05 Jul
Blog

LG Gram 17 (2021) Review: Large and Light On Its Feet

LG Gram 17 2021 laptop

"The LG Gram 17 is one of the best 17-inch laptops you can buy."

  • Exceptionally light

  • Fast in performance mode

  • Excellent advertisement

  • Very good keyboard and touchpad

  • Excellent battery life

  • Feels a little thin

  • Too expensive

Sometimes you want a larger display than a typical 15.6-inch (or 16-inch) laptop. Perhaps you are a strong multitasker and want to put more windows on your display without feeling cramped. This is where 17-inch laptops come in, and while there aren't that many to choose from outside of gaming laptops, there are a few good options to consider.

One such option was LG's Gram 17, which, like all Gram laptops, aims to pack as much of the machine as possible into the lightest possible case. The 2021 version increases the display usage with an aspect ratio of 16:10, which offers even more vertical space for your work.

I looked at the LG Gram 17, which comes with a Core i71165G7, 16 GB of RAM, a 1 TB PCIe solid-state drive (SSD) and a 17-inch 16:10 display with a WQXGA resolution (2.560 x 1,600) is configured. This configuration costs $ 1,800, which means it is solidly in premium territory and can rival a potent competitor, the excellent Dell XPS 17.

design

Mark Coppock / Digital Trends

The LG Gram 17 does what it promises to pack a large display in a lightweight housing. It weighs just 2.98 pounds, which is remarkably light for such a large laptop. In comparison, the Dell XPS 17 with Touch and its 97 watt hour battery option weighs 5.53 pounds (the Gram 17 has an 80 watt hour battery). Even the non-contact XPS 17 with the 56 watt hour battery weighs 4.65 pounds.

In overall dimensions, the Gram 17 is 14.97 inches wide, 10.24 inches deep and 0.70 inches thick, compared to the XPS 17 at 14.74 inches x 9.76 inches x 0.77 inches. As another comparison, the HP Envy 17 is 15.71 x 10.2 x 0.76 inches and weighs 6.02 pounds (note that the Envy 17 has a 17.3 inch display). LG has clearly achieved something special here.

The LG Gram 17 doesn't have the solidity feel that other laptops enjoy.

How did you manage to make the LG Gram 17 so light? The key is the magnesium alloy used in the case of the laptop. It's a light metal to start with and LG doesn't use much of it. This affects the perceived build quality, with an extremely pliable lid and keyboard deck and case base that are fairly pliable. Magnesium is a strong metal, and so it's not that the LG Gram 17 isn't rugged, but it doesn't have the same solidity that you get from the XPS 17 or even the mid-range Envy 17.

The aluminum used in the other laptops weighs more and feels more robust. LG put the Gram 17 through military-grade MIL-STD-810G testing, so there is some objective data it can take. I also have to note that while the bottom is exceptionally light, the lid opens with one hand and only wobbles a tiny bit when in use.

LG Gram 17 closed in 2021, sitting on a brick sidewalk. Mark Coppock / Digital Trends

Aesthetically, the Gram 17 is designed as conservatively as it gets. It's all black with just a simple chrome “gram” logo on the lid. Otherwise there are no embellishments and the lines of the laptop are simple. It's by no means a bad looking laptop, but it also lacks character. The Dell XPS 17 and HP Envy 17 are more eye-catching and, I think, a lot more attractive. The Gram 17 enjoys small bezels, so it looks modern in that regard – and these small bezels naturally help keep the case size manageable.

Despite its thin frame, the Gram 17 offers a nice mix of connections. On the left is a full-size HDMI port and two USB-C ports with Thunderbolt 4 support (one of which is needed to power the laptop), as well as a 3.5mm audio jack. On the right side there is a Kensington lock connector, two USB-A 3.1 Gen 2 ports and a microSD card reader. Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.1 offer wireless connectivity.

performance

A close-up of the keyboard and the logo of the LG Gram 17 in the middle under the display. Mark Coppock / Digital Trends

My test unit was equipped with an 11th generation Intel Core i7-1165G7, which is common on premium laptops and tends to offer solid productivity performance. I've noticed that laptops with the same chip can vary in performance, so I was curious to see how the LG Gram 17 would fare in a larger case that should have plenty of room for cooling. LG offers a utility to adjust the performance for heat and fan noise, and it has a noticeable effect. Most manufacturers offer such a utility today, and not all of them have a significant impact on performance – I only mention them when they affect our benchmark results. HP is another vendor whose "Performance" mode makes a significant difference in some (but not all) of its Envy and Specter laptops.

In its "optimal" mode, the Gram 17 corresponds to a large part of its Tiger Lake competition. In Geekbench 5, it did well in the single-core test and fell behind some competitors, such as the Samsung Galaxy Pro 360, in the multi-core test. However, switch to Performance mode, and the Gram 17's score jumped to 1563 and 5,473. In our Handbrake test, which encodes a 420 MB video as H.265, it was behind the pack, but again did a little better in performance mode with 197 seconds. When switching to Cinebench R23, the Gram 17 was again at the lower end in optimal mode, but was the fastest Tiger Lake laptop in our comparison group in performance mode (.375 in single-core and 4604 in multi-core).

