LG’s new true wireless earbuds have a privacy-conscious ‘Whispering Mode’ – The Verge

LG’s new Tone Free FP true wireless earbuds feature a “Whispering Mode” where you can hold the right earbud next to your mouth during calls to use it as a dedicated microphone. It’s a neat privacy-conscious feature for those moments when you don’t want to have to speak loudly enough for the sound to be picked up by the earbuds in your ears.

There are three new earbuds in the lineup — the FP5, FP8, and FP9 — and they share a lot of the same specs. All are noise cancelling, have three microphones per earbud, and have an IPX4 water resistance rating to withstand light splashes. Their earbud stems are 4.4mm shorter than LG’s previous models, and they have improved drivers and diaphragms which LG claims offers more bass without impacting clarity. Headphone Spatial Processing and 3D Sound Stage provides an audioexperience that surrounds the listener.

However, there are individual features exclusive to one or two of the headphones. The most interesting of these is reserved for the FP9 earbuds, whose case can double as a wireless transmitter to allow the earbuds to be used with non-Bluetooth devices. Using a USB-C to aux cable, the case can be plugged into anything from a games console to an in-flight entertainment system, removing the need to use a separate Bluetooth adapter. It’s similar to what we saw from Bowers and Wilkins’ PI7 earbuds earlier this year.

The FP8 and FP9 earbuds feature LG’s bacteria-killing UV tech, which the company says can kill 99.9 percent of the bacteria on the earbuds’ speaker mesh in five minutes to reduce the chance of inner ear infections. These two earbuds also have improved battery life compared to the FP5, and can run for 10 hours on a charge, or up to 24 hours when used with their charging case (the FP5 is rated for 8 and 22 hours, respectively). Only the FP8 model supports wireless charging.

LG’s new true wireless earbuds will be available starting this month in “key markets” at a price that’s yet to be announced.