LG TONE Free fit TF7 make for a great pair of TWS earbuds if you are out in the market looking for earbuds between 10-15K. They sport a great sound signature of the box, which will appeal to people looking for a balanced-sounding pair of earbuds. The features are well–implemented, and the fit is something that will appeal to almost everyone, with a bit of trial and error with the different wing and ear tip combinations.
The case is a bit bulky, which could potentially be a deal-breaker for some. In which case, you can look at the Nothing Ear (2) or the OnePlus Buds Pro 2. They are priced a bit lower and bring tons of features and sound that makes them a great alternative for the LG TONE Free fit TF7.
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LG has been one of the biggest names in the consumer electronics market in India. In terms of audio products, LG has made a name for itself by keeping ahead of the curve in terms of innovation. They were one of the first mainstream brands to include a UV light-based cleaning system in their earbuds. This trend has continued in their latest product, the LG TONE Free fit TF7, which made its way into the Digit Test Centre some time back.
I tested the LG TONE Free fit TF7 by using them as my daily drivers and putting them through our rigorous testing process, and I found out that the buds make a compelling case for themselves in a very unique way. Read my review of the LG TONE Free fit TF7 to find out how they fared in my testing.
Build and Design
The first thing that stood out to me when I unboxed the LG TONE Free fit TF7 was their case design and shape. The brand has gone with a very unique oval design when you look at the top cross-section of the earbuds and when looking at the side cross-section of the case, you get a flat bottom with an oval shape in the rest of the case. Now, this design, while it made it easy to slide the case in and out of my pocket, it added a LOT of bulk to the case.
Now, the heftiness of the case can also be attributed to the inclusion of the UVnano tech, which is the name given to their UV light-based cleaning system. However, I personally feel that a smaller case with the omission of the UVnano tech should be the way to go. When buying TWS earbuds, the pocketability of the case is something that people definitely look for. With these earbuds, considering how everything else was, it would be great to see the brand go the tiny case route.
As for the buds, they sport a stem-less design, and fit really well in almost all ear types. I passed around these earbuds between my friends and folks at the Digit Test Centre, and with the different combinations of the silicon wings and the ear tips which are included in the box, the buds fit well in almost everyone’s ears. Honestly, these are one of the only pairs of stem-less earbuds that I would personally consider using on a daily basis, thanks to their fit.
The materials used on both the case and the buds are solid and did not pick up any scuffs and scratches over the two weeks I used them. I am known to be someone who does put my tech through its paces when it comes to their durability, and the fact that there was not a single scratch after I was done testing these earbuds, meant that things were headed on the right path here.
There is a dual-tone design on the case, with the exterior boasting a blueish-grey colour and the insides, a bright-lime colour. On the buds, you get the same colour as the exterior of the case, with the lime green colour making an appearance in the form of an accent ring on the buds.
Overall, there is not much to complain about here. Only a smaller case would be better, and I can see LG making improvements to this with their upcoming buds. Now, let’s move on to the features.
LG TONE Free fit TF7 – Limited and well-implemented features
One of the first things that you think of, when you look at the LG TONE Free Fit TF7 is the sport aesthetic that makes the positioning of these earbuds very clear. These are meant to be the buds for the people who have an active lifestyle and it is very clear from the get-go. So, the first thing that I looked at was their IP rating. These earbuds come with an IP rating of IP67, which means that you running during the rains should not be an issue.
The voice commands using Siri worked well for me, and the in-ear detection was one of the best I have seen in a pair of non-Apple earbuds. For context, I daily drive an iPhone, and the in-ear detection on many earbuds, which Apple does not make, does not work well on my phone.
As for the ANC, it worked like a charm on my train rides. It drained out all the rumbling sounds and gave me a nice music-listening and calling experience overall. Talking about ANC, the feature that goes hand in hand with noise cancellation is the transparency mode. The dual microphone setup on the earbuds for ANC and transparency modes works wonderfully.