The LG Gram 17 was a competent performer.

After all, it wasn't a leader in PCMark 10 in optimal mode and its performance mode made no difference in score – something I've seen with other vendors' performance optimization utilities. One example is the HP Specter x360 14, which also showed no improvement in PCMark 10 performance mode, although it was significantly faster in all other benchmarks in this mode. The Gram 17 did well on the Essentials parts (web browsing, video conferencing, etc) but fell behind in the areas of productivity and content creation.

Overall, the Gram 17 was a competent performer that handled all of your productivity tasks with ease. Switch to Performance mode and you will hear the fans spinning more often (they are not particularly loud), but you will get a noticeable increase in performance. However, I do find that you get much better performance with the Dell XPS 17, on par with its larger display with a much more powerful CPU and GPU combo. The Gram 17 is best suited for productivity users who want a bigger display, as opposed to the XPS 17, which is designed to give creative professionals a bigger canvas.

Geekbench (single / multiple) Handbrake (seconds) Cinbench R23 (single / multiple) PCMark 10 3DMark time spy
LG Gram 17 2021
(Core i7-1165G7)		 1503/4606 222 1323/3912 4880 1480
Dell XPS 17 (Core i7-10875H) 1315/7959 109 N / A N / A 5801
LG gram 16 (Core i7-1165G7) 1394/4137 213 1394/4137 4827 1390
Samsung Galaxy Pro 360
(Core i7-1165G7)		 1554/5603 N / A 1308/4062 5159 1800
HP Envy x360 15
(Ryzen7 5700U)		 1198/6790 116 1258/8131 5419 1471
HP Envy 15 (Core i7-10750H) 1274/5542 139 N / A N / A 5123

The Gram 17 isn't a gaming laptop given its built-in Intel Iris Xe graphics. In the 3DMark Time Spy test, it achieved an average score in optimal mode and a significantly higher score of 1802 in performance mode. In Fortnite, the influence of the utility was even more pronounced. It managed a meager 12 frames per second (fps) in 1080p and high graphics and 13 fps in epic graphics in optimal mode. That is way behind the rest of the Tiger Lake competition.

However, switch to performance mode and it jumped to 29 fps and 19 fps, which is much more competitive. Of course, these aren't impressive results either, and so you'll be limited to older titles or run newer titles with low resolutions and graphical detail.

Display and audio

A close-up of the open plan LG Gram 17 2021 laptop placed on a brick walkway. Mark Coppock / Digital Trends

A large, expansive display is of little use if it suffers from poor quality. Fortunately, LG chose a high-quality panel for the Gram 17, starting with its 16:10 aspect ratio that offers plenty of space in a 17-inch display.

According to my colorimeter, the display exceeds our 300 nit limit at 343 nits, making it bright enough for most indoor lighting conditions. The contrast of 930: 1 was close to our preferred 1000: 1 ratio. The 4K display of the Dell XPS 17 is superior with 491 nits and 1,530: 1, while the Gram 17's smaller brother, the Gram 16, was just below it with 313 nits and 830: 1. The results from the Gram 17 are in line with what is expected from a premium laptop today.

In terms of colors, the display on the Gram 17 scored 88% AdobeRGB and 100% sRGB, which is better than the 75% and 95% average of the premium laptop and close to what creatives go for photo and video Want video editing. The XPS 17 does significantly better with 98% and 100%, respectively, while the Gram 16 is on par with the 17-inch model. The color accuracy of the Gram 17 was good with a Delta E of 1.3 (less than 1.0 is considered excellent), while the XPS 17 was inferior with 0.37 and the Gram 16 with 2.67.

Overall, this was a delightful display for whatever most users throw at it. Productivity was increased by the aspect ratio, good contrast and above-average brightness, while viewing photos and videos became a pleasant experience thanks to the wide and accurate colors. If you want to do photo and video editing occasionally – consider the performance deficit compared to a laptop like the XPS 17 – this display will be fine with this display if necessary.

The sound is nice and clear, with pleasant highs and mids and just a hint of bass. At the same time, the two downward facing speakers don't get very loud, and there is only a hint of distortion at maximum volume. You'll be content with the occasional YouTube video, but you will likely need a pair of headphones or bluetooth speakers for Netflix binging and music.

Keyboard and touchpad

A LG Gram 17 2021 keyboard.Mark Coppock / Digital Trends

The keyboard is comfortably spaced with large keycaps and has a number pad with a light touch and sufficient travel. The typing experience is only tarnished by a slightly abrupt floor movement – I usually appreciate a certain bounce at the end of a keystroke, but it's just a little too much here. I was able to type on the keyboard at full speed, but I felt that I might get tired after long typing sessions. The keyboard on the Dell XPS 17 has a more comfortable action, as does HP's keyboard on its Specter and newer Envy laptops.

The touchpad is large, but could be bigger given the many palm rests available. It's a Microsoft Precision model that is universal at this point and makes Windows 10's multi-touch gestures accurate and precise. The keyboard layout, especially the integrated number pad, pushes the touchpad out of the middle, which takes some getting used to. If you're using the touchpad as a guide to finding the starting line on the keyboard, you'll need to adjust your exercise or type the wrong letters. The display doesn't support touch, which I always miss on a laptop.

