It may not be the #1 best battery life laptop and the best laptop, but coming in at a close second is the LG Gram. The Gram laptops are full size 17 inch models that are perfect for basic usage, light gaming (primarily older games on lower settings), and basic photo editing. The 80wh lithium battery claims to last up to 17 hours, but you can reasonably expect anywhere from 11-15 hours per charge. This laptop is a top contender for best laptops since it comes packed with several features.
Why We Like It – LG Gram Laptop
The LG Gram Laptop is an upgrade over the previous model that offers a 17 inch screen, 16GB of RAM, 1TB of internal storage (two 512GB solid state drives), & an Intel Core i7 processor with an Iris Plus graphics card. It even has a fingerprint reader built directly into the power button, saving you time when logging in!
- Light Weight
- Long Battery Life (Up to 17 Hours) Thanks to an Upgraded 80WHr Battery
- 17” Large Screen
- Speakers Sound Tinny
- Body Has a Lot of Flex
Power & Performance
The LG Gram is powered by a 10th Gen Core i7 and uses an Iris Plus graphics card. It has 1TB of internal storage, 16GB of RAM, and a big screen with an aspect ratio of 16:10. Sadly, it’s not a touchscreen, but the screen is fairly bright, with a glossy finish & a peak brightness of 350 nits (if you want a touchscreen, visit our Lenovo Yoga c940 review!). It is capable of producing 99% sRGB, 75% AdobeRGB, and 78% DCI-P3, meaning the visuals on this laptop are pretty decent!
See Also: Take a look at the Macbook Air 13 i5 review too.
Battery
Last year’s model of the LG Gram had a 72WHr battery, but this year’s model has been upgraded to an 80WHr battery. LG claims that this will give it a battery life of up to 17 hours, but this will largely depend on how you use the device. If you’re gaming or editing videos, performance will drop down closer to 11 hours, but if you’re mainly web browsing a 15 or 16-hour battery life is a possibility. The Gram includes a proprietary charger, but you can also charge the device via USB C.
Ports & Expandability
You’ll be happy to know that the Gram has a Thunderbolt 3 type C port which can be used for charging and is capable of data transfers of up to 40GB/s (if you’re looking for an Apple device with a Thunderbolt 3 port check out our Apple Macbook Pro 13 review)! The LG also has two USB 3.1 ports, an HDMI output, a headphone jack, and a microSD card slot. It can connect to both 2.4Ghz & 5.0Ghz wifi networks, and supports Bluetooth as well.
Build Quality
There’s a fair amount of flex in this laptop. The metal chassis is made of a nano-carbon magnesium alloy, which although metal, feels somewhat plastic to the touch. Still, the flex in the chassis means there’s a lower possibility of damage to the device when transporting it in a bag or backpack, and the highly reflective IPS LCD screen shares this flexibility so it won’t crack. The laptop has two internal 1.5W speakers, which provide a less-than-spectacular performance (for a better listening experience check out our HP Spectre x360 13t review). Also check out our LG Gram 17 review for an ultrathin laptop.
Value
Retail, this device costs $1,849.00, but currently, it’s being offered for $1,488, which is a much better deal! Delivery is free through Amazon Prime, though returns will result in an additional fee. It does appear to have a warranty, but we couldn’t find any concrete information on the specifications of this warranty. You can buy protection plans, but these will set you back an additional $128.99 (2 years) to $183.99 (4 years). Most people seem happy with their purchase though, as the Gram scores 4.4 out of 5-stars based on 194 Amazon reviews.
LG Gram Laptop Wrap Up
The LG Gram used to be somewhat overpriced, but with the recent price drop, we highly recommend getting your hands on this laptop! While it’s not suitable for use as a dedicated gaming system, most people will be happy with its performance and willing to hook up speakers for a listening experience superior to the internal stock speakers.
