A strong features list delivers in some areas, but the noise-cancelling and touch controls fall short
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(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
T3 VerdictGood sound quality and some interesting peripheral specification carry the UT90Q so far, but shortcomings with ANC and touch control are hard to overlook.
T3 Verdict
Good sound quality and some interesting peripheral specification carry the UT90Q so far, but shortcomings with ANC and touch control are hard to overlook.
Expansive, well-defined sound
Light, comfortable earbuds and compact charging case
Reasons to avoid-Unhelpful active noise-cancellation-Poorly implemented touch controls-So-so call quality
Unhelpful active noise-cancellation
Poorly implemented touch controls
So-so call quality
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Lord knows it’s tricky to stand out in a market as congested as that fortrue wireless in-ear headphones. LG thinks it knows how, though - so its ‘Tone Free’ earbuds have a specification sheet as long as your arm.
That’s all well and good, of course, but there’s no point having a load of features if their on-paper promise doesn’t translate to real-world effectiveness. Which, of course, is where we come in. So is the LG UT90Q worth a look?
LG T90Q: Price & Availability
The LG ‘Tone Free’ UT90Q true wireless in-ear headphones are on sale now, and in the United Kingdom they sell for £199. American customers are looking at $229, while in Australia the going rate is AU$329 or so.
Of course, these days you can pay what you like for true wireless in-ears. Our current favourites fromSony,Appleand Bowers & Wilkins are all more expensive, although there are very good alternatives from Panasonic, Cambridge Audio and Sony (again) that are quite a bit more affordable.
What’s for sure, though, is that you won’t be able to buy a more thoroughly specified alternative no matter how much you spend…
LG T90Q review: Features
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
LG has thrown the kitchen sink at the UT90Q. Or maybe it’s gone to town. You can choose your own figure of speech - just make sure it means the UT90Q have everything you’d expect from true wireless in-ears at this sort of money, plus a bit more on top.
EQ presets are the work of UK hi-fi savant Meridian. There’s adaptive active noise-cancellation (ANC), multi-point wireless connectivity and a charging case that doubles as a Bluetooth transmitter. Oh, and the case features UV-C lighting which, LG claims, can kill 99.9 per cent of the bacteria on your earbuds within five minutes of them being shut in the case.
At this point I’m tempted to ask what more you want. Jam on it? If there are more exhaustively specified true wireless in-ear headphones out there at this price, I’ve yet to encounter them.
LG T90Q review: Performance
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
There’s a lot to like about the way the UT90Q sound. Where the broad strokes of stereo performance are concerned, they have some areas of real expertise - the soundstage they create, for example, is broad and well-defined, which makes even quite complex recordings easy to understand and follow. They’re quite even throughout the frequency range, too, and at any level of volume - so nothing from the top of the frequency range to the bottom is overstated or underplayed.
Detail levels are respectably high across the board. So as well as offering decent depth, the bass response the LG produces is textured and carries lots of variation - even if the low-end sounds in question are machine-, rather than instrument-generated. The top-end is equally informative and equally well controlled, while the midrange is as articulate and expressive as your favourite vocalist needs it to be.
There’s not a whole lot of dynamic headroom on display, mind you - the UT90Q aren’t all that adept at putting appreciable distance between the quiet, contemplative part of the song and the almighty charge into the last chorus. And while they don’t exactly have two left feet, they’re not the most naturally expressive where rhythms are concerned, either - there are more gregarious dancing partners around.
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
All of this presumes you’re listening with EQ settings left well alone. Even when listening in straight stereo, it’s possible to make quite fundamental adjustments to the sonic characteristics of the UT90Q - although it’s probably fair to say that ‘different’ in this instance doesn’t automatically equate to ‘better’. Of course, if you’re all ‘bout that bass then you can put a rocket up the LG low-end response, for example - but it won’t be any better defined or dynamic. What it will do, though, is trample heedlessly over the midrange. Mind you, if you listen to a lot of podcasts, say, one or two of the Meridian presets help make things more intelligible.
It’s the same, but different, where call quality is concerned. The same insomuch as it’s not very effective or satisfactory; different in that it lacks intelligibility rather than alters any sonic balance.
LG T90Q review: Design & Usability
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
LG has been a believer in the ‘long stem’ true wireless design for a while now, and it’s not about to change course now. The UT90Q are available in black or white, and while they’re built entirely from plastic they feel both sturdy and quite upmarket. A selection of medical-grade silicone ear-gels help establish a secure fit, and at a touch over 5g per earbud they’re hardly a burden to wear.
At a tidy 55 x 55 x 30mm the puck-shaped charging case is easy to slip into a pocket, and as well as compatibility with Qi-certified pads it also has a USB-C input for charging. A small switch on the side turns it into a Bluetooth transmitter too - LG provides a 3.5mm / USB-C cable in the packaging, so any device with a 3.5mm output can be turned into a wireless source. Despite what it claims, LG isn’t first with this technology (Bowers & Wilkins deployed it a while back) - but it’s a nice bit of design nevertheless.
You’ve a few options when it comes to controlling the UT90Q - and it’s safe to say that some are rather better implemented than others. The capacitive touch controls towards the top of each stem fall into the ‘not especially well-implemented’ category, it has to be said - the touch-surface is small, not especially responsive and quite easily confused. So although the control app allows the required number of touches needed to access the available functions (play/pause, volume up/down, skip forwards/backwards, answer/end call, cycle through ANC options) to be customised, you’ll never be confident you’re going to get what you think you’ve asked for.
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
The control app, like the overall specification of the UT90Q, is best described as ‘exhaustive’. If there’s a function or a facility you want that isn’t available in the LG Tone Free app, well, I’m afraid you’re simply being unrealistic.
Given its extensive nature, the app is remarkably stable and reliable. And the same can be said for the way the UT90Q interact with your source player’s native voice-assistant - there are a total of four pairs of mics across the earbuds to handle calls and ANC, and when you’ve wokenGoogleAssistant or Siri your dealings with them are swift and reliable.
LG T90Q review: Verdict
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
But their active noise-cancellation is as hamfisted as we’ve heard in a while, and their touch-controls are routinely frustrating - which makes these earbuds difficult to recommend unless you’rereallykeen on that UV tech.
Also consider
Today’s best LG Tone Free UT90Q and Sony WF-1000XM4 dealsSony WF-1000XM4 Wireless Earbuds$278ViewSee all pricesWe check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
Today’s best LG Tone Free UT90Q and Sony WF-1000XM4 dealsSony WF-1000XM4 Wireless Earbuds$278ViewSee all pricesWe check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
Today’s best LG Tone Free UT90Q and Sony WF-1000XM4 dealsSony WF-1000XM4 Wireless Earbuds$278ViewSee all pricesWe check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
Today’s best LG Tone Free UT90Q and Sony WF-1000XM4 deals
Sony WF-1000XM4 Wireless Earbuds$278ViewSee all prices
Sony WF-1000XM4 Wireless Earbuds$278ViewSee all prices
Sony WF-1000XM4 Wireless Earbuds$278ViewSee all prices
Sony WF-1000XM4 Wireless Earbuds
Sony WF-1000XM4 Wireless Earbuds
$278View
$278
$278
See all prices
We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
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