Windows 10 Hello support is provided by a fingerprint reader built into the power button which is the best place. You can turn on the Gram 17 and sign in with a touch, and that's so much more convenient than looking for a fingerprint reader that sits somewhere on the keyboard deck or, worse, embedded in the touchpad. The reader was quick and accurate during my tests.

Battery life

A LG Gram 17 2021 open, placed on a brick walkway. Mark Coppock / Digital Trends

Somehow, LG managed to pack 80 watt hours of battery capacity while still maintaining the low weight of the Gram 17. That's a decent amount of power, so I was hoping LG's usual excellent battery life would hold up.

And that's exactly what I found. Starting with our web browser test that ran through a number of popular websites, the Gram 17 lasted for 13.25 hours, which is a very strong result. The Dell XPS 17 managed less than half as long with almost 6.5 hours, while the Gram 16 was a bit stronger with 13.8 hours. In our video test, which plays a Full HD Avengers trailer until the battery is empty, the Gram 17 managed a spectacular 21 hours, compared with the XPS 17 only 9.3 hours and the Gram 16 with an even better 24.4 hours .

With a single charge, the LG Gram 17 will get you through a whole working day and well into the evening.

I also ran the PCMark 10 gaming test, which put a strain on the CPU and GPU, and the Gram 17 made it to almost five hours. It's one of the longest results in our database and just seven seconds less than another top runner, the Gram 16. We didn't test the XPS 17 in PCMark 10. The result was probably a combination of the large battery capacity and the optimal setting that neither the CPU nor the GPU ran at full speed.

Finally, the Gram 17 achieved just under 14 hours in the PCMark 10 Applications test, which is the best indicator of the battery life in productivity. That's a strong score, in the top of the range of the laptops we tested, but not as strong as I expected. For example, the Gram 16 reached 17.8 hours.

Overall, the Gram 17 is a long-lasting laptop despite its large, high-resolution display. It will get you through a full day of work and well into the evening, and you will likely have a few hours left the next morning.

Our opinion

LG achieved its goal of creating a large screen laptop with good performance and great battery life that doesn't weigh a ton. You want to switch to performance mode for the highest speed and you will endure a little fan noise, but it's worth it. For the most part, this is a laptop that delivers on its promise and a lot more besides.

However, whether it is for you depends on whether you are okay with a metal case that shows some degree of flexibility. LG tested the Gram 17 for durability at a military level, and it survived, which means the laptop is likely very sturdy. Even so, you won't get that warm and fuzzy feeling of durability when handling the Gram 17.

Are there alternatives?

The Dell XPS 17 has the same 16:10 aspect ratio that is better quality, and you get a faster laptop with a more powerful GPU. It's also much heavier and doesn't even match the battery life of the Gram 17. To get the most out of the XPS 17's performance, you'll also be spending hundreds more.

Next, consider the slightly smaller LG Gram 16 if you don't need quite that much screen real estate. It also offers great battery life and suffers from the same flimsy feel, but it's another lightweight offering that offers plenty of performance and durability without the weight.

The XPS 15 and MacBook Pro 16 are also faster laptops with smaller displays and could be good options. If you don't need the largest display, these two machines should be on your list.

How long it will take?

The Gram 17 doesn't feel as rugged as the premium laptops it competes with, but if you trust the MIL-STD-810G rating, you can be comfortable with the longevity of the laptop. It is definitely equipped with the latest components. However, you will not like the one-year guarantee.

Should you buy it?

Yes. The LG Gram 17 puts a big and beautiful display in your hand without weighing you down, and you will love the spectacular battery life.

Editor's recommendations



16 Mar
Blog

LG Gram 16 Review: Very Light and Incredibly Long Lasting

LG Gram 16 laptop

LG Gram 16 review: The lightest and most durable in the class

"The Gram 16 offers a wide range of battery life in an incredibly light package."

  • Incredibly easy

  • Thin bezels, slim chassis

  • Spectacular battery life

  • 4:10 pm viewing is a boon to productivity

  • Well rounded ports

  • The display has a lower contrast

  • Lid and keyboard deck are too flexible

  • There are no performance improvements

The Guinness Book of Records officially recognizes the LG Gram 16 as the lightest 16-inch notebook. At £ 2.62, I'm not surprised it deserves the award.

LG's Gram laptops have always been designed to be as light as possible (hence the name). This applies to the 17-inch model as well as to the 13-inch model. Across the board, they're some of the lightest laptops you can buy. This year, LG added a new size, the Gram 16, to take over the MacBook Pro 16 and serve as a middle ground between 15- and 17-inch machines.

In the past, LG's larger laptops have suffered from lack of performance enhancement, which conflicts with laptops like the Dell XPS 17 and MacBook Pro 16. The LG Gram 16 still doesn't have discrete graphics, but it does have a $ 1,700 trial configuration.I still tested a lot of extras, including a Core i7-1165G7 processor, 16GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD, and one 16:10 IPS screen. Does LG have a winner in hand?

design

Mark Coppock / Digital Trends

The Gram 16 feels incredibly light. Pick it up and you immediately think that it is empty inside. But that's not the case – even at just 2.62 pounds and fully equipped with state-of-the-art components, it still manages to pack a whopping 80-watt-hour battery.

