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.
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.
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. 86th
- The 2560x1600 screen is bright and crisp, perfect for work and movies. 80th
- Wi-Fi 7 and Thunderbolt ports are great future-proofing touches. 76th
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. 10th
- 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.
Price History
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.
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.