LG Tone Free HBS-FN7 TWS Review [2021]

LG is among the few top-tier tech giants that enjoy great brand equity among masses. The South Korean tech giant is associated with almost everything from televisions to smartphones, consumer durables to personal & home audio products.

One thing that was missing from LG’s portfolio was truly wireless earbuds. So, LG decides to change that in 2020 which innovative LG Tone Free HBS-FN7 TWS and FN6.

The LG Tone Free HBS-FN7 tws comes with active noise cancellation, bacteria-killing tech and a good compact design.  The LG Tone Free HBS-FN7 tws is a pair of TWS earbuds with an innovative UVnano charging case that promises to kill 99.9% bacteria from the earbuds when put inside the case. The technology is similar to what LG offers with its germ-killing robot outfitted with UV-C lights. It’s a unique take on hygiene and well-being of users (in today’s contactless world) from a TWS earphones point-of-view, something which hasn’t been explored by any other brand yet.

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The LG Tone Free HBS-FN7 TWS was launched at an introductory price of Rs 29,990 and that’s where I felt the company had dug its own grave with that exorbitant price tag. However, realizing that it had jumped the gun, LG dropped the retail price for the FN7 to Rs 18,990. This still gives it a chance.

LG has now introduced a rather unique pair of truly wireless earphones for audiophiles. Let us look on the pros and cons about the earphones quickly,

Pros: 

• Clean Audio Delivery
• Balanced Soundstage 
• Comfortable for Long Music Sessions 
• Unique UV nano Bacteria-Free Technology 
• Wireless & Fast Charging Enabled

Cons:

• Expensive 
• Competition Offers Better ANC 
• Latency Issues
• No advanced Bluetooth codecs supported

Sound Quality

The LG Tone Free HBS-FN7 TWS has been surprisingly impressive in the sound quality department. Volume levels are loud, the treble is crystal clear and the earbuds manage to deliver that right amount of bass which makes the overall listening experience even better.

You will not get the level of bass you get from over-the-ear headphones like on the QC35 from Bose or the WH-1000XM3 from Sony, but it’s more than enough to get you that extra thump you need for your music. Even classics from Tchaikovsky and Mozart sound great on the Tone Free. The trick is in the in-app equalizer. You get options like ‘Immersive’, ‘Bass Boost’, ‘Natural’ and ‘Treble Boost’ to toggle between but also get to customize your music experience in the app.

Design and comfort

The LG Tone Free HBS-FN7 TWS has a compact footprint while maintaining appealing aesthetics. The case itself is a cute circular puck made of polycarbonate with a glossy finish outside – it looks neat and appealing. There’s a single button on the case itself for pairing, and two LED indicators – one for the charge status, and one for UVnano.

There’s a USB-C port at the rear for charging. Open up the lid and you will notice a mention of ‘with Meridian’ a prestigious brand that is responsible for turning these TWS for LG. Then there are two earbuds snuggled tightly by strong magnets. The earbuds themself are also quite compact with small stem-like Apple Air Pods.

The buds themself have touch controls each to perform various actions. The buds look attractive and offer a secure and comfortable fit. LG has IPX4 water and dust resistance certification which makes them splash and sweatproof.

Connectivity, setup

LG Tone Free HBS-FN7 TWS supports Bluetooth 5.0 transmission along with Google Fast Pair feature. This means you will see an instant pop-up on your phone screen as you open up the lid to take out earbuds for use. Pairing and repairing with multiple phones worked remarkably well. Indeed, this was the most convenient pairing experience we have had in a while.

The LG TONE Free also has an automatic wear detection feature that automatically plays or pauses music when you put them in or pull them out of ear. The earbuds support AAC, and SBC codec. Support for aptX or LHDC would have melted more hearts, but ultimately tuning matters more than codec support.

LG TONE Free companion app is available for Android and iOS which gives you full control over these TWS. The app is really well designed and extremely intuitive. It lets users customize touch controls, turn on or off ANC, and has a custom equalizer. You can also check for firmware updates from the app and install them.

Battery and call quality

Each LG ToneFree FN7 bud comes fitted with 55mAh battery on each bud can last for sound 5 hours with ANC turned off. With ANC on we could manage around 3.5 hours of playback time. Battery depletes faster if you take calls with ANC turned on.

The backup is on the lower side but is still quite manageable. The charging case houses a 390mAh battery to refill these buds quickly. It takes around 2 hours for a full charge. The 3-mic array ensures you have good call quality with the ToneFree FN7 TWS. Very few TWS have managed to get it right and LG ToneFree TWS is one of them.

The LG Tone Free HBS-FN7 is an interesting pair of true wireless earphones for one key reason – UVnano anti-bacterial self-cleaning. The headset comes with a mechanism in the charging case that is said to kill 99 percent of bacteria on the ear meshes of the earpieces when used for 10 minutes. However, that aside, there isn’t that much that stands out in this pair of true wireless earphones.

With a warm and fuzzy sonic signature and active noise cancellation, the LG HBS-FN7 goes up against options from Sony and Apple in the premium true wireless segment. However, there’s nothing exceptional here; this is a good pair of true wireless earphones, but not great. It’s worth considering for the UVnano technology, but there are better options at under Rs. 20,000 when it comes to sound quality and ANC performance.

LG Tone Free (HBS-FN7) True Wireless Stereo (TWS) Earphones Full Specifications

General

Product details

Connectivity features

Battery features