We'll dive deeper into battery life later, but suffice it to say that the LG Gram 16 is a champion when it comes to battery life. The XPS 15, with a battery capacity of 86 watt hours, weighs 4.5 pounds – man, you can feel the difference. A bigger display and almost half the weight? I take it.

Note that the MacBook Pro 16 weighs 4.3 pounds with 100 watt hours of battery life (the best you can fit in a commercial airplane). Even the much smaller Dell XPS 13 weighs 2.8 pounds.

How did LG make the Gram 16 so easy? Mainly, it's the magnesium alloy chassis that cuts the pounds off. And it's not a thick magnesium alloy either, which you can tell if you bend the lid with minimal force and press down on the keyboard deck until you hit the components underneath.

Viscerally, the Gram 16 acts like bendable plastic.

The bottom of the case resists bending, but the rest of the case has a lot of yield. That's the price you have to pay for a machine this light – even though LG put the laptop through a MIL-STD-810G test, which meets military standards for durability and reliability.

Intellectually, I know this is a rugged laptop – maybe not as much as the XPS 15 or the MacBook Pro 16, but it won't break apart in a stiff breeze. Viscerally, however, it acts like flexible plastic. Kudos to LG for somehow succeeding in designing the hinge so that it stays in place and still opens with one hand. There isn't a lot of weight holding the bottom of the case in place.

Thanks to some very small bezels, the Gram 16 is 14.01 inches, only slightly wider than the XPS 15 compared to 13.57 inches, while the MacBook Pro 16 is 14.09 inches. At 9.58 inches, it's slightly lower than the 9.06-inch XPS 15 and 9.68-inch MacBook. With a thickness of 0.66 inches, the Gram 16 sits between 0.71 inches of the XPS 15 and 0.65 inches of the MacBook Pro 16. The Dell XPS 17 is also in the same stadium thanks to its tiny bezels and very slim design – 14.74 inches wide, 9.76 inches deep, 0.77 inches thick, and 5.53 pounds on a 97 watt hour battery.

LG gram 16 laptop "class =" m-carousel - image dt-lazy-no "src =" https://img.dtcn.com/image/digitaltrends/olympus-digital-camera-1031-640x640.jpg "srcset = "https://www.digitaltrends.com/data:image/gif;base64,https://www.digitaltrends.com/R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP//yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7Mark Coppock / Digital Trends

LG gram 16 laptop "class =" m-carousel - image dt-lazy-no "src =" https://img.dtcn.com/image/digitaltrends/olympus-digital-camera-1030-640x640.jpg "srcset = "https://www.digitaltrends.com/data:image/gif;base64,https://www.digitaltrends.com/R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP//yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7Mark Coppock / Digital Trends

In simpler terms, they are very similarly sized laptops that all look quite modern. However, with its simple silver chassis and complete lack of ornamentation, the Gram 16 is the simplest of the group. It's on purpose – LG describes it as a "minimalist, no-nonsense design" designed to "reduce distractions."

Both the XPS 15 and 17, with their slimmer lines, and the MacBook Pro 16, with its restrained elegance, are better looking machines. Note that the Gram 16 is also available in white and black.

Ports and Connectivity

Connectivity is a strength: two USB-C ports with Thunderbolt 4 support, two USB-A 3.2 ports, a full-size HDMI port, a microSD card reader, and a 3.5mm audio jack. That's better than the XPS 15 with two USB-C Thunderbolt 3 ports, a single USB-C 3.1 port, and no HDMI port.

The MacBook Pro 16 has all-in ports for Thunderbolt 3, of which there are four.

The Gram 16 also has Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.1 for an up-to-date wireless connection.

performance

The Gram 16 I tested used the Core i7-1165G7, a popular Tiger Lake processor that offers solid productivity performance and can dive into low-end content creation. Like most manufacturers lately, LG has a utility that can be used to toggle between quiet, optimal, and performance modes. Switching between them will adjust the performance against fan noise. With the Gram 16, you should use the utility.

Using a U-series CPU is important here – most larger laptops, like the Dell XPS 15 and 17 and the MacBook Pro 16, use 45-watt H-series CPUs, which are designed for creative professionals who normally go for Laptops decide, sizes are much faster. This is especially true for the GPU, where the Gram 16 is limited to Intel's Iris Xe graphics, which are nowhere near as fast as the discrete graphics available in the competition.

In the optimal mode, the Gram 16 is a less than convincing performer. As with most of these utilities, this didn't show up in Geekbench 5, where there wasn't much of a difference between modes. The Gram 16 is a solid performer in this benchmark, outperforming laptops like the Dell XPS 13 and the Razer Book 13 (which uses the faster Core i7-1185G7) by a few points. The XPS 15 and MacBook Pro 16 use 45-watt H-series 10th generation CPUs, so, as mentioned, are much faster.

