LG 16" gram Review

The LG Gram 16 is a feat of lightness, but its average performance and poor reliability ranking make it a tough sell for most people.

CPU Intel Core Ultra 9 288V
RAM 32 GB
Storage 2 TB
Screen 16" 2560x1600
GPU Intel Arc Graphics
OS Windows 11 Home
Weight 1.2 kg
Battery 77 Wh
LG 16" gram laptop
63.7 Overall Score

Overview

The LG Gram 16 is a laptop that's all about one thing: being incredibly light. At 1.2kg for a 16-inch screen, it's a marvel of engineering. But that featherweight design comes with some serious trade-offs, especially if you're looking for a machine that can do more than just basic tasks. The one thing you need to know is this: it's a fantastic portable screen and keyboard, but don't ask it to be a powerhouse.

Performance

The performance is exactly what you'd expect from an ultra-light laptop with integrated Intel Arc graphics. It's fine for web browsing, office work, and streaming video. But that 18.6 gaming score is no joke, and it tells you everything. The CPU and GPU both land in the 59th percentile, which means they're solidly average. The 2TB SSD in the 93rd percentile is a genuine highlight, though. You'll never run out of space for your files.

Performance Percentiles

CPU 70.6
GPU 66.6
RAM 86.9
Ports 78.2
Screen 81.5
Portability 51.6
Storage 95.2
Reliability 9.1
Social Proof 8.6

Pros & Cons

Pros

  • It's shockingly light for a 16-inch laptop. You'll forget it's in your bag. 95th
  • The 2TB SSD is massive and fast. No storage anxiety here. 87th
  • The 2560x1600 screen is bright and crisp, perfect for work and movies. 82th
  • Wi-Fi 7 and Thunderbolt ports are great future-proofing touches. 78th

Cons

  • The reliability score is abysmal, in the 8th percentile. That's a major red flag. 9th
  • Forget about gaming or any serious creative work. The GPU just isn't built for it. 9th
  • The battery life from a 77Wh cell is just okay, not the marathon runner you might hope for.
  • You're paying a premium for the lightweight design, not for raw performance.

Specifications

Full Specifications

Processor

CPU Intel Core Ultra 9 288V
Cores 8
Frequency 3.3 GHz
L3 Cache 12 MB

Graphics

GPU Arc Graphics
Type integrated
VRAM 16 GB
VRAM Type Shared

Memory & Storage

RAM 32 GB
RAM Generation DDR5
Storage 2 TB
Storage Type NVMe SSD

Display

Size 16"
Resolution 2560 (QHD)
Panel IPS
Refresh Rate 60 Hz
Color Gamut 99% DCI-P3

Connectivity

Thunderbolt Thunderbolt 4
HDMI 1x HDMI Output
Wi-Fi WiFi 7
Bluetooth Bluetooth 5.3

Physical

Weight 1.2 kg / 2.6 lbs
Battery 77 Wh
OS Windows 11 Home

Value & Pricing

At around $1850, the value is tough to justify. You're paying a lot for that lightweight chassis and the big SSD, but you're getting middling performance and a worrying reliability score. It's not a good deal unless portability is your absolute top priority, above all else.

vs Competition

This puts you in a tricky spot. The 14-inch MacBook Pro with an M4 chip is in the same price ballpark but offers dramatically better performance, battery life, and build quality, though you lose the huge screen and ultra-light feel. The ASUS Zenbook Duo offers a wild dual-screen setup for similar money, which is a more unique productivity boost. And if you want a 16-inch Windows laptop that can actually game, the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i or MSI Vector 16 are in another league performance-wise, but they're also much heavier.

Spec LG 16" gram Apple MacBook Pro Apple 14" MacBook Pro (M5, Silver) ASUS ROG Zephyrus ASUS - ROG Zephyrus G14 14" 3K OLED 120Hz Gaming Lenovo Legion Pro Series Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 (16 83F50019US Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro Samsung - Galaxy Book5 Pro - Copilot+ PC - 14" 3K MSI Prestige MSI - Prestige 13”AI+ - Ukiyoe Edition 13.3"OLED
CPU Intel Core Ultra 9 288V Apple M5 AMD Ryzen AI 300 Series Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX Intel Core Ultra 7 Series 2 Intel Core Ultra 7 258V
RAM (GB) 32 32 32 64 32 32
Storage (GB) 2048 4096 2000 2048 1000 1000
Screen 16" 2560x1600 14.2" 3024x1964 14" 2880x1800 16" 2560x1600 14" 2880x1800 13.3" 2880x1800
GPU Intel Arc Graphics Apple (10-Core) NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Intel Arc Graphics Intel Arc Graphics
OS Windows 11 Home macOS Windows 11 Home Windows 11 Home Windows 11 Home Windows 11 Home
Weight (kg) 1.2 1.5 1.6 2.7 1.2 1
Battery (Wh) 77 72 - 99 - -
Compare Compare Compare Compare Compare
Product CpuGpuRamPortScreenCompactStorageReliabilitySocial Proof
LG 16" gram 70.666.686.978.281.551.695.29.18.6
Apple MacBook Pro 14" Compare 82.920.677.490.696.973.498.694.899.4
ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 14" 3K Compare 90.690.994.396.894.175.291.655.897.4
Lenovo Legion Pro Series Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 (16 Compare 96.791.898.88493.36.895.275.688.8
Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro Galaxy Book5 Pro 14" 3K Compare 6966.686.990.693.584.972.375.696.5
MSI Prestige 13”AI+ Ukiyoe Edition 13.3"OLED Compare 65.766.686.998.390.695.572.355.888.1

Verdict

I can only recommend the LG Gram 16 to a very specific person: someone who travels constantly, needs the largest screen possible, and will literally never do anything more demanding than edit a spreadsheet or watch Netflix. For everyone else, the reliability concerns and mediocre performance for the price make it hard to choose over a MacBook Pro or a more capable Windows ultrabook.