LG TONE Free FN7 - Profile
LG comprises four business units: Home Entertainment, Mobile Communications, Home Appliances & Air Solutions and Vehicle Components. Under Air Solution, LG has been one of the leaders in the commercial air solution which includes heavy industries purification system to commercial setup for hotels and more. LG also has an Air Solution system for the consumer which is from split Air conditioners, window AC, indoor air conditioner and Air Purifiers.
Last year with the COVID epidemic across the globe, the LG research team created personal protection LG Puricare wearable mask which came with HEPA Filter with dual batteries fans with a breath sensor.
Click here to see the LG PuriCarer Wearable mask video and detail
In march 17th 2021, LG introduced the LG TONE Free FN7 headphones which came with technology from British audio specialist Meridian Audio and an ultraviolet cleaning system for a cleaner, safer and better acoustic experience.
I have received the LG TONE Free FN7 Modern White colour for review and I have tested the device for more than 3 weeks.
The Review
Body & Styling
LG TONE Free FN7 is earbud-style which has a built-in wireless non-removable battery that can work for 7 hours of playtime on a single charge. The charging case is also white in the colour piano finish with UVnano technology to clean the earbuds when placed in the case and connected to the power socket. The earbuds come with a dimension of 0.64″ x 1.29″ x 1.05″, weighing 5.66grams each and charging case comes with dimension of 2.15″ x 2.15″ x 1.08″, weighing 39.12 grams. There 2 options of colour available: – Modern White and Stylish Black
Connectivity & Battery Life
The LG TONE Free FN7 use Bluetooth 5.0 for connection. The pairing with the smartphone was quite fast as soon I had opened the package near my phone I got an indication on my phone to pair and in few steps, the device was connected to my phone and also was promoted to download the LG TONEFree app to download from the Google PlayStore as I am using an Android phone.
The device earbuds can work for 7 hours or sometimes more depends on the continuous usage with ANC OFF and you will get less playtime like 5 hours with ANC-ON. The recharging of the earbuds from the charging case on a single charge is around 14 -20 hours (I was testing the earbuds in between with ANC ON/OFF). It comes with a 55mAh battery built-in.
Using with LG TONEFree App
As soon you connect the 1st time with your phone, it is suggesting to download the LG TONEFree App from Google PlayStore for Android and AppStore for IOS devices. You can use the LG TONEFree App to update your LG TONE Free FN7 firmware. There preset modes setting like ‘Natural’ for a clean, balanced sound, ‘Immersive’ for a more three-dimensional performance, ‘Bass Boost’ for extra power and depth, and ‘Treble Boost’ to bring greater clarity to vocals and you can also have two customized equalizer setting
You can also customize the function of the touchpad setting via the app and make your own personalized setting. The app also indicates the LG TONE Free FN7 battery level and has a user manual for your reference.
On the App, it also had a function to find your earbuds which shows your earbuds on a google map.
LG TONE Free FN7 Charging Case
The charging case is a white shiny piano finish with the word TONE printed in light grey. It has a built-in 390mAh battery. The small and compact round shape unit comes with 2 LED charging and a battery indicator in front and a USB Type C charging pin on the back. The case is light weighing 39.12 grams and feels ergonomically comfortable in the pocket and feels very solid premium quality.
When you open the case, place your earbuds, you get a beautiful blue light surrounding the earbuds. When you plug in the earbuds in the case, LG says it will disinfectant the earbuds especially the ear tips with the UV light which is present in the charging case. As per the app, you have picked the earbuds placed in the case and have the charging case plugged in a power socket to activate this process, it takes around 10mins to clean by eliminating 99.9% of E. coli and S. aureus bacteria on the earbuds’ inner mesh.
Audio
Earbuds speaker unit
The LG TONE Free FN7 comes with 6 mm dynamic drivers with built-in 3-mic with Active Noise Cancellation. The LG TONE Free FN7 has a touch control feature on the earbud which can be physically felt by a little bump on each of the earbuds.
