LG Electronics Australia is officially bringing the company’s newest wireless earbuds, the LG Tone Free FN6, down under this month. And in an attempt to stand far apart from the massively overstuffed market, the designers have surprisingly focused on health as a paramount feature, equipping the accompanying charging case with a built-in ultraviolent light that can kill 99.9% of E. coli and S. aureus bacteria after just 10 minutes of charging.
The IPX4-rated in-ear earbuds will be priced in Australia at an attractive A$279, leveraging tech built from LG’s long-standing relationship with reputable audio brand Meridian.
Sound
LG Tone Free promises a superior listening experience with both DSP and HSP working together to recreate a detail oriented, wide true-to-source soundstage. In addition, there’s four Meridian optimised EQ settings built-in along with two additional EQ’s that can be tweaked via the LG Tone app. This includes “Natural” for better balance, “Immersive” for wider space, “Bass Boost” for elevated low-end, and “Treble Boost” for clarity and vocals.
Meridian has also created a Revolutionary Master Quality Authenticated technology to stream music as the producer intended it the sound, working with the 6mm custom built-in driver to optimise the sound signature, promoting vocal clarity and rounding out the bass.
Noise Cancelling & Comfort
The close in-ear design has been carefully shaped for echo and passive noise cancellation, blocking out surrounding noise while the high-performance dual mics help detect and minimise unwanted noise in real-time. Ambient Sound Mode will let users maintain situation awareness with a simple press on the side of the earbuds, ready for those quick conversations or when users need to hear announcements on public transportation.
A microphone at the end of each stem has been designed to amplify a user’s voice and separate it from external noise in crowded spaces, so theoretically these buds should also be excellent when taking calls.
The medical-grade silicon ear tips have been engineered to conform to the individual shape of a user’s ears, keeping them secure in place with the help of a head-centred weight distribution. This should ideally benefit comfort as well, allowing for better and longer listening sessions without the tips irritating the ears.
Other Features
Of particular interest here is the UVnano charging case, not only providing a total of 18 hours listening time, but killing 99.9% of bacteria in just 10 minutes with its built-in UV light.
A proximity sensor will pause music automatically when the earbuds are taken out, as per typical flagship status in the crowded bud market.
The “Find My Earbuds” feature will work similarly to a Tile device, using the LG Tone app the locate lost or misplaced earbuds.
The earbuds will work with both Google Assistant and Siri upon launch. Whether or not Alexa compatibility shows up in a firmware update down the track hasn’t been confirmed.
While a total of 18 hours isn’t above, or below, competition, LG is promising a 1 hour charge in just 5 minutes. That should definitely be something worth paying attention to, and put LG ahead when it comes to buds in 2020.
For all information about the new LG Tone earbuds click here.
