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So that you like a giant display, 17-inch laptop computer, however you need to carry it round with out breaking your again? I bought you. LG’s Gram 17 lives as much as its identify because the lightest, thinnest 17-inch laptop computer you have doubtless laid your eyes on.
We have gone hands-on with a number of fashions from LG’s Gram sequence over the previous few years, resembling 2024’s Gram Professional 17 and the Gram Professional 16 2-in-1. Fortunately, the brand new Gram 17 has some enhancements over final yr’s mannequin, and truthfully, the variations between the bottom mannequin and the Professional aren’t as distinguished as you may count on.
The Gram 17 is an exceedingly mild laptop computer for its dimension, measuring simply 0.74 inches skinny and weighing 3.2 kilos. For reference, that is lighter than many 16, 14, and even some 13-inch laptops, and it would not sacrifice {hardware} to get there.
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The Gram 17 is provided with an Intel Core Extremely 7 “Lunar Lake” processor, 32GB of RAM, and a terabyte of storage, placing it according to different aggressive mid-to-upper-tier laptops in the identical worth vary.
The place it stands out from the group, nonetheless, is its kind. The record-holding lightness ends in a laptop computer that is simple to hold round, particularly in case you are a hybrid employee who commutes to the workplace. I took this laptop computer with me all over the place for over per week and barely observed it in my bag.
Additional, the 17-inch touchscreen show is every part you’d count on from a WQXGA (2560×1600) IPS: it is vivid, crisp, and mitigates glare very nicely. I am not an enormous touchscreen individual (I nearly at all times choose a mouse), however the sheer dimension of the display on this laptop computer invitations the consumer to work together with it in a method that is barely totally different than different laptops, and I discovered myself utilizing it extra usually than anticipated.
That mentioned, the very skinny display is slightly wobbly and flexes backwards and forwards with every press, which is able to peeve some customers.
The opposite bodily parts of the laptop computer are glossy and well-designed. The complete-size keyboard is slightly commonplace, with comparatively flat keys that are not fairly as premium as a number of the different laptops I’ve examined not too long ago, like HP’s Elitebook X G1a, however it’s purposeful.
Equally, the touchpad is massive and responsive, though I’ve to say that I want there have been a haptic possibility. Also, the laptop computer’s total dimension ends in a wrist relaxation space that’s fairly expansive. Typing on the Gram 17 means your total hand, and — relying on the scale of your arms — mid forearms will probably be resting on the laptop computer. Additionally, you will want correct desk house, with the underside half of the clamshell measuring 15 inches in size and 10 inches deep.
LG continues to provide its Gram sequence with a black matte end that’s, sadly, a little bit of a fingerprint magnet. Relying on what sort of lighting you are in, the laptop computer’s floor can present smudges and prints, and should you care about that form of factor, it may be a bit distracting.
So far as different {hardware} on board goes, I/O is powerful, with an HDMI port, two USB-Cs (each with energy supply and help for Thunderbolt 4 and DisplayPort), two USB-As, a headphone jack, and a Kensington lock slot. The audio system aren’t notably good, sounding on the shallow aspect (influenced by the system’s ultrathin kind, little question) however about what you’d count on from a mid-tier laptop computer.
The true energy behind this laptop computer is inner, nonetheless. The addition of the Intel Core Extremely 7 (Sequence 2) “Lunar Lake” processor upgrades it to a very aggressive system slightly than simply an engineering showboat.
As with different laptops with Intel’s “Lunar Lake” sequence of processors, such because the Asus Zenbook S14, battery drain slows to a trickle when it is idle, permitting for multi-day use with out worrying in regards to the charger.
Centered, sustained use, nonetheless, ends in the sort of battery drain you’d count on, with a few full eight-hour day’s value of labor on one cost, skewing on the longer finish — as much as 10 hours, relying on how laborious you push it. That is to say, the battery life on this is superb, particularly contemplating it is powering a 17-inch show.
So, how does the Gram 17 differ from the Professional? First, the Professional has extra horsepower, with a 16-core Intel Core Extremely 7, versus the identical chip however with eight cores on the bottom mannequin. The Professional additionally has an even bigger 90Wh battery in comparison with the bottom mannequin’s 77Wh, which means it will possibly keep unplugged longer.
Regardless of the ability, the Gram Professional 17 can also be barely thinner and lighter, as you are paying for a extra premium design. However aspect by aspect, the 2 laptops look practically an identical.
Neither 17-inch model comes with an OLED show (you may must go right down to the Gram Professional 16 for that), however the Professional does have a 144Hz refresh fee, not like the bottom mannequin, which caps out at 60Hz.
Apart from that, with the identical I/O choice, shade, and design scheme, the distinction right here is comparatively delicate, regardless of a $380 worth soar to the Professional model with 16GB of RAM. Conversely, the Gram 17 base mannequin with 32GB of RAM is cheaper, beginning at $1,699.
For that cause, I like to recommend the LG Gram 17 over the Professional model until you are completely intent on pushing the shape issue so far as it will possibly go when it comes to battery life and energy.
Talking of battery life, I did a little bit of gaming on this laptop computer, and after a handful of updates, it carried out nicely, however the battery life does take a success. I additionally bought a couple of graphical glitches (tearing, polygons) over the course of testing it, however the Intel Arc GPU holds its personal, particularly for titles that are not notably demanding.
The “Lunar Lake” Intel chip ends in a cool-running laptop computer. Even with the followers cranking, it by no means actually heats as much as uncomfortable temperatures, particularly contemplating how sizzling I bear in mind final yr’s Gram Professional 16 getting.
Lastly, I am going to point out the Gram’s on-device AI, “Gram Chat”, which is LG’s proprietary AI-driven assistant that’s supposed to assist the consumer discover options to frequent points like finding recordsdata or troubleshooting. I’ll say that for very fundamental requests, it really works, however it would not perceive conversational prompts, a lot much less extra imprecise ones.
On-device AI is one thing that totally different producers try, however as most customers will admit, outcomes are combined, not less than for now. LG’s Gram Chat could also be helpful for some, however I did not discover myself going again after my first few makes an attempt yielded uninspiring outcomes.
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LG’s Gram 17 is an extremely skinny and lightweight laptop computer, and the addition of the Intel Core Extremely 7 “Lunar Lake” processor completes the image with a direct enchancment in methods shoppers will care about.
The common worth of $1,700 is on the excessive finish, however proper now it is on sale for $1,199 — an entire $500. Not dangerous for what is actually a press release of engineering.
