This is my detailed review of the LG Gram 16 series, a premium ultrabook with a full-size 16-inch display.
I’ve already reviewed the 2022-generation of the LG Gram 17 in a previous article , and in this one, I’ll mostly focus on how the slightly smaller Gram 16 compares to the 17-inch model and how LG were able to improve this notebook significantly in comparison to the previous-generation Gram 16 reviewed in the past .
Our review unit is the Intel Core i7-1260P + Iris Xe variant of the Gram 16 16Z90Q, but LG also offer a Gram 16 Pro model with RTX 2050 graphics and some slight internal changes, which we’ll discuss perhaps in a future article.
The major updates of this generation are a noticeable bump in overall performance with the 12th-gen Intel Core P hardware on the 2022 models, the implementation of a matte display instead of the glossy options of the past, the addition of some louder and overall punchier speakers, as well as few other minor refinements.
We’ll cover all these in the review, so you’ll know what to expect when looking at one of these LG Gram 16 laptops.
Specs as reviewed – LG Gram 16
LG Gram 16 16Z90Q, 2022 model
Screen 16 inch, WQXGA 2560 x 1600 px, 16:10 aspect ratio, IPS, non-touch, non-glare,
Processor Intel 12th-gen Alder Lake Core i7-1260P, 4PC+8Ec/16T
Video Intel Iris Xe, up to 1.4 GHz
Memory 16 GB LPDDR5-5200 (soldered), up to 32 GB
Storage 512 GB M.2 NVMe SSD (Samsung PM9A1) – 2x M.2 2280 slots
Connectivity Wireless 6E (Intel AX211) 2×2 MIMO, Bluetooth 5.1
Ports 2x USB-A 3.2 gen2, 2x USB-C with Thunderbolt 4, mic/headphone, HDMI 2.0b, microSD card reader, Lock
Battery 80 Wh, 65W USB-C charger
Size 355 mm or 13.96” (w) x 242 mm or 9.53” (d) x 17.8 mm or 0.7” (h)
Weight 2.51 lbs (1.14 kg)+ .6 lbs (.27 kg) charger and cables, EU version
Extras backlit keyboard, 2MPx FHD webcam with IR, no finger sensor, stereo 2x 1.5W bottom speakers,
As mentioned, LG offers this in a handful of variants, starting at i7-1240P/16 GB RAM/512 GB SSD model and going up to an i7-1260P/ RTX 2050/ 32 GB RAM/ 2TB SSD variant of the LG Gram 16 Pro.
Design and first look I’ve already shared my thoughts on the design and overall practicality of the Gram chassis in the Gram 17 review, so you’ll find them in that article and I won’t go over all the details again.
I will point out that this Gram 16 is only a little smaller than the 17-inch model, with a smaller 16-inch display and narrower bezels around. It’s also lighter, at 1.15 kg vs 1.3 kilos for the Gram 17. That’s not much, and both these units are highly portable and lightweight for their size.
However, somehow this Gram 16 felt a bit flimsier than the Gram 17, as I noticed some creaks and pops coming from the underbelly panel during my time with it. In comparison, the same part felt a bit sturdier on the Gram 17, but on closer inspection, they’re both the same kind of thin magnesium alloy and the differences are probably within the margin of error for these two designs.
Overall these laptops are both premium designs, but their ultralight chassis does flex and warp a bit more than on other high-tier notebooks, such as perhaps a MacBook or an XPS. However, aside from the occasional noises when grabbing and using the laptop, these are merely cosmetic inconveniences and not a deal-breaker.
The fact that the black matte metal chassis smudges easily and shows fingerprints is another cosmetic inconvenience that you’ll want to account for in your decision. It seems to me that the Gram 16 is a slightly different color than the Gram 17 unit, with a dark blueish tint compared to the black of the 17-inch model. The two shades are nearly the same, though.
Everything else is identical between the Gram 16 and Gram 17 models, with the same low profile design, the same IO on the sides, and the same matte-screen finishing.
There is a slightly larger keyboard on the Gram 17, though, while the NumPad area on the Gram 16 is slightly gimped.
Here are some side-by-side pics of the two Gram models, to better showcase the small differences between them.
Compared to the previous-gen Gram 16, the 2022 model feels a little better made, offers better grip on the desk thanks to the larger footpads, and implements the matte-finished display. It’s also lighter by a few grams, not sure exactly why since the design and internals are similar between the two, and there are actually larger speakers on the updated model. What the 2022 version lacks compared to the 2021 model is a finger-sensor in the power button, which instead has been replaced with an IR-capable camera.