In our handbrake test, which encodes a 420 MB video as H.265, the Gram 16 lasted over 3.5 minutes in optimal mode and just under three minutes in performance mode. Both results are within about 10 seconds of the Dell XPS 13 and are faster than most other laptops with the same CPU. The XPS 15 was ready in just over two minutes. We have not tested the MacBook Pro 16 with the same version of Handbrake and therefore cannot provide this comparison.

LG Gram 16 laptopMark Coppock / Digital Trends

In Cinebench R23, the Gram 16 was slow with 4,137 in multi-core mode and 1,394 in single-core mode in the optimal setting. That is far behind laptops like the XPS 13 and the Razer Book 13. In performance mode, however, the values ​​rose to 4,718 and 1,415. These aren't the fastest we've seen – the HP Specter x360 14, for example, scored 4,847 and 1,404 in performance mode – but it is on par with the rest of the field. We didn't test the XPS 15 or the MacBook Pro 16 in Cinebench R23, but we guarantee that both will be faster thanks to their more powerful CPUs.

Don't buy this laptop if you expect powerhouse performance.

Finally, I ran the full PCMark 10 benchmark and didn't see much of a difference between optimal and performance modes. The gram 16 achieved 4,887 points in the total number of points and 9,687, 6,886 and 4,749 points in the tests Essentials, Productivity and Content Creation. These values ​​are good for the CPU, with the Specter x360 14 scoring 4,796, 9760, 6340 and 4,837 points, respectively.

LG Gram 16 laptopMark Coppock / Digital Trends

Overall, the Gram 16 performed quickly during my tests. It's exactly what I expected from a laptop with its specs, and I've never seen anything that made me think about the laptop's performance even in optimal mode – with one exception.

This exception concerns the Intel Iris Xe, which should offer gaming performance close to an entry-level discrete GPU like the NVIDIA GeForce MX350. The optimal mode of the Gram 16 lagged far behind and only achieved 1,390 points in the Time Spy test by 3DMark. This is comparable to the 1,589 of the XPS 13 in the appropriate mode and is way behind most other Intel Iris Xe laptops. However, switch to performance mode and the score rose to 1,801, well ahead of most other Tiger Lake laptops that aren't running the Intel Iris Xe Max GPU.

In Fortnite, the Gram 16 only managed 13 frames per second (fps) in 1080p and high graphics – most Intel Iris Xe laptops reached 30 fps with the same settings. The Gram 16 achieved 33 fps in performance mode, which is only average for the class, but much better than in optimal mode.

I didn't test the Gram 16 against our creative content benchmarks due to the lack of discrete graphics and a lower-performing CPU. It just can't rival the XPS 15 and 17 and the MacBook Pro 16 for creative professionals, which is one of the main demographics of larger screen laptops. Don't buy this laptop if you expect powerhouse performance.

display

Laptops with larger displays – 16:10 or 3: 2 – are becoming more common, and it won't be long before the old school 16: 9 widescreen display is in the minority. The Gram 16 has a 16-inch, 16:10 display with WQXGA resolution (2,560 x 1,600). Thanks to small bezels, you are immediately in front of a large, luxurious area to do real work.

Unfortunately, the panel itself is a mixed bag compared to other premium laptops. On the one hand, it has a wide gamut of 88% AdobeRGB (75% is closer to average for all but the best displays) and 100% sRGB. However, these colors are not particularly accurate with a DeltaE of just 2.67 (1.0 or less is considered excellent). The XPS 15's 4K display reached 0.65 and the MacBook Pro 16 1.41.

LG Gram 16 laptopMark Coppock / Digital Trends

The brightness of the display was 313 nits and just hit our preferred threshold of 300 nits. The XPS 15 4K has 442 nits and the MacBook Pro 16 was a bit brighter than the Dell at 443 nits. Where the Gram 16's display really suffers is its contrast, which was only 830: 1. These days, good premium displays exceed a contrast ratio of 1,000: 1 – the XPS 15 4K is 1,480: 1 and the MacBook Pro 16 is 1,250: 1.

I enjoyed the display on the Gram 16 for its size and aspect ratio, and was fine with its colors and brightness – but then again, I'm not a creative professional, so wide and accurate colors aren't that important to me. I noticed the low contrast, however, as black text didn't look the way I like it against a white background. Even so, most people will find the display pleasant enough for their productivity work and their media consumption.

The audio quality was decent, with sufficient volume for YouTube and the occasional Netflix binge, and with no significant distortion. The mids and highs were clear, but the bass was missing. The XPS 15 and MacBook Pro 16 have better sound quality, especially the MacBook which has some of the best audio quality you can find on a laptop.

Keyboard and touchpad

The Gram 16 has a fairly typical island keyboard with well-even backlighting. The black keycaps are a good size and conveniently spaced. The switches are precise, offer a lot of spring travel and a comfortable floor effect. My only problem with the mechanism is the amount of pressure it takes to press a button. The keyboard felt stiff to me, unlike the crisp and snappy action on the HP Specter line and the MacBook's Magic keyboard. If you like a lighter touch, you might not prefer this keyboard.

