LG Gram (2023) Overview: King of big and light

LG introduced its Gram laptop computer line to Canada in 2020, and since then, it’s been one of the go-to choices for individuals who desire a big laptop computer that isn’t tremendous heavy. The 2023 Gram fashions are not any totally different, providing refined refinement the place wanted and sustaining the issues that labored properly earlier than.

Right off the bat, one of the issues that stood out to me with the newest LG Gram was a big discount in body flex, which helps considerably with the perceived high quality of the laptop computer. Moreover, the keyboard on my LG Gram 16-inch mannequin is among the many greatest I’ve used on a Gram, which wins big factors from me. And, of course, the battery life continues to be sturdy, efficiency stays wonderful, and the Gram nonetheless takes the cake with its weight-to-size ratio.

Once once more, which means anybody on the lookout for a big Windows laptop computer that’s nonetheless simple to hold round will seemingly discover the Gram a compelling possibility.

Specs

• Display: 16-inch WQXGA IPS show with 2560 x 1600 pixel decision
• Processor: thirteenth Gen Intel Core i7-1360P
• Memory: 16GB
• Storage: 512GB SSD
• Dimensions: 35.51 x 24.23 x 1.68 cm
• Weight: 1.2kg (2.64lbs)
• Camera: FHD IR webcam with twin microphone
• Operating System: Windows 11 Home
• Battery: 80Wh
• Connectivity: 802.11ax Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.1
• Sensors: Window Hello face recognition
• Ports: 1x HDMI, 2x USB 4 Gen3x2 Type C/Thunderbolt 4, 2x USB 3.2 Gen2x1 Type A, 1x microSD
• Graphics: Iris Xe

Note: the above specs are for the LG Gram (2023) I examined. There are extra configurations, although availability varies by retailer.

The sturdiest Gram butPerhaps one of my greatest gripes with earlier Gram laptops (2021 and 2022) was the numerous flex within the chassis. This is one thing that LG has refined over time, however the 2023 fashions are undoubtedly the very best on this regard.

All throughout the chassis, flex has been decreased or eradicated solely. There’s nonetheless a slight flex within the centre of the laptop computer, for instance, when you press across the spacebar or simply above the F8-F10 keys, but it surely’s very minimal. The show additionally nonetheless has some flex to it, however once more, it’s fairly decreased.

For me, the decreased flex total makes for a big enchancment within the perceived high quality of the laptop computer. LG makes use of a magnesium alloy for the chassis, and whereas I discover it feels barely plasticky, that sensation isn’t as dangerous as in earlier years, due to the decreased flex.

Beyond the flex modifications, there’s not a complete lot else that’s totally different this time round. The laptop computer continues to be accessible in display sizes starting from 14- to 17-inches (I examined a 16-inch mannequin this 12 months). The laptop computer continues to be remarkably light for its measurement, with the 16-inch mannequin I attempted weighing in at 1.2kg (2.64lbs).

The weight makes the LG Gram very transportable. Despite how big the 16-inch mannequin is, it slid simply into my backpack, and I hardly knew it was there. Anecdotally, I introduced it with me to the opening day of the CNE whereas I used to be testing Intel’s Gaming Garage and didn’t have any problem lugging across the laptop computer and my digicam.

Wrapping issues up, the LG Gram nonetheless has a bunch of ports, making it an incredible productiveness possibility. That contains an HDMI port, two USB-C / Thunderbolt ports on the left, two USB-A ports, and a microSD card slot on the suitable. The laptop computer makes use of USB-C for charging too, so when you’ve got a number of USB-C peripherals, you would possibly wish to spend money on a dongle or dock.

Improved typing expertise

I might be actually choosy in regards to the keyboards supplied on laptops. It’s arduous to make a superb keyboard on a laptop computer the place the primary precedence is preserving house. Plus, producers like to shrink or transfer keys to make issues match.

Thankfully, LG largely prevented all these issues by transport a roomy keyboard that’s a pleasure to sort on. It’s not tremendous clicky, but it surely does have satisfying tactile suggestions, due to a pleasant ‘thunk’ once you press a key down. There’s additionally a numpad, which is nice for some however isn’t my desire (I discover it pushes the keyboard left sufficient that I’ve to twist my proper arm in an uncomfortable option to sort).

While the LG Gram’s keyboard is total an enchancment over earlier choices, it’s nonetheless not the very best keyboard I’ve ever used on a laptop computer. Regardless, I’m completely satisfied LG is shifting in the suitable course right here.

My emotions are combined in relation to the trackpad. First, the nice: it’s big, which makes it nice to make use of. The dangerous, nevertheless, is that it isn’t as ‘glidey’ as different trackpads. By that, I imply that my fingers don’t slide over the trackpad floor simply, which detracts from the trackpad expertise, particularly after I want to make use of it for an prolonged interval of time. Throughout my time with the LG Gram, I usually opted to make use of a mouse as a substitute.