Keyboard and trackpad The keyboard on the Gram 16 is full-size with properly sized and spaced keys and a slightly narrower NumPad section, paired with a spacious glass clickpad.
The NumPad area lacks the extra right column of keys available on the Gram 17, with the + and extra Enter key. Not a big deal to me, but I’m not a NumPad user anyway – I’ve seen some users complaining about this fact, so perhaps it matters to you.
LG updated the fonts that they’re using for this generation, and the smaller writing is more visually pleasant imo.
This keyboard still types much like most of the other ultrabook keyboards, with limited stroke depth, but overall firmer feedback than I remember from the 2021 Gram. It’s a fine typer, once you get used to it, even if a bit louder than the average ultrabook implementation.
You might still notice the flex in the chassis, especially when pressing the keys in the middle of the deck, but somehow the keyboard deck feels a bit sturdier than I remember from the 2021 Gram 16-inch. I don’t have the two to compare side by side, but LG might have minimally improved the chassis’ firmness in this generation.
The keys are backlit, with white LEDs that are fairly uniform and bright enough. A fair bit of light creeps out from underneath some of the bigger keycaps (Shift, Space, Enter), just like on the Gram 17 sample, which might bother the pickier among you. It’s not as bad as on other laptops, but still, something that I had to mention on this sort of premium design.
LG offers control over the keys’ time-out settings in their Smart Assistance control app, and you can choose between various timeout intervals or select the option for the lights to always stay on. Once they do time out, a swipe over the clickpad will reactivate the lighting.
The clickpad on this series is very similar to the one in the LG Gram 17 model, a large and smooth glass (some sources mention plastic, but it’s smooth and nice to the touch and feels like glass to me) surface with Precision drivers. It worked flawlessly during my time with the laptop. I will also add that this is positioned centered on the laptop’s chassis, and not aligned to the left under the Space key, a detail I know some of you will appreciate.
The clickpad is also carefully implemented so it doesn’t rattle with taps; the physical clicks are only OK, though, a bit clunky and loud on this unit.
For biometrics, there’s no longer a figner-sensor integrated within the power button with this 2022 Gram 16 generation, as on the previous models, which instead has been replaced by an IR-capable camera. Having both would have been nice.
Screen There’s a high-resolution 16-inch 16:10 screen on the LG Gram 16, with narrow side bezels and an average chin and forehead. For the 2022 models, LG also implement a matte-finished display, with a good-quality IPS panel.
It’s not the regular matte finish available on ThinkPad or ZenBooks, but rather a balanced anti-glare finish that cuts out most of the reflections and doesn’t add noticeable graininess, a middle-ground implementation that I found excellent during my time with this laptop. In the past, LG offered glossy screens on their Grams, so this is a much-welcomed change.
This panel is about similar to what we’ve seen on the 2021 Gram 16 in terms of brightness, contrast, and colors, but overall not as nice as the 17-inch panel in the Gram 17. It’s a bit dimmer at only ~350-nits max brightness, so not that well suited for bright-light use, and offers slightly poorer blacks and contrast. The colors are still rich, though, with full-gamut 100% DCI-P3 support, making it well-suited for daily use and potential creative color-accurate work.
Here’s what we got in our tests, with an X-Rite i1 Display Pro sensor :
Panel HardwareID: LG Philips LGD06EB (LP160WQ1-SPB2);
Coverage: 99.8% sRGB, 85.4% AdobeRGB, 98.6% DCI P3;
Measured gamma: 1.99;
Max brightness in the middle of the screen: 368.01 cd/m2 on power;
Min brightness in the middle of the screen: 26.61 cd/m2 on power;
Contrast at max brightness: 1265:1;
White point: 7500 K;
Black on max brightness: 0.29 cd/m2;
PWM: No (to be further tested).
Our sample also came poorly calibrated, with a skewed Gamma and White Point. It ended up OK in terms of uniformity once calibrated, with only variations in luminosity in the corners. I did notice a little bit of light bleeding in the top-right corner on this unit, while the Gram 17 panel experienced none, despite being a little brighter.
A few other aspects worth mentioning here are the fact that this panel doesn’t get very dim at the lowest brightness setting, which could be an inconvenience when using it in a pitch-dark room, and it doesn’t get overly bright either, which could be an issue for outdoor use. So you’ll want to keep this mostly inside.
Furthermore, this is a standard 60 Hz panel with response times in the 40+ ms GtG, so not ideal for gaming. That’s especially important if you’re considering the RTX 2050 variant over the Iris Xe model.
Finally, if you were looking for a touchscreen variant, that is available with the Gram 16 2-in-1 convertible model, but not on this clamshell variant.