LG Gram 16 laptopMark Coppock / Digital Trends

The touchpad is large due to the expansive keyboard deck – although there is room for an even larger touchpad. The surface is smooth and pleasant to wipe, and thanks to Microsoft's Precision touchpad drivers, it offers excellent support for Windows 10 multi-touch gestures. I really liked the touchpad and appreciated the relatively quiet buttonless clicks. What I didn't like was the non-touch display. I prefer touch displays for thumb scrolling, which is even more helpful with a larger display.

Windows 10 Hello support is provided by a fingerprint reader integrated into the power button. It logged me in quickly and painlessly, with no single mistake in recognizing my finger. I would have loved to have facial recognition too, but LG chose not to include that.

Battery life

As already mentioned, the Gram 16 manages to achieve a battery capacity of 80 watt hours despite its incredibly low weight. At the same time, it has a fast CPU and a high-resolution 16-inch display. I wasn't sure what battery life to expect.

What I certainly didn't expect is some of the best battery life we've seen. In all of our tests, the Gram 16 lasted an exceptionally long time and was used either as the most durable laptop or in the top tier.

Starting with the PCMark 10 gaming test, which stresses the CPU and GPU, the Gram 16 lasted five hours. The closest laptop is the XPS 13 Full HD +, which lasts a full hour less. In the PCMark 10 application test, which is the best measure of productivity longevity, the Gram 16 managed almost 18 hours, which is more than three hours longer than the next best, Lenovo's Yoga 9i 14. In third place is the XPS 13 with just under 11 hours

LG Gram 16 laptop

In our web browsing test, which ran through a number of popular websites, the Gram 16 got close to 14 hours. Among the Intel laptops, only the Samsung Galaxy Flex 13 came close (in fact, it lasted just as long). Only ARM-based laptops have a longer lifespan, including Apple's M1 MacBook Air and MacBook Pro 13. The XPS 15 we tested contained discrete graphics and lasted just seven hours, while the XPS 17 with discrete graphics lasted just over six hours. You can buy both laptops with built-in graphics and they will likely do a lot better.

Finally, the Gram 16 lasted around 24.5 hours in our video test going through a Full HD Avengers trailer. The Lenovo Yoga 640 with a 10th generation Core i3 is the closest competitor with 23 hours, and the Dell Latitude 7410 2-in-1 with its energy-saving display lasted just under 22 hours. Again, you'll need to switch to an ARM processor to get better battery life in this test. As with our web browsing test, the XPS 15 lasted a little over seven hours and the XPS 17 lasted over nine hours.

Put simply, the Gram 16 showed spectacular battery life. In fact, it was a real problem to check – I had to wait over 60 hours for all of the battery tests to complete. However, for the typical productivity user, you'll likely get through two full business days before plugging in.

Our opinion

The LG Gram 16 is almost unbelievably light to have such a spacious display and an unbelievably long battery life. I wasn't in love with the keyboard and the best performance required turning on performance mode and a bit of fan noise. But I could live with these flaws to have a laptop that I wouldn't have to worry about for days and that I would barely notice in my backpack.

However, my biggest problem with the laptop is how weak it feels. I don't want to overdo things – the laptop feels sturdy unless you intentionally rotate the display or press harder than usual on the keyboard deck. But we do these things in reviews, and that's how we notice them. Whether the typical user would notice – or care since the laptop meets the military specifications for ruggedness – is an open question.

Are there alternatives?

The Dell XPS 15 offers a display with an aspect ratio of 16:10 and offers a much better quality in its 4K version. It's also almost twice as heavy, despite the fact that the display is a bit smaller, and it can't nearly match the battery life of the Gram 16. You'll also pay about $ 300 more for a similarly equipped XPS 15.

Next up is the Apple MacBook Pro 16, which has a sleeker appearance as well as a much better display and spectacular sound. It's also much more expensive, and it doesn't even come close to rivaling the Gram 16's longevity.

Finally, with the XPS 17, you can get a slightly larger display and much faster performance in a package that is only slightly larger than the Gram 16. You will be spending more money, however, and battery life will suffer here too.

The XPS 15 and 17, as well as the MacBook Pro 16, are also much faster than the Gram 16 thanks to more powerful 45-watt CPUs and discrete GPUs. Keep this in mind when choosing between these two options and the lightest, most durable laptop in its class.

How long it will take?

I've said it before – the Gram 16 doesn't seem to be as rugged as many other premium laptops if you're looking for flaws. However, if you trust the MIL-STD-810G rating, you can be sure that it will stand up to some abuse. It is covered by the one-year guarantee, which is customary in the industry and which is too short.

Should you buy it?

Yes. The LG Gram 16 is a solid productivity performer with outstanding – truly unprecedented – battery life, and it's so damn light. Just make sure you pay attention to the performance differences with other similar sized laptops.

Editor's recommendations




11 Aug
Blog

LG Gram 14 2-in-1 (2020) Review: Not Just a Light Laptop

lg grams 14 2 in 1 2020 review 05

"The LG Gram 14 2-in-1 is an extremely light laptop, but it does more than just that."

