LG Gram 17 Review

Although the market is heavily crowded with laptops that make huge statements about them being lightweight and powerful at the same time. Yet no other laptop than LG Gram has impressed us so far in that context. When it comes to lightness and having a long battery life, there’s not even a single laptop that can match the level of the LG Gram series. Since the expectations are already high, does the new LG Gram 17 have any new improved features or performance? If you are curious to know, we have already got the opportunity to try out the new LG Gram 17 laptop, and we’ll be sharing whatever we feel about this laptop, so stay tuned until the end.

Key Specifications:

• Processor: Intel Core i7-1165G7
• RAM: 16GB LPDDR4X 4266 MHz RAM
• Storage Options: 1TB PCIe M.2 NVMe SSD
• Graphics: Intel Iris Xe Graphics
• Display: 17″ WQXGA (2560×1600) IPS LCD 
• Operating System: Windows 10 Home
• Biometrics: Fingerprint Sensor embedded in Power Button
• Weight: 2.98 pounds
• Battery Capacity: 80Whr
• Battery Life: Up to 19.5 hours
• Connectivity Ports: 1 x HDMI port, 2 x USB Type-C Thunderbolt 4 ports, 2 x USB3.2 Type-A ports, 1 x microSD card reader, 1 x 3.5mm audio combo jack
• Wireless Connectivity: Intel WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.1

Performance

Since LG’s Gram laptops are known to bring you the best-in-class performance in the thinnest and lightweight form factor possible. We expected it to come with an Intel i9-series processor this year. However, LG has settled with Intel Core i7-1165G7 for this year. Hopefully, we will get to see i9 processors from next year onwards, until then, the Intel Core i7-1165G7 is what we have at the top-order. 

Obviously, this 11th Gen processor clocking up to 4.7GHz serves as a good enough upgrade over last year’s model. Thankfully, this quad-core chipset delivers up to 1.2x CPU and 1.8x GPU performance than the 2020 model and is more forgiving in terms of battery consumption as well. It’s definitely not the kind of machine that you’ll use to play games as it just has Intel Iris Xe Graphics which are good enough for basic tasks only. However, if you like photo editing, it can handle that smoothly. 

Storage and RAM

Speaking of this year’s LG Gram 17, you get a massive storage option of 1TB PCIe M.2 NVMe SSD which seems more than enough for an office laptop like this. In fact, even if it feels like less to you, LG was kind enough to leave an expansion slot for future upgrades. Thanks to the super-fast performance of this SSD, the laptop never keeps you waiting as everything just loads in just a blink. On the other hand, a 16GB LPDDR4X 4266 MHz RAM combination with its 11th Gen i7 processor makes it a highly efficient laptop for multitasking. Even in terms of memory, you can expand it further as dedicated empty slots for memory are also given under the chassis. 

Design

For a long time, we all have been waiting for a more stealthy-looking laptop from LG. All those earlier models had that common greyish color scheme, which looked a little bit dull as per our likings. But, with this year’s model, LG is offering a Black as a color option, which really looks more aesthetic and professional. Apart from that, compared with last year’s model, there are little upgrades around the keyboard and trackpad area as well which we will discuss later with you. The new LG Gram 17 might have a few good competitors in terms of being thin. However, you will surely be amazed the first time you pick up this laptop in your hands. This huge 17-inches laptop weighs just under 3 lbs which are pretty similar to a 13-inch MacBook device, which’s extremely lightweight! 

Display

Equipped with all such powerful hardware, it’s one of the best machines that can highly boost up your productivity. Especially when you have a larger screen space to work on. The new LG Gram 17 laptop features a 17-inches screen which comes with a unique 16:10 aspect ratio, because the bezels are too thin, you get a wider display on offer. 

Instead of an FHD display that we used to get on previous models, the new LG Gram 17 features a WQXGA (2560 x 1600) IPS panel. This resolution fits right between FHD and 4K, so you get a balanced output. However, watching 4K movies might not feel that good as you won’t be able to experience the best quality. On the other hand, if you are thinking of using this laptop for editing purposes, we will highly recommend this laptop to you as it offers up to 95% DCI-P3 color gamut which surely delivers true-to-life colors. 

Keyboard and Touchpad

Let’s talk about the part that we personally love a lot about this laptop. As compared to its predecessor, LG has made some significant improvements related to its keyboard and the trackpad. Although last year’s model was great for people who love typing, this year’s model is even better. The size of the Keycaps on the newer model is now increased and even the key travel has been improved from 1.5mm to 1.6mm which feels a lot more amazing. In fact, now the trackpad is even wider, matching the 16:10 aspect ratio, just like the display. 

Connectivity

Even though the laptop is one of the thinnest ones around, it offers you all the essential connectivity ports such as 1 x HDMI port, 2 x USB Type-C Thunderbolt 4 ports, 2 x USB3.2 Type-A ports, 1 x microSD card reader, 1 x 3.5mm audio combo jack. However, we would have liked it a lot more if there was an Ethernet port on this laptop. However, you won’t feel its absence much because it boasts Intel WiFi 6, and Bluetooth 5.1 which will fulfill all the rest of the connectivity needs. 

Battery Life

LG Gram 17 is definitely a laptop made for hard-working people as its massive 80Whr battery simply refuses to die. With every year passing by, LG is making their Gram series laptop more powerful in terms of every aspect. In our usage, where we continuously used this laptop for 2 days, 8 hours a day, it still had a little juice left in the tank. That’s the level of performance we expected from this laptop, and it sure impressed us. Although LG claims that its battery lasts for about 19.5 hours, it sometimes lasts for even longer, depending on the usage patterns. 

Overall Thoughts about the LG Gram 17 Laptop

In all, we are pretty much satisfied with the performance of this laptop since it sincerely does its job. For anyone looking for a lightweight, yet powerful laptop, this is the best 17-inches laptop option around. No other 17-inches laptop is as easy to handle as this one, which makes it a highly unique laptop option. If you are a gamer, stay away from this laptop as it has got nothing for you. However, if you love web surfing, watching movies, handling basic office tasks, or ever like doing photo editing or other professional work, the LG Gram 17 would never disappoint you.