Hardware, performance, and upgrade options Our test version is the standard configuration of the 2022 LG Gram 16 16Z90Q, with an Intel 12th-gen Alder Lake Core i7-1260P processor + Iris Xe embedded graphics, 16 GB of LPDDR5-5200 memory, and a fast 512 GB SSD.
Disclaimer: This is a retail unit that was provided for review by LG. I tested it with the software available as of mid-October 2022 (BIOS 03.04, LG Smart Assitant ver.1.0.2205.1301 app). This is a mature software package as the laptop has been available in stores for a few months now, but some aspects might still change with future updates.
Spec-wise, this is based on the 2022 Intel 12th-gen Alder Lake Core P hardware platform. The Core i7-1260P is a hybrid design with 4 Performance and 8 Efficiency Cores, as well as 16 combined threads. This implementation supplies the CPU with 15-20W of sustained power in demanding loads, which is lower than most other portable Core P designs on their top-performance profiles. We’ll get in-depth further down.
Graphics are handled by the Iris Xe integrated iGPU, which is dependent on enough power to run at its full potential. In this implementation, it runs at between 70-90% of its potential. I’ll explain why further down.
An RTX 2050 dGPU is also available on some variants of this laptop, and I expect that to come with an updated cooling module, so I can’t judge its capabilities based on this iGPU-only unit.
Our configuration also comes with 16 GB of LPDDR5-5200 memory. The RAM is soldered on the motherboard and non-upgradeable, but LG offers 16 and 32 GB configurations, which should suffice for most needs.
For storage, LG opted for a premium-tier PCIe gen4 Samsung PM9A1 drive here. There are two M.2 2280 slots inside.
It is possible to open up this device to get to the internals, but it’s a tedious task. The back panel is held in place by a few screws. All these screws are hidden underneath some plastic caps and the front rubber feet, so you’ll have to take those out first. Be careful that the screws are of different sizes. Once the screws are out, you’ll also need a suction cup to pry out that back panel as it’s very tightly attached to the main chassis; be extra careful with it, especially around the back, as it’s very thin and you surely don’t want to break it!
Inside you’ll find the SSD slots, with everything else being soldered. You’ll also notice the vast amount of unused space on this 16-inch chassis, as a result of LG sharing the internal design between their 14, 16, and 17-inch models. I would have appreciated having even larger speakers or better cooling, even if those might have pushed the weight a little higher.
As it is, this LG Gram 16 is mostly meant for daily chores and multitasking, much like the other Gram laptops, and not for demanding loads. Here’s what to expect in performance and internal temperatures with daily activities.
In all fairness, this 2022 variant is significantly faster in multitasking and heavier CPU loads than the previous generation, so it can run Photoshop for photo editing or some programming software fairly well. Just don’t expect this to match the capabilities of higher-power ultraportable laptops .
LG offers three power profiles to choose from in the LG Smart Assitant control app, which has been revamped from the previous application. It offers access to a lot of useful settings for the keyboard, display, battery, or updates. If we’re talking software, I still think there’s a fair amount of preinstalled bloatware on this LG laptop, but I appreciate how they centralized many of their past apps into the updated Smart Assitant app now.
Smart Assitant also offers four different Cooling Modes to choose from: High, Normal, Low, and No-noise, which impact the fans’ speeds and applied power. Normal is what I’ve chosen for everyday use during my time with the laptop, and we’ll also discuss the High setting in the next section of the review.
Performance and benchmarks On to more demanding loads, we start by testing the CPU’s performance in the Cinebench R15 loop test.
On High, the system applies peak PL2 power of ~45W for a brief moment, but then the i7-1260P processor stabilizes at around 20 W of sustained power in this test. LG sets a 90 degrees thermal limit for the CPU, allowing the processor to run at that thermal limit for a fair while, and then cutting off the power in order to bring the temperatures down.
Overall, the i7-1260P in this Gram 16 implementation runs at higher sustained power in this test and for longer than on the identical Gram 17 unit reviewed a little while ago. Despite that, though, it returns ~10% lower scores. Plus, the fan runs a little louder than on the Gram 17, at 37-38 dBA at head level. I cannot explain these differences, given the two laptops are the same hardware and software.
The Normal profile cuts the fan to around 31-32 dBA and 12-18W of sustained power. That’s the same as on the Gram 17. The CPU runs cooler in this mode, fluctuating between 70 and 85 degrees Celsius. The performance takes a dip, though, around 20-25% lower than on High.
The laptop is a fair performer on battery power, stabilizing at 15-22W of power on High. All these are detailed in the following graph and logs.