  • Solid productivity performance

  • Extremely light

  • Generally good input options

  • Strong connectivity

  • Expensive

  • The performance has decreased slightly compared to the previous generation

As you can tell by the name, LG's Gram laptops focus on weight – especially light weight. While thin and light laptops have gotten a lot thinner and lighter, the LG Gram line has managed to keep its place with some of the lightest laptops you can buy.

LG just updated its Gram 14 2-in-1, which weighs just 2.52 pounds. It's insanely easy, despite having all of the high-end specs you'd expect in a $ 1,600 laptop. But does this laptop have more to offer than just its light weight?

design

The Gram 14 weighs 2.52 pounds, which is definitely on the lower end of the scale for 14-inch 2-in-1 laptops. Imagine a direct competitor, the Lenovo Yoga C940, which weighs 3.04 pounds – a half-pound difference that you can tell when you hold it in either hand. Even a smaller 2-in-1, the HP Specter x360 13, is heavier at 2.88 pounds. Simply put, the Gram 14 achieves its goal of being a noticeably lighter alternative.

Much of this has to do with the choice of materials, especially the magnesium alloy that makes up the laptop's case. This metal manages to keep things lightweight while still being reasonably sturdy, though I've noticed a few bends in the lid and some keyboard flexes. The Gram 14 feels like it's made of plastic. That's not a bad thing in and of itself, but it hurts when you factor in the $ 1,600 price tag.

Despite its low weight, the Gram 14 is not the thinnest notebook.

However, once you overcome this mental hurdle, you will appreciate how LG managed to make the laptop so light and solid that you don't have to worry about its ability to endure abuse.

Despite its weight, the Gram 14 is not the thinnest notebook at 0.70 inches. The Yoga C940 is thinner at 0.57 inches and the HP Specter x360 13 is 0.67 inches. And you'll be pleased with that extra thickness as, as we'll learn, it improves connectivity and battery capacity.

In terms of aesthetics, the Gram 14 can best be described as "handsome". It's an attractive dark silver color (it's also available in white) with a bold white Gram logo on the lid and keyboard font that curiously compliments the design. There's nothing here to get a lot of attention, but I like the look. I would prefer it to Lenovo's yoga aesthetic, which is as conservative as it is boring. HP's Specter line is still the most extravagant, of course, and the Gram 14 doesn't come close.

Connectivity is impressive for a laptop this thin and light. There's a USB-C port with Thunderbolt 3 support (and an upgrade from the previous model without this useful connection), a full-size HDMI port, two USB-A 3.1 ports, and a microSD card reader. Wireless connectivity is provided by Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5, which keeps the laptop up to date with the latest in wireless technology.

performance

When I reviewed the 2019 version of the Gram 14, it was a strong performance for its CPU class. This time it fell off a bit.

In the synthetic Geekbench 4, for example, the 2019 version with its eighth generation Core i7-8565U achieved 5,013 points in the single-core test and 15,496 points in the multi-core test. The new Gram 14 with its quad-core Intel Core i7-10510U scored 5,244 and 14,789 points respectively and dropped out in the multi-core test. Looking at Geekbench 5, the Gram 14 scored 1,170 and 3,480, respectively, compared to the Asus ZenBook Duo with the same CPU that manages 1,183 and 4,221. The Gram 14 simply lags behind in this test.

When switching to our real-world handbrake test, which converts a 420MB video file to H.265, the 2019 Gram 14 took about 4.1 minutes to complete the test with an older version of Handbrake, while the new Gram 14 took five Took seconds longer. We didn't test the same CPU with the latest version of Handbrake, but it took the Gram 14 five minutes to complete the test compared to the Acer Spin 3, which took a Core i5-1035G1 in just over four minutes.

None of this is a tragedy, of course. These results mean you don't want to use the Gram 14 for high-level photo and video editing tasks, but it does work for just about any productivity, web browsing, and multimedia task you might want to do. And that's exactly the focus of this laptop – providing a lightweight platform that productivity workers love to take with them. In this respect the gram 14 shines.

With Intel UHD Graphics, this is of course not a gaming laptop. If you stick to older, low-resolution, graphical-detail titles, you can play light games, but that's about all you can expect.

Battery life

Somehow, LG managed to pack 72 watt hours of battery capacity into the lightweight housing of the Gram 14. That's a lot of battery for a 14-inch laptop, and I expected some strong battery results.

What I got was strong, but not spectacular longevity. Battery life has been one of the most notable improvements in recent laptops, and the Gram 14 sits on the top shelf in this category. It's not the most durable we've tested, but it does give you a good, long day off the hook.

First, it did nearly 4.5 hours in our demanding Basemark web benchmark test. That's on the high end of the average, which is a bit strange because the Gram 14 doesn't exactly push the CPU to its limits and I was expecting more here. The Asus ZenBook Duo lasted almost five hours longer and the Dell XPS 13 with its Core i7-1065G7 almost half an hour longer. So Gram 14 did well here, but not great.

The LG Gram 14 will get you through a whole working day and much more.

