LG Gram 16 (2022) review

Greatest Costs At the moment: LG Gram 16 (2022)

$1,589.79

Free

Whereas working a 9-to-5 in the identical workplace each day was the norm a number of years in the past, there was an explosion in distant and hybrid working – and meaning persons are engaged on the go greater than ever earlier than.

Whereas on the lookout for a light-weight laptop computer that gained’t make your shoulders ache on commutes would historically come on the sacrifice of display actual property, the LG Gram 16 breaks the mould with a big show and an extremely light-weight kind issue. The query is, does that light-weight kind issue come at a value? Effectively, humorous you need to ask that…

Design & construct

• Extremely skinny and light-weight
• MIL-STD 810G-rated
• Loads of ports

Because the identify suggests, the LG Gram 16 is a light-weight little bit of package that’ll shock you as you effortlessly raise it with one hand. It weighs in at a powerful 1.2kg, whereas the smaller LG Gram 14 weighs in at 999g – lower than 1kg.

Mixed with comparatively compact dimensions (355 x 242 x 16.8mm) for a 16in laptop computer, the Gram 16 is well among the best laptops round for portability, with noticeably much less heft when carried in a rucksack in comparison with my MacBook Professional (2021) – although it isn’t any thinner or lighter than final yr’s near-identical mannequin.

Lewis Painter / Foundry

That light-weight kind issue is achieved by utilizing a mix of magnesium and plastic inside its chassis and lid – however that additionally means it’s much less inflexible than metallic options, and it doesn’t really feel fairly as premium both.

Nonetheless, the MIL-STD 810G score helps alleviate any potential fears about it being much less sturdy than the competitors, in a position to face up to shock, excessive temperature, mud and extra.

Contemplating its compact nature, the Gram 16 sports activities a powerful array of ports together with an HDMI 2.1 video output, two USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 ports, a 3.5mm headphone jack, a microSD card reader, a Kensington lock slot and two Thunderbolt 4 ports with help for DP 1.4 and USB-C PD.

Lewis Painter / Foundry

There’s even a small LED subsequent to one of many TB4 ports to point cost when plugged in – a pleasant small contact.

Consider it or not, you’ve additionally obtained the choice to improve the Gram 16 your self. There’s a second empty M.2 2280 SSD slot hidden throughout the chassis permitting you so as to add further storage, although the method of accessing it’s a little fiddly. A extra user-friendly method would’ve been good, it needs to be stated.

By way of color choices, the LG Gram 16 is available in the identical black and gray finishes as final yr’s variant, with the latter provided for evaluate.

Keyboard, trackpad & webcam

• Full-size keyboard is tactile and responsive
• Massive trackpad is a pleasure to make use of
• Upgraded 1080p webcam with AI smarts

The total-size keyboard is nice for phrase processing (one thing I can attest to!), with a agency, crisp response and simply the correct quantity of journey that’s surprisingly satisfying to sort on.

Lewis Painter / Foundry

There’s a two-stage backlight beneath the keyboard that’ll preserve it illuminated in darkish circumstances, media keys constructed into the operate keys and a full Numpad to the fitting, with the latter a specific boon for anybody that works with numbers.

Beneath the keyboard sits the massive 132 x 83mm trackpad. Whereas trackpads are notoriously arduous to get simply proper, the Gram 16 excels with a responsive floor and agency click on suggestions that makes swiping the mouse round an absolute pleasure. You gained’t be ditching your mouse anytime quickly, however you gained’t have any complaints concerning the trackpad when utilizing the laptop computer on the go.  

Whereas laptops normally function bog-standard low-res 720p cameras, LG is certainly one of a rising variety of producers to grasp the significance of a high-quality digital camera in occasions of distant and hybrid working.

The 720p webcam of final yr’s mannequin has been upgraded to 1080p, which isn’t solely extra detailed however brighter with spectacular low-light efficiency, excellent for people who spend plenty of time on video calls.

Lewis Painter / Foundry

With a flowery new webcam in place, LG has determined to utilise it – together with its upgraded AI smarts – to introduce a bunch of webcam-based options distinctive to the Gram 16.

