TWS market in India weighs heavier in the budget segment. Where people are looking to buy the best TWS under 2000 to 5000 rupee range. But I’m aware of the audiophiles out there in the country who are always looking to try out new experiences, money not being a bar. Now if you count yourself among this list or know someone who will, then you must read this review to know why LG Tone Free FP9 are the next best TWS earbuds to buy in India under Rs 20,000.
Without further ado, let’s jump into this full review of LG’s latest TWS Earbuds in India.
Design and Comfort
Sporting a similar design as its predecessor, starting with a charging cradle, the new generation of LG Earbuds comes with a matte finish opposed to the glossy surface, which makes it easy to handle and less susceptible to accidental drops. Albeit with some minor changes like bigger size, a slider button on the left side gives it a new look. Notably, the case has tw LED indicators on the front, where one tells you about the battery level and other informs about UVNano status.
Speaking about the buds, they have the same stem-based design but of a significantly smaller footprint, I remember complaining about the size as even after using small tips, I wasn’t able to get comfortable with it. But now the case is completely different, i’m getting better comfort than ever, which made sure that there’s no fatigue while wearing it for a longer time. I make sure to catch up on the latest Netflix/Prime shows during my 2 hours metro commute to the office.
Notably, these earbuds are Medical grade and come with the UVNano technology which claims to kill 99.9& bacteria. Unfortunately, we’ll have to take LG’s word on this claim, there’s no way to test it yet.
App Control, and Battery Life
LG introduced its TONE Free around two years back with the introduction of this series. And I must say it’s one of the best TWS dedicated apps with built-in rich functionalities. Available on both iOS and Android devices, this app is supplementary, but essential for a true TONE Free experience. It is only through the app that you can customize the audio settings of FP9 earbuds. It allows you to change audio profiles, touch controls, and manage general settings. This app is a really good companion allowing you to manage the earbuds without any hassle.
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One of the significant upgrades include the battery life, the Tone Free FP9 offers longer battery cycles compared to its predecessor. I am an avid music listener, you’d find me exploring all kinds of music. So, i was continuously using it and can easily say that they don’t die on you when you need them. The earbuds pair gave me around 5 hours with ANC enabled, while without ENC the number jumped to around 7 hours. Now taking the charging cradle in the picture, expect at least 18 hours of playback time on mixed usage (ANC ON & OFF). Which is not far from their 24 hours claim. But note that I wasn’t happy to wait more than an hour to charge the case while the buds are inside.
Audio Quality and ANC
You’re here to know about audio quality, and I’m happy to report that it’s one of the best premium audio quality TWS earbuds i’ve listened to. Offering balanced sound output, just like how I like, it’s not too loud on vocals nor has super-heavy bass. Tone Free buds will satisfy your audio requirements if you’re looking for a balanced audio performance.
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But for someone who is looking for different audio quality, LG has made sure they have good experience as well. It offers five different preset equalizers built in the app – immersive, natural, bass boost, treble boost, and 3D sound stage. Now if you’re someone who knows their audio frequencies, it allows you to create two custom sound profiles.
Speaking about the ANC, Active Noise Cancellation, it has a couple of settings in the app, where you can turn on the Noise canceling at high and low, based on your requirement to feel immersive and comfortable. Furthermore, the ANC setting Listening mode ensures you can hear ambient sound while listening to music and I must say it works fine. While the conversation mode gives control to hear voices clearly, it makes it easier for you to jump into quick conversations without needing to remove earbuds.
Notably, LG has continued its partnership with Meridian to tune their earbuds this year as well.
Connectivity and Call Quality
LG has introduced a feature this time around which converts their charging cradle into a bluetooth dongle. Meaning, you can convert any non-bluetooth device like desktop, game console or treadmill into a bluetooth enabled device. It comes in handy where wired connectivity is available but you want to use wireless earbuds. I say, this is a unique proposition from the brand unlike offered by anyone else in the market. Speaking further about connectivity, it comes with a slew of features like 3 Mics on each bud, swift pair for Windows 10 PCs, and Bluetooth 5.2 support for reliable connection. Notably, the call quality is so far the best I’ve heard in this price range of earbuds. All thanks to a total of 6 microphones on these earbuds.
Should you buy the LG Tone Free FP9?
I think whoever is looking to buy a premium earbuds and considering this option, they won’t need much convincing as it is already a good value for money for someone who invests a lot on their audio experience. But for someone who is looking to experience it the first time, they could look for more affordable options than this, since it’s a bit on the expensive side. Overall, I enjoyed using this pair of TWS earbuds for its sound quality, comfortability, and feature-rich app experience, so could you at Rs 16,990.