Fast pair on Android devices also worked like a breeze, with there being absolutely zero instances of the feature glitching out on me during my time of testing. Multipoint connection was also a non-issue for me. The companion app for the LG TONE Free Fit TF7 is the LG Tone Free app. It has a clean interface and provides for all the control and usage customisation options you would want. The controls work well, with every touch being registered without any issues. Hands down, one of the best I have seen in this segment.
While on the topic of controls, my gripe with earbuds without a stem remains when it comes to controls. For instance, if I am lying down with my arm brushing against my earbuds, then the controls get triggered, and it actually hampers my usage experience. This issue is very personal for me, however, accidental touches on non-stemmed earbuds is something that I have wanted brands to fix, so that I can listen to music without having to worry about random pauses and skips.
Sounds great and cancels out noise well!
In terms of performance with the LG TONE Free fit TF7 I had little to complain about. As you can see in the graph below, with the default profile, the sound signature of the buds is very close to our benchmark reading of pink noise, which is a flat sound signature. Meridian tuning FTW for the LG TONE Free fit TF7.
There is a subtle boost in the mids and the highs, which adds some sibilance, but it is nothing that would bother you in the long run. It starts around the low-mids and makes it way into the highs as well, before the signature normalises and returns back to the base reading of pink noise.
In tracks like Rescue Me by OneRepublic, the vocals were clear, and I had no complaints when listening to the track, even when I had transparency mode on. The metal instruments in tracks like Selkies were also clear, and the bass response was also something that appealed to me.
The bass response, with the out-of-the-box settings, is not something that will appeal to the bass heads, and they will have to use the EQ to boost it a bit. However, with the base settings, the earbuds do a great job of providing the much-needed thump in EDM, pop, and hip-hop tracks while also ensuring that the sound is not muddy at all.
How’s the mic and battery?
The microphone on these earbuds was, again, awesome! During my train rides, where the noise is the highest during my day, I had no complaints from the receivers about the sound quality. The voice was clear and crisp throughout. In certain cases, when there were many people around me also having a conversation, the mic had some difficulty in picking out my voice from the rest. However, in the rest of the scenarios that I put the LG TONE Free fit TF7 through, the earbuds breezed through without any problems.
The battery life on the LG TONE Free fit TF7 clocked in at 5 hours and 12 minutes of battery life with ANC turned on and the volume turned to 50 per cent. The claimed battery life on these earbuds is 6 hours with ANC turned on. So, good job LG! The earbuds also have fast charge baked in, with the brand claiming that you can get up to an hour of playback with just 5 minutes of charging time.
Verdict – Should you buy the LG TONE Free fit TF7?
LG TONE Free fit TF7 make for a great pair of TWS earbuds if you are out in the market looking for earbuds between 10-15K. They sport a great sound signature of the box, which will appeal to people looking for a balanced-sounding pair of earbuds. The features are well–implemented, and the fit is something that will appeal to almost everyone, with a bit of trial and error with the different wing and ear tip combinations.
The case is a bit bulky, which could potentially be a deal-breaker for some. In which case, you can look at the Nothing Ear (2) or the OnePlus Buds Pro 2. They are priced a bit lower and bring tons of features and sound that makes them a great alternative for the LG TONE Free fit TF7.
LG Tone DTF7Q Key Specs, Price and Launch Date
| Release Date: | |
| Market Status: | Launched |
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Satvik Pandey
Satvik Pandey, is a self-professed Steve Jobs (not Apple) fanboy, a science & tech writer, and a sports addict. At Digit, he works as a Deputy Features Editor, and manages the daily functioning of the magazine. He also reviews audio-products (speakers, headphones, soundbars, etc.), smartwatches, projectors, and everything else that he can get his hands on. A media and communications graduate, Satvik is also an avid shutterbug, and when he's not working or gaming, he can be found fiddling with any camera he can get his hands on and helping produce videos – which means he spends an awful amount of time in our studio. His game of choice is Counter-Strike, and he's still attempting to turn pro. He can talk your ear off about the game, and we'd strongly advise you to steer clear of the topic unless you too are a CS junkie. View Full Profile