The switch to the web browser test and the Gram 14 was a bit stronger. It ran for roughly 11.3 hours, which is a strong – but also not class-leading – score that indicates a long-lasting productivity laptop. The ZenBook Duo only lasted 8.5 hours, while the XPS 13 lasted 13 minutes longer. Finally, watch our video loop test looping a local Full HD The Avengers trailer until the battery runs out. Here the Gram 14 lasted 16.6 hours, beating the 11.9 hours of the ZenBook Duo and the 14.5 hours of the XPS 13. You'll find the Gram 14 an excellent laptop for getting Netflix on the road .

Ultimately, I have to rate the Gram 14 as impressive in terms of battery life, all the more so since you don't pay a premium in terms of weight for total battery capacity. The Gram 14 will take you through a full day of work and more, which is all you can ask from such a featherweight machine.

display

If you look at our display database, you can see a remarkably consistent trend. Laptops like the Apple MacBook and the Dell XPS 15 have fantastic displays with brilliant and precise colors, deep contrast and high brightness. Then there are inexpensive displays with faint colors, poor accuracy, and dull panels with less contrast. Right in the middle is the premium average, which is almost exactly where the Gram 14's display drops off.

It's comfortably bright at 320 nits, which exceeds our preference of 300 nits, while its 830: 1 contrast falls below our preferred 1,000: 1 ratio. But that's similar or better than some other laptops like the Lenovo Yoga C930 (we haven't tested the C940 yet) which came in at 294 nits and a contrast of 650: 1. The Dell XPS 13 was much brighter at 377 nits and had a contrast ratio of 1,440: 1.

The display is one of the worst color accuracies we've seen in a while.

In terms of color, the Gram 14 managed 70% AdobeRGB and 95% sRGB. Again, this is roughly average for premium laptops. although the XPS 13 outperforms it with 77% and 97% respectively. Where the Gram 14 falls, the color accuracy is 5.11 (1.0 or less is considered accurate), which means colors can be found everywhere compared to a laptop like the XPS 13, which scored 1.53 were. The Gram 14's score is one of the worst we've seen in a while, and there's no excuse for an expensive laptop like this one.

Still, I enjoyed using the display while writing the review. Black text on a white background popped up in a way that was comfortable for long-term writing, and the only time I noticed the inaccurate colors was when I compared it side by side with another laptop. If you're the creative type who demands a wide gamut and accurate colors, control should be clear. For productivity users and multimedia watchers, however, the Gram 14's laptop is more than good enough.

The sound was clear and pleasant, although the volume was absent. There was little bass, of course, but few laptops outside of Apple's latest MacBook Pros can claim a lot of low-end reactions. Highs and mids were fine, so the speakers were fine for the occasional YouTube and Netflix sessions (in a quiet room), but headphones or bluetooth speakers would still be a boon.

Keyboard and touchpad

The keyboard on the Gram 14 appears to be the same as the previous model, which is generally a good thing. First of all, as mentioned above, it's a nice looking keyboard with a nice, clear, attractive font and effective backlighting. Second, it has a fast mechanism that is good for long writes, although it's a bit shallow for my tastes. Lots of people may agree, so I rate the keyboard very good – not quite on par with the excellent keyboard on the HP Specter x360 13, but not too far off.

The touchpad is average in size and supports Microsoft Precision drivers with solid support for Windows 10 multi-touch gestures. The display is of course touch sensitive, and the included active pen supports 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity and works well with Microsoft inks. Overall, input is a strength.

Windows 10 Hello support without a password is provided by a fingerprint reader integrated into the power button. It works well, quickly and accurately and saves me the hassle of entering a PIN or password.

Our opinion

The LG Gram 14 2-in-1 fulfills its primary goal of being a lightweight 2-in-1 productivity that is particularly easy to transport. Performance is a bit slower than the last version, but it's not unusual – it's still fast enough for the productivity users' goal. Battery life is a strong point, as are the input options.

There is stiff competition out there, however, and some of them are much cheaper than the Gram 14. However, it's tough to beat the LG Gram 14 for the ultimate in portability.

Are there alternatives?

The Lenovo Yoga C940 is a strong competitor to the Gram 14. It is likely faster and more solidly built, with great audio performance and a better keyboard. While the battery life isn't that long, it makes up for it with a price tag that is about $ 300 lower.

You could also cut the price significantly (around under $ 1,000) and consider the HP Envy x360. Thanks to the powerful Ryzen 4000 CPUs from AMD and an overall better build quality, you get significantly faster performance without adding too much weight. However, you are giving up on battery life.

Finally, LG sells a Gram 14 clamshell that's even lighter at 2.2 pounds and the same basic size as the 2-in-1. It's only configured with a Core i5, but if you don't need the speed or the 2-in-1 functionality, you can save 14 cash compared to the 2-in-1 price of 1,600 grams – the clamshell is out now available at $ 950 and $ 1,200 at retail.

How long it will take?

The LG Gram 14 2-in-1 is built well enough that it should last for years. And with the latest components and Thunderbolt3, it's relatively future-proof. As always, we complain about the short one-year guarantee.

Should you buy it?

Yes, but only if you have a super light laptop. When performance or build quality are higher priorities, better laptops and 2-in-1 devices are available.

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