That features options like blurring the show once you’re away out of your laptop computer, transferring the mouse between shows with a look when utilizing a number of shows, and a specific favorite of mine, an alert when somebody is your display from over your shoulder. No extra peeping Toms on public transport and flights!

Lewis Painter / Foundry

The upgraded webcam can also be Home windows Hiya suitable, permitting you to scan your face to get entry to the laptop computer, however in doing so LG has eliminated the fingerprint scanner from the facility button. That’s a bit of disappointing, contemplating the Home windows Hiya scanner requires your face to be in simply the fitting place for it to efficiently scan.

Show & audio

• Prime quality 16in show is nice for work and play
• Matte end reduces reflections
• Surprisingly balanced audio efficiency

The LG Gram 16’s show is gorgeous, with slim bezels on two of the 4 edges that enable the display to stretch to virtually the very edges of the casing for a premium look, and the taller 16:10 facet ratio is nice for split-screen use, studying and number-crunching.

Lewis Painter / Foundry

It’s technically an awesome show too, with the 2560 x 1600 LCD panel delivering nice protection from the three main color areas – 100% sRGB, 89% AdobeRGB and 100% DCI-P3 in testing – and a most brightness of 372cd/m2. Mixed with a matte end to discourage reflections, I had no situation utilizing the laptop computer indoors or open air.

Usually talking, the show is phenomenal, with loads of element, vibrant colors and nice distinction, making it excellent for each engaged on spreadsheets and catching up on a little bit of Netflix within the night – though the taller show means letterboxing is extra of a difficulty than conventional 16:9 panels.

The one ache level is the usual 60Hz refresh price, although with a minimal response time, it nonetheless feels clean and responsive in use.

For people who want extra display actual property, LG has revealed the +View exterior show, designed to be used with the Gram 16. The light-weight (670g) monitor can sit horizontally or vertically due to an iPad-esque folio cowl, and connects to the laptop computer through USB-C.

Lewis Painter / Foundry

See also  Google Nest Wifi Pro review

Not like most options, the panel used within the exterior show is of top of the range, matching the decision, measurement and color profile of the Gram 16 for a constant expertise throughout each shows. It’s bought individually, and it’ll set you again $349/£299, but it surely’s a stable selection for an exterior show.

There aren’t seen speaker grilles that sit on both sides of the keyboard like some options, however the two hidden 1.5W audio system – full with DTS:X Extremely certification – ship a surprisingly rounded audio expertise.

It’s greater than sufficient for watching YouTube movies and even catching up on Netflix reveals, with a comparatively balanced output and notable bass to spherical it off.

Specs & efficiency

• Underpowered in comparison with equally priced options
• Quick and responsive in on a regular basis use
• Not designed for graphics-heavy workloads or gaming

On the coronary heart of the LG Gram 16, you’ll discover a snazzy new Intel Core i7 1260P with both 8, 16 or 32GB of DDR5 reminiscence and as much as 1TB of SSD storage – for context, I used to be provided with a 16GB mannequin for evaluate.

For people who haven’t heard of the i7-1260P, it’s a 28W Alder Lake-generation CPU designed for use in ultralight laptops – and if the Gram 16 isn’t ultralight, I don’t know what’s!

The CPU sports activities 12 cores – 4 devoted to efficiency and eight for low-power duties – which sounds nice, but it surely’s much less highly effective with two fewer cores than the usual i7-12700H utilized in high-end options, and that has a knock-on impact on efficiency as proven in our benchmarks.

As seen above, the LG Gram 16’s ultralight CPU can’t fairly compete with equally specced laptops just like the Huawei MateBook 16s (2022) geared up with the usual i7-12700H, each when it comes to compute and graphical efficiency. In truth, outcomes are extra in-line with the $899/£949 Samsung Galaxy Ebook 2 360 and its i5-1235U and 8GB of RAM.

These are simply numbers although; in real-world efficiency, the Gram 16 is quick and responsive. It boots up from chilly inside seconds, with apps like Chrome, Slack and Microsoft Phrase opening near-instantly, and it might probably run loads of apps on-screen on the identical time. There’s a cause it’s Intel Evo-certified, in spite of everything.