Better battery life

Laptop battery life can fluctuate considerably relying on what you’re doing and the settings you select. However, even when pushed to the max, the LG Gram does higher than most laptops. In my expertise, the LG Gram may comfortably make it by means of my typical eight-hour workday, usually with some juice left to spare.

My typical workday contains working far too many browser tabs for analysis and writing, Slack, listening to music, and sometimes enhancing photos in Photoshop. The LG Gram dealt with all of these duties fairly properly, and I seldom encountered a big slowdown or hiccup. For the avid gamers on the market, the included Iris Xe graphics gained’t blow you away – this actually isn’t an incredible possibility for video games.

That being mentioned, I discovered the Gram continued a sample I’ve observed throughout the final a number of Windows 11 laptops I’ve examined – when working on battery energy, efficiency can take a big hit. Part of this stems from Windows 11’s energy settings. Windows allows you to choose between three choices, ‘Best power efficiency,’ ‘Best performance,’ or the default ‘Balanced.’ Further, you’ll be able to set these choices individually for when the laptop computer is plugged in or on battery energy.

In my testing, altering the efficiency settings whereas the laptop computer was plugged in didn’t yield any vital advantages, with the Gram scoring almost the identical throughout all three modes. Interestingly, the facility effectivity mode technically bought the best total benchmark rating when plugged in, however total, the scores had been shut sufficient that altering the settings doesn’t matter.

On battery energy, nevertheless, the efficiency settings have a way more vital affect, each on efficiency and on battery life. To illustrate how vital this drop-off might be, I ran Geekbench 6 assessments on the LG Gram throughout all of the totally different energy modes with the laptop computer plugged in and unplugged:

During the evaluation interval, I virtually completely ran it on the Balanced possibility whereas working on battery energy. As the title suggests, it gave me a superb stability between efficiency and battery life. Of course, it’s necessary to keep in mind that some duties will really feel the efficiency restrictions greater than others. For instance, phrase processing on the go was as easy as ever, whereas enhancing images on battery energy was slower than common. Since it’s fairly simple to alter the setting, it could be price enabling the Best efficiency possibility solely once you want a lift and have the battery energy to spare.

LG’s software program add-ons aren’t my favorite

Most Windows PCs come loaded up with pre-installed software program. There’s the standard bloatware like McAffee and different junk I uninstall instantly, however there are sometimes producer apps I depart in place simply in case.

While the LG Gram isn’t any totally different in that regard, I discovered some of the LG software program to be annoying. For instance, each time I plugged the Gram into my docking station to cost and entry my exterior monitor, an overlay would seem on my display with shortcuts to entry varied show settings, reminiscent of whether or not to reflect or lengthen my display to the linked show. On the one hand, the pop-up might be helpful, however after the preliminary setup, it stored popping up and usually bought in the way in which of no matter I used to be doing.

Similarly, many of the LG apps had their very own customized notifications that had been considerably bigger than the standard notification pop-ups you get on Windows. Plus, because the LG apps use customized notifications, I can’t simply banish them with Windows’ don’t disturb settings like with different notifications.

Despite my frequent frustrations, some of the LG apps had useful inclusions. LG’s ‘Smart Assistant’ app, for instance, contains handy shortcuts to a number of laptop computer options. From the app’s principal display, you’ll be able to shortly entry darkish mode, the energy of the laptop computer’s cooling system, lock the perform keys, allow a battery saving mode and modify issues like show color temperature. For essentially the most half, I didn’t use any of these after getting issues arrange the way in which I needed, however the choices will seemingly show useful for some.

Pricey however according to comparable choices

When it involves how a lot you’ll pay for the LG Gram, it’s a nice line between an excessive amount of and about what you’d anticipate. The Gram’s pricing appears to fall according to similarly-specced laptops.

Before I get into particular pricing, I wish to observe that with the LG Gram (and different Windows laptops), producers typically associate with retailers to supply them particular configurations, usually with exclusivity. In the case of the 16-inch mannequin I examined, it’s accessible at each Costco and Best Buy, however Costco has another Gram fashions that Best Buy doesn’t (and vice versa).

The mannequin I examined prices $2,149.99 at Best Buy, however on the time of writing, it was additionally accessible for a extra affordable $1,899.99 at Costco (the provide was slated to finish on September seventh, 2023).

Best Buy briefly had a extra highly effective model with a 1TB SSD and 32GB of RAM on sale for $1,899.99, however that sale ended on August twenty fourth.

Other configurations of the Gram are cheaper, although these have smaller display sizes. If you’re on the lookout for a smaller display, I feel yow will discover higher choices on the market than the Gram.

As I discussed above, similarly-specced laptops appear to hover across the $2,000 mark, give or take just a few hundred {dollars}. For instance, a 15.6-inch Dell XPS laptop computer prices $1,999.99, whereas a 15-inch Surface Laptop 5 is available in at $2,339.99. However, LG has had some first rate reductions on the Gram sequence already, so when you can await a deal, I feel that’s the way in which to go.