LG has just released a pair of new wireless in-ears, the Tone Free HBS-FN7. They come in a high-gloss, white charging box. The headphones are also white, and somewhat reminiscent of Apple’s Airpods Pro. So white plugs, and a stick on it.

The headphones are pretty light and sit comfortably in my ears. LG may have been unnecessarily stingy with extra silicone studs – you get three sizes to choose from. These silicone dolls are not completely smooth on the inside, but spiral-shaped, this is said to provide extra comfort and improve the active noise reduction. Once out in the urban environment, I unfortunately think they leak in a little too much ambient sound.

Even though I think they fit well, I still have to poke them right now and then when I am more active.

LG has developed the sound in FN7 together with Meridian. They claim that the headphones should have a “clear and spatial sound, with a roaring bass”. I agree that the sound is clear and distinct. But the roaring base does not reach me. If you compare with the price equal Sennheiser Momentum TW2, the latter base match wins. With that said, the base of LG’s headphones is perfectly okay.

The touch buttons on the outside of the headphones respond well. The only risk with them is that you can happen to access them if you need to fix the headphones in the ear, and then pause what you are listening to completely unnecessarily. But you have to learn where the buttons are.

The call quality is good. Clear. But my voice is also experienced as a bit jarring and metallic, and “difficult to listen to for a long period”. Not my voice then, but the sound that comes through the microphone in the headphones. This despite three different microphones in the headphones.

After testing a long line of wireless headphones, I have noticed that the call quality is rarely more than okay. And no headphone manufacturer seems to be able to sit in the driver’s seat here to solve the perfect call quality.

Getting started quickly

When developing services, people usually talk about simple onboarding. And LG has succeeded in this. The QR code on the box helps me find the Tone Free App. I download it, and start. Please open the lid of the charging case. Automagically, the headphones and the phone find each other, and there we are. What a hit. That’s how it should go. No cumbersome registration or fiddling between app and device settings.

I like the app in general as well. It is clean, easy to navigate and has clear functions. Except for one thing, and that’s its own equalizer. There are some presets, such as “Bass boost” and “Immersive”, among others. But when I want to create my own, I will draw in columns called 125, 1k, 4k, etc. It tells me nothing. Here you would like to know if it is bass or treble you are joking with.

The app contains manuals and the ability to set noise reduction and listening. You can also set what the touch buttons on the headphones do. For example: A press on the left handset play / pause. Two presses on the left handset increase the volume.

For the careless, there is the option to activate “find my headphones”.

Bactericidal charge

Have you ever heard of a germicidal charge box? I did not have it before these headphones landed on my desk. This is because the charging box is equipped with UVnano (LG calls it that, stands for UV and the device, nanometer). On its website, LG refers to independent tests that all show that their UVnano kills 99.9% of all E. Coli and S. aureus bacteria on the headset’s speaker network in ten minutes while charging the headphones. However, LG has so far not wanted to tell more about the technology.

However, you do not have to worry about getting the light in your eyes. It is invisible and is activated only when the box is closed and the headphones are inside. The blue glow you can see when you open the box is just there to be nice.

How do we sum this up then?

May I write something as boring as I think the LG Tone Free FN7 does the job? These are not the best headphones I’ve tested, but neither are they the worst. With exciting bactericidal technology, clear sound, a nice fit and a good app, I think that you as a buyer will be satisfied if you put your hands on these.

The battery life is really good with it. 7 hours listening in the headphones, which can be extended by 14 hours in the charging box. In total, this is up to 21 hours of battery life.