LG TONE FREE FP9 REVIEW

Previously we reviewed LG TONE FREE FN7 and today we have its next version with a more refined design. As like FN&, FP9 also has UV technology to keep your earbuds free from germs, claimed to kill 99.9% of Bacteria. With the UVnano, the earbuds can be cleaned in just five minutes when you put it in the case to charge. Moreover, the earbuds have comfortable, medical-grade ear gels made from non-toxic, hypoallergenic silicone that allows you to have fewer worries about all-day use.

Build quality

The TONE Free FP9 comes with a compact and sleek case which can easily slip into your pocket. It has a small circular design, with a premium matte black colour scheme. The light case holds a pair of earbuds that have matching colours and a glossy silver black finish. The Tone Fre FP9 comes with an additional Ganesha case to add beauty on top of the charging case. The case has magnetic placement to hold buds in place. Beneath you can see a UV light which briefly shines and keep the buds bacteria-free.

Plucking the buds out and putting them back is quite easy. You can find a button on the side of the case that let you switch from wireless to semi-wireless function. This means you can wirelessly connect to devices without Bluetooth. You need to simply use the USB to 3.5 mm jack cable, sent along with FP9, and insert the USB to the case and 3,5 mm jack to the device. The case will work as the hotspot for your earbuds and you can have a wireless experience.

The LED lights on the front, indicate battery level, where red means less than 20 per cent, yellow indicates between 20 to 80 per cent and green means means above 80 per cent.

The earbuds have a Concha-Shaped in-ear design and include a single pair of replaceable silicone ear tips. It fits perfectly in my ears, so while listening to the music or talking to someone while walking there was no issue, even you can jog comfortably with these earbuds. There was no discomfort while wearing them for hours. The earbuds have IPX4 certification meaning they are protected against sweat and some water spills.

Features

The TONE Free comes with touch sensors which let you control all the basic functionalities of the earbuds. Both buds have different touch functions – a single tap on either earbud will play/pause the music or answer the call. When you touch twice it will end the call or can control volume. When you touch for three time you can play the next song and a long press lets you switch modes. The best part of these buds is wear detection allows earbuds to automatically pause music when removed and when you wear again, it resumes the music.

The LG TWS earbuds come with ANC and it works fairly well. It seals the external noise plus the external microphones enhance the experience by muting incoming noise. You can customize Ambient Mode to your situation, so you're fully aware of your surroundings and can use chat mode to have a quick conversations without taking out your earbuds.

UVnano

LG earbuds come with UVnano functionality which is claimed to disinfect your earbuds in 10 minutes using UV lights. The company claims a 99.9 per cent removal of germs, I don’t have any medical equipment to verify the same, however different studies about UV disinfection says it can kill germs and reduces infection.

This function works when you plug the buds in the case for charging. One thing to keep in mind that it can disinfect the buds but there is no claim or mention of the effectiveness against Coronavirus. Though, surely it will reduce the risk of COVID.

The app

LG has developed a dedicated app for the LG TONE Free. The app lets you access more functionalities of the TWS earbuds. It has a very user-friendly interface and instantly detects when the TONE FP9 is removed from the case. You can check the battery percentage of the earbuds and find user instructions.

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The app lets you customize your listening experience, you can use equalizer options which have been custom made via the collaboration with Meridian, a renowned British brand.

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You get options to toggle between ANC and Ambient Sound modes, a touchpad lock to prevent accidental touches, customization of the touchpad as well as a toggle to read out your phone’s notifications. In case you are unable to find your earbuds, then you can use Find my earbuds feature which will play “loud chirping sounds” to locate lost earbuds.

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Performance

The premium earbuds come with dynamic drivers combined with Meridian’s audio. It produces a fairly balanced and rich sound. It handled the lows, mids and highs perfectly. While listening to heavy bass songs, the amount of bass it produces is really commendable, however, can disappoint the Hip-hop enthusiasts. Overall it delivers great sound and vocal at different volumes. I played songs of various genres in different file formats like FLAC, mp3, ALAC, and WAV. Therefore, we can say, TONE Free earbuds produce detailed and crisp vocals.

While using them to take calls, the TONE FP9 was excellent. The three mics work really well to block unwanted noise. Even in a crowded place, my voice sounded crisp to the person at the other end. The earbuds support the SBC and AAC enhancing the connectivity between the two earbuds and with the phone.

The LG TONE FP9 has 390 mAh cell inside the case while each earbud has 68 mAh batteries. The earbuds can go beyond 3 hours of battery life in one charge, when on full volume. With moderate usage, this can last for more than 4 hours. The charging case can give it juice for three times of usage, meaning it can stand for over 15+ hours. The case takes more than two hours to charge fully from 0-100 per cent.