As with previous years’ models, the LG Gram’s selling point is its weight. True to form, this laptop’s light body is the very first thing you’ll notice when you pick one of these up. The 16-inch model comes in at just under 1.2kgs, with 14- and 17-inch versions also available in the 2022 lineup.
This is perfect if you need to travel around and want a truly portable machine with a decent-sized screen that won’t cause you to develop a hernia.
The downside is that the second thing you notice is how flimsy the LG Gram feels. The super-thin screen bends in an unsettling way, and although I have no doubt of its actual sturdiness, its hard to shake the feeling that one day you might go to pull it out of your bag and find the lid has snapped off or warped in a permanent way.
The magnesium alloy chassis apparently passed MIL-STD-810 durability tests for shock, vibration, and temperature, so maybe this malleable feel is a feature rather than a bug.
Under the hood, the LG Gram is anything but lightweight. With Intel 12th Gen processors running the Core i7-1260P, four performance cores and eight efficient cores, with clock speeds up to 4.7GHz, the LG Gram can handle anything you throw at it.
If you plan to use this as a video editing machine or for gaming, you’ll want to add the Nvidia RTX 2050 graphics card rather than the Intel Iris XE. If your LG Gram is purely for work and fun, without the need for high-powered response times or a smooth frame rate, then you can safely opt for the latter without noticing any performance lags in your day-to-day.
The two PCIe 4.0 SSDs mean that you can bolster the included 1TB, 512GB or 256GB SSD memory with another 1 or 2TB card in the second slot if you plan to house content on this machine rather than in the cloud.
Ergonomically speaking, the LG Gram does have a few minor issues that may take some getting used to. As mentioned before, just lifting or closing your laptop screen feels perilous at times, a careless one-handed tug will notably see the screen bend, while slamming it too hard feels like it could do real damage. I understand this is a high-tech machine and not an angler grinder, but at this price, durability should come as read.
The trackpad is also a lot larger than most laptops, meaning you’ll often undershoot when trying to right click without looking. This having to second-guess what are now automatic movements is a hassle at first – although, if this becomes your main computer, it won’t take long to adjust to this extra tracking real estate. On the upside, you’ll get a numeric pad on the keyboard – which will delight gamers or those who miss this feature when using a laptop.
Speaking of extra real estate, the monitor offers a 16:10 aspect ratio, giving a 2,560 x 1,600 resolution, rather than 16:9’s 2,560 x 1,440. This extra screen space may seem trivial, but it’s surprising how luxurious this ratio seems, especially on the 16-inch model we reviewed.
The IPS display uses an anti-glare texture, rather than the usual glossy screens that cause so many lighting issues when being used in a well-lit outdoors area. Brightness of 365 nits means the LG gram is perfect for all lighting situations – an underlooked feature in the laptop world. The only possible downside to this screen is that it isn’t a touchscreen, which may throw some people who rely on this feature.
Port-wise, the left side sports two Type-C Thunderbolt 4 ports, plus a HDMI, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. The right side gives two USB 3.2 Gen 2 slots, and a micro SD. The Gram offers Wi-Fi 6e support, but no ethernet port.
An 80Wh battery (bumped to 90Wh if you opt for the Nvidia card) will keep the computer charged for over 20 hours, and even longer depending on usage.
Lastly, the webcam is now full HD, with an IR sensor for facial recognition, a major leap from the last generation’s 720p camera.
CONCLUSION:
The LG Gram is a powerful beast that weighs next to nothing, and with the newly-available 17-inch screen version, offers a large, spacious design with enough under the bonnet to please even the most picky laptop shoppers. 9/10
PROS:
16:10 ratio with an anti-glare screen
Huge battery life
Comes bundled with the LG view, which is a handy product in its own right (review coming separately)
CONS:
feel flimsy
The trackpad is overly large