone Free FP9 is one of the most ergonomically designed earbuds available on the market. The true wireless earbuds come in a round-shaped charging case and can be carried easily in the handbag or pocket. The earbuds are available in two colour options -- Charcoal Black and Pearl White. We got the Pearl White unit for review. The charging case offers a smooth finish and its matte finish keeps fingerprints at bay. The case is quite light in weight and it can be easily opened using one hand. The left side of the charging case houses a small toggle plug and wireless mode switch, while the back has the USB Type-C charging port. The front of the charging case has the battery status indicator and below it is a small indicator for UVnano. The charging case also comes with strong magnets which keep the earbuds in place and also prevent them from falling down.
Coming to the earbuds, LG has collaborated with a leading ergonomic design technology lab and has claimed to analyze hundreds of subjects' ears before finalizing the design of the LG Tone Free FP9. The true wireless earbuds come with an in-Arc Design and stem 4.4mm shorter as compared to its previous models. The top part of the stem houses the touch panel. The company is also offering medical-grade ear tips with the device. These ear tips are made from non-toxic, hypoallergenic silicone. The earbuds are light in weight and you can easily wear them for long hours without feeling any fatigue. LG Tone Free FP9 comes with an IPX4 rating which makes the earbuds water-resistant and also your partner to the gym. LG Tone Free FP9 is a nice-looking pair of earbuds available in the overcrowded hearable market.
Features and performance
LG Tone Free FP9 supports Bluetooth 5.2 and AAC code. The earbuds promise to offer a connection range of 10 meters. In order to pair the earbuds to your smartphone, you will have to keep the earbuds in the charging case and open the cover. Now you have to press and hold the touch-sensitive area on the left and right earbud for up to 5 seconds and the battery indicator blinks in blue to enter pairing mode. The earbuds also come with Google Fast Pairing support so if your smartphone supports the functionality then the earbuds can be connected by simply opening the charging case. We tested the earbuds with the OnePlus 10 Pro 5G and we never faced any issue with the pairing.
The earbuds offer multiple touch controls -- you can touch them once to answer a call and play or pause the music. You can decrease the volume by touching the left earbud twice. The volume can be increased by touching the right earbud twice.
Apart from this, the LG Tone Free FP9 also offers an interesting and useful feature -- External device connection mode. The true wireless earbuds offer a plug and wireless mode that enable users to connect the headset to a device that does not have Bluetooth connectivity like a radio or desktop computer or an in-flight entertainment system. To activate the mode, you will have to push the Plug and Wireless Mode switch present on the charging case. Now you will have to connect the USB Type C cable to the charging case and connect the other end of the AUX cable to the headphone jack and then you can start listening to the sound using your LG earbuds. The feature works fine but the volume levels are not that high.
The app offers multiple settings such as Immersive, Natural, Bass Boost, Treble Boost, and 3D Sound Stage. These settings enhance the sound out of the earbuds. You can also customise the equalizer settings using the app for better audio performance. The earbuds only have AAC support and the low-latency gaming mode will be liked by the gamers out there.
The LG Tone Free FP9 manages to offer quite decent noise isolation and the triple microphones embedded in the device ensure proper voice clarity during calls. The earbuds also work well in reducing the background noise to some level when you are using them in a crowded place. As mentioned earlier, LG Tone Free FP9 comes with active noise cancellation support. The earbuds do offer active noise cancellation but the level of noise cancellation was not that great. Earbuds from Apple and Samsung offer much better performance in this department.
Battery
LG Tone Free FP9 performs well in terms of battery backup. The earbuds manage to offer up to 8 hours of music playback in a single charge with ANC off. The battery life is reduced by 2 hours when we use the earbuds with ANC on. The earbuds also offer different colour indicators when informing the users about the battery left. The green light indicates more than 80% battery, while the yellow light indicates 20 to 80%. The red indicator means that the light is below 20%. You can also use the companion app to know the battery level of the earbuds.
Verdict
LG Tone Free FP9 comes with a price tag of Rs 21,990. The premium true wireless earbuds offer a fresh and lightweight design. The device also comes with ANC and offers good audio performance and clear call quality. The earbuds, however, lack support for wireless charging which is available in its competing earbuds. If you are a fan of LG products then you can consider going for the earbuds.