True Wireless Stereo (TWS) earbuds are packing in more and more features. It isn't enough to have a good sounding TWS device but these days, brands are also adding extra features like Active Noise Cancelling (ANC), fast charging, touch controls and more. The LG Tone Free FP8W takes this a step further by not only offering all of the above but also built-in UV light disinfection. Does it manage to deliver on all fronts? Find out in our full review of the LG Tone Free FP8W below.
Looking much like Apple AirPods with a shorter, thinner stem, the FP8W are fairly light at 5.2g for each earpiece. Going for an ergonomic look which LG says should fit most ears, they fit in the ear quite comfortably with a twist. Once inside, they tend to stay and not fall out and they aren’t so thick that they stick outside of the ear either.
There's infrared sensors to detect if the earpiece is actually in your ear
Touch controls are responsive but a bit slow
The ergonomic shape lets the LG Tone Free FP8W stick inside the ear better
LG have used medical grade silicone ear gels for the FP8W and they’ve been kind enough to include other differently sized ear gels if the default ones don’t feel like an exact fit. While it means the gels are hypoallergenic (probably won’t cause an allergic reaction) the gels themselves are a bit softer than the usual silicone earbuds, so they tend to get turned inside out when you take them out of your ears.
The earpieces themselves come with fairly sensitive touch controls but like most TWS, are a bit slow to respond. Placing them into the case not only recharges them but also activates the UV Nano blue lights for 5 minutes which LG says will kill 99.99% of bacteria on the earpieces. This should mean that after those 5 minutes, you could hand them over to other people to use (after you get rid of any earwax or other gunk that might have got caught, of course).
The LG Tone Free FP8W charging case is fairly compact and portable
There's a built-in UV nano disinfection function in the case
You can charge the case via the USB Type C port on the back
The case is quite compact with a matte surface, so it feels nice to hold without any unwanted fingerprints or smudges. It’s also quite portable and should fit most bags but may bulge a bit in some pockets. You can recharge the case via the USB Type C port or you can also charge it wirelessly. The case does have fast charging though, so you can get 1 hour worth of playback in just 5 minutes with a fast charger.
In terms of audio quality, the FP8W sounds full and rich and you can choose from the presets or make the settings yourself in the app. Both music and voice sounds crystal clear with clear separation between each instrument or audio source. The earpieces deliver very stable Bluetooth connectivity even through walls and other obstacles, so they clearly passed our bathroom test.
You can also recharge the case wirelessly
Game performance is unfortunately rather laggy but you can fix this by going to the app and setting it on Game Mode in the Tone Free Lab (it’s not on by default). Active Noise Cancelling or ANC does work quite well, almost placing you in a sound bubble of sorts but you can still hear loud or high pitched noises on the outside as well. The earpieces are rated IPX4 so they should be able to take sweat or rain fairly ok.
According to LG, there are 3 mics on each earpiece and calls sound clear. Audio recording shows that the mics work better than most, with only a slight echo of ambient noise in the background. Trying out whisper mode, you should first activate it in the app and then take out the right earbud before placing it near your mouth. Wait for a sound to show it is activated before using it, but I have to say that it’s rather unsatisfying because while you can hear whispers a bit better, it also amplifies all other ambient noises as well.
You can customize many of the settings from the app
Whispering mode may not be that useful but Game Mode is great for lag free audio during gaming
There’s a number of other features as well like Voice Alert, but all this does is to let you know there’s a new SMS or message from someone. It doesn’t open it and read it out to you like how Google Assistant can. This doesn’t seem to work for WhatsApp though, instead it just plays the usual notification sound. The Find my earbuds feature just plays a really loud chirping noise but it’s completely inaccessible if you’ve misplaced the earpieces and the case, as you can only access the TONE Free app if the earpiece is activated. Also, a word of advice, don’t pick up the chirping earpiece and put it in your ear straight away, as it doesn’t turn off automatically.
For battery performance, each earpiece is rated at 10 hours without ANC but with ANC we used up about 5% to 15 minutes of listening, so I’m not so sure how accurate that rating actually is. At that ratio they should still last for about 5 hours and a bit more (which sort of matches their 6 hour rating with ANC). According to LG, the case can extend this battery life to 24 hours of continuous usage (real world usage is probably less than this) but we sort of expected this battery life with all the features the FP8W has running.
The LG Tone Free FP8W
What's in the box? ~ extra earbud gels, a charging cable and manuals
Overall, the LG Tone Free FP8W are good ANC TWS devices for enjoyable listening, gaming and good communications with almost all the bells and whistles. Currently priced at RM899 on promo (the normal RRP is RM1099), all the features like the touch controls and UV Nano makes this TWS ideal for today’s current pandemic life, however, we would have liked it more if the battery life was longer.
Despite all the other features, the FP8W does seem to be missing automatic talk through and automatic switching between devices, but we have mostly seen these features for devices around or above RM1.3K, so this makes sense at least. While there are other contenders that cost less but offer more or less the same in features, none of them have built-in UV disinfection, so if you’re looking for a more health-conscious TWS, the LG Tone Free FP8W could be the one for you.
Tech Specs and Features
Here are the tech specs and features for the LG Tone Free FP8W:
- 21.2 x 28.3 x 23.2mm (earpiece) | 5.2g
- 54.5 x 54.5 x 30mm (charging case) | 39g
- Canal speaker
- Features: Enhanced Active Noise Cancelling (ANC), Whispering Mode, Voice Alerts, 6x mics (4x for calls, 2x for ANC), Meridian SOund Effects, LG EQ (Bass Boost, Treble Boost),
- Supports: Bluetooth 5.2, BLE, Google Fast Pair, USB Type C, Multi Pairing (5), IPx4 water resistance, UV Nano, Wireless Charging
- 2x 68 mAh battery (earpiece) ~ 6 hours battery life with ANC / 10 hours without ANC
- 390 mAh battery (charging case, fast charging within 2 hours) ~ 15 hours battery life with ANC / 24 hours without ANC
Pros and Cons
Pros: Full rich sound. Good ANC. Built-in UV disinfection. Fast / Wireless charging. Lag free gaming audio. Customizable features.
Cons: A bit pricey. Average battery life.
Summary: A good all-rounder ANC TWS with nearly every feature you might need for the pandemic.
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