Nonetheless, it begins to battle in terms of processing-heavy duties like video enhancing and gaming, with the surprisingly audible followers kicking in pretty shortly. You possibly can go for a mannequin with an exterior RTX 2060 GPU in some areas, however that type of defeats the aim of an ultralight laptop computer.

There’s a cause for the trade-off in sheer efficiency although; battery life.

Lewis Painter / Foundry

Battery life

• Unimaginable all-day battery life
• 65W charging through USB-C PD

Contemplating simply how light-weight and skinny the LG Gram 16 is, you’d anticipate battery life to be comparatively poor – how might LG match an enormous battery right into a case so small, in spite of everything? Effectively, it appears the eight power-efficient cores of the i7-1260P are doing the job, as a result of the Gram 16 is a powerful beast in terms of battery life.

Whereas LG’s 22-hour claims aren’t precisely mirrored in benchmark checks, the LG Gram 16’s 80Wh battery lasted a powerful 16 hours and 42 minutes working a looped 720p video at 120nits display brightness.

Although it’s behind Apple’s M1-enabled MacBook Air at 19:55, it’s uncommon to return throughout the battery life to measurement ratio that the Gram 16 affords, providing an ideal mix of portability and all-day efficiency.

That’s with the caveat that extra power-hungry functions will drain the battery a bit of quicker, after all, however I’ve discovered the battery would comfortably final an entire day of labor – shopping, writing and light-weight photograph enhancing – with no need a top-up.  

With regards to charging, USB-C energy supply means the included 65W USB-C PD charger offered 33% cost in half-hour in testing, whereas a full cost can take round an hour and 45 minutes.

Lewis Painter / Foundry

Software program

• Comes with Home windows 11 Dwelling
• A handful of pre-installed LG apps

Whereas final yr’s LG Gram 16 got here working Home windows 10, this yr’s mannequin sports activities the upgraded Home windows 11 Dwelling and all the advantages that include it, together with a refreshed consumer interface, the flexibility to run Android apps and far more.

There are a number of LG-branded apps pre-installed, however these have been redesigned, consolidated and cleaned up for a extra user-friendly expertise than earlier iterations, making it simpler to put in software program updates and profit from LG’s webcam smarts.

Lewis Painter / Foundry

Value

The LG Gram 16 (2022) begins at a not-insignificant $1549/£1349 and might attain $1,599/£1,749 relying on the storage and RAM possibility you go for.

That’s little question costly, particularly when you think about the Huawei MateBook 16s begins at £1,299 (round $1,550) and comes not solely with the next decision show, however higher efficiency – although it weighs double the LG Gram 16. Apparently, a light-weight design comes with a hefty premium.

In case you’re tempted, you should buy the LG Gram 16 (2022) in its numerous configurations from Amazon within the US and Amazon and AO within the UK. For extra laptop computer inspiration, check out our collection of the perfect laptops out there proper now.

Verdict

The LG Gram 16 (2022) is a marvel of engineering, with a light-weight chassis that doesn’t compromise on sturdiness all all-day battery life too – although the lengthy battery life comes on the sacrifice of a much less highly effective CPU than equally priced options.

Efficiency apart, the LG Gram 16 seems like a premium little bit of package, with a responsive keyboard, massive trackpad, nice audio system and a high-quality show – even when the latter is capped at 60Hz.

If portability is essential, you gained’t discover something as light-weight with as massive a show because the Gram 16, however there are actually extra highly effective laptops available on the market at the same worth if efficiency is your primary objective.

Specs

• 355 x 242 x 16.8mm
• 1199g
• Twelfth-gen Intel Core i7-1260P
• Intel Iris Xe graphics
• 512GB SSD with spare M.2 SSD slot
• 16GB LODDR5 RAM
• 16in WQXGA (2560 x 1600) IPS LCD show
• Wi-Fi 6E
• Bluetooth 5.1
• 1080p webcam with AI-powered options
• 2x 1.5W audio system
• Full-size backlit keyboard with Numpad
• Massive 132 x 83mm trackpad
• HDMI 2.1 port
• 2x USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 ports
• 3.5mm headphone jack
• microSD card reader
• 2x Thunderbolt 4 ports
• Kensington lock slot
• 80Wh battery
• USB-C PD charging at 65W