The sensors are very sensitive and sometimes you could accidentally pause the music by touch the sensor. The sensors are present on both the earbuds and also has a proximity sensor by which if you remove one earbud away from the ear the music pauses.
The proximity sensor has a good and a negative reason too.
For example- If you want to talk to someone you can pause the music by touching the sensor or remove one of the earbuds. And also could be a negative issue, as many people for conversation may like to use only one earbud instead of using both the earbuds, this is not possible.
You can active the ANC (Active Noise Cancellation) or ambient function by pressing any of the earbuds via long press. Also, you can control the music and answer phone calls with series of touch of the sensor on both the earbuds.
The earbuds come with a total of 3 different sizes of ear tips to fit as per the user’s ear size. The earbuds are made of hypoallergenic silicone get snuggled and gripped in the cavum concha part of the ear.
LG TONE Free FN7 for Exercise and sports
I would recommend time to time remove any earbuds for few seconds from your ear during your exercise and sport activity.
The most important mistake done by people when they use earbuds while doing a strenuous workout is that they block the eardrums by inserting the earbuds tightly in the ear. This way you are blocking the airflow which is required to keep your balance and also a high level of sound.
Read in detail – Dizziness and Balance
When you place the LG TONE Free FN7 earbuds into the ear, it somewhat covers the ear canal. So my suggestion, remove the earbuds from time to time for long workout movements. If you are sitting at home or regular usage, then there is no need to remove it. Also, the device is IPX4 certified which is water and sweat resistant, capable of handling an unexpected splash or during the workout.
Audio Quality
The LG TONE Free FN7 earbuds were tested for hours on different genres of music from Country, Jazz, Rock, R&B, Soul, Metal, Lounge, techno, House, Hindi Classical and Hindi Bollywood. The test was done with the Hi-res quality 24bit 96kHz and 320kps Mp3 music and also watched multiple movies.
As I am quite picky about music and devices as I am also an audiophile listener. I made sure I tested for hours while working on my articles as I am doing right now using the device while writing this review too.
The audio quality of the device is good but not excellent as I had higher expectation with the technology tie-up with technology from British audio specialist Meridian Audio. My expectation was to get the full range of the audio spectrum but missed out on the high rumbles and individual frequencies of high trebles. While testing with my regular audio test sound some places missed the thump and someplace missed out on the openness of high frequencies cymbals.
Overall, it is good audio earbuds but left me wanting for more clarity and better especially for the price.
When I put the earbuds to ANC mode, I was isolated from my surrounding at home and I did get the opportunity to try it out in a real-world environment, I used the earbuds while travelling on the RTA bus, my journey was around 1 hour and it was a good experience and even tried the presets from application and made a difference.
(Please note: While testing headphones and earphones, I switch off all effects, equalizer setting to flat on the earphone device and also switch off the source- the music app effects. So get the real audio quality and sound as the recorded originally,)
For call testing, I used Google hangout and the vocal was clear both ways listening and speaking was clear. It may be more effective while using it in a noisy environment.
Price and Availability
The LG TONEFree FN7 earbuds launch price was AED799 and come in 2 colours available: – Stylish Black and modern white. It is available on leading retails stores and e-commerce site and major retail outlets.
Conclusion
The LG TONEFree FN7 is recommended for music listener who is also concern about cleaner bacteria-free earbuds with UV cleaning. With a maximum of 7hours of playtime on a single charge and less than 60mins of charging and also fast charging for 5mins and you will get 1hour of playtime.
The sound is good but missing out on the high frequencies and low rubbles. But while using Google Hangout, the hearing vocal was clear but the person hearing my voice hears with little less treble but the voice is clear. The device is IPX4 certified which is water and sweat resistant, capable of handling an unexpected splash or during the workout. Suggestion for strenuous workout time to time removes the earbuds to avoiding hampering the airflow to your ears and you can stop the Bluetooth connection and stop the music by just by removing the earbuds as it has a proximity sensor. It stylish, light and comfortable earbuds with a small comfortable round charging case with an ultraviolet cleaning system for a cleaner, safer and better acoustic experience.
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