To put these in perspective, here’s how this i7-1260P implementation fares against a few other implementations of the same hardware, as well as a few other Intel/AMD platforms available in other portable laptops.
As mentioned, this 2022 Gram is a major step up in performance from the previous 2021 models, but still only a mid-performer in comparison to other options out there. It’s also about 10% slower in this test than in the Gram 17, despite running at higher power and fan noise. Weird!
We then went ahead and further verified our findings with the more taxing Cinebench R23 loop test and in Blender. These tests showcase how the system cuts out the CPU power in order to cool off the CPU.
We then ran the 3DMark CPU profile test.
Finally, we ran our combined CPU+GPU stress tests on this notebook, on the High profile. 3DMark stress runs the same test for 20 times in a loop and looks for performance variation and degradation over time, and this unit did not pass the test, which means the performance decreases with longer demanding loads, once the heat builds up and the system cuts off the power.
Next, here are some benchmark results. We ran the entire suite of tests and benchmarks on the High profile on this Core i7-1260P configuration, with the screen set at its default QHD+ resolution.
Here’s what we got.
3DMark 13 – Fire Strike: 4643 (Graphics – 5018, Physics – 15631, Combined – 1776);3DMark 13 – Night Raid: 15501 (Graphics – 19685, CPU – 7032);3DMark 13 – Time Spy: 1717 (Graphics – 1528, CPU – 5764);Uniengine Superposition – 1080p Extreme: 1013;Uniengine Superposition – 1080p Medium: 3017;Handbrake 1.3.3 (4K to 1080p encode): 38.2 average fps;PassMark 10: 3508 (CPU – 17006, 3D – 2402, Memory – 2682, Disk – 26546);PCMark 10: 5425 (Essentials – 10598, Productivity – 6707, Digital Content Creation – 6096);GeekBench 5.4.3 64-bit: Single-Core: 1710, Multi-core: 8778;CineBench R15 (best run): CPU 1425 cb, CPU Single Core 218 cb;CineBench R20 (best run): CPU 3323 cb, CPU Single Core 587 cb;CineBench R23: CPU 8807 cb (best run), CPU 7829 (10 min loop test), CPU Single Core 1530 CB (best run);x265 HD Benchmark 64-bit: 50.32 s.
And here are some work-related benchmarks:
Blender 3.01 – BMW scene – CPU Compute: 4m 59s;Blender 3.01 – Classroom scene – CPU Compute: 12m 13s;PugetBench – DaVinci Resolve: 297;PugetBench – Adobe Photoshop: 846;PugetBench – Adobe Premiere: error;SPECviewperf 2020 – 3DSMax: 14.07 ;SPECviewperf 2020 – Catia: 12.77;SPECviewperf 2020 – Creo: 23.17;SPECviewperf 2020 – Energy: 3.77;SPECviewperf 2020 – Maya: 54.39;SPECviewperf 2020 – Medical: 7.49;SPECviewperf 2020 – SNX: 6.04;SPECviewperf 2020 – SW: -;V-Ray Benchmark: CPU – 5872 vsamples, GPU CUDA – 152 vpaths;
These results are comparable to the Gram 17 platform, within 5-10% lower in some CPU/GPU tests. Puget benchmarks are a little skewed because Adobe have updated their software suite between tests.
Compared to the previous-generation Gram built on an 11th-gen Core i7-1165G7 processor, this 2022 model is a major step up in CPU performance, and roughly on par in GPU capabilities. The faster CPU makes a difference both with daily use and multitasking, but also with occasional intensive loads.
At the same time, it’s important to understand that this is a power-limited implementation of the Core P hardware, and other i7-1260P models capable of higher sustained power around ~30W will offer a 10-20% boost in multi-threaded CPU and GPU performance.
That’s especially the case when looking at the performance logs for combined loads and how the system constantly fluctuates the CPU power in order to keep temperatures in check. We’re looking at fluctuations between 15 to 22 Wh, which impact both the CPU and GPU frequencies, as you’ll see in a bit in the gaming tests.
First, the framerates. If you’re willing to stick to FHD+ resolution and Low settings, you should be able to run a handful of older and simpler games on this one.
Here’s what we got on our unit, compared to the Gram 17, previous-gen Gram 16, and a few other portable models.
Low settings LG Gram 16 2022 – LG Gram 17 2022 –LG Gram 16 2021 –ZenBook 14 2022 –ZenBook S 13 2022 –ZenBook 14 2021 –
Bioshock Infinite 72 fps (45 fps – 1% low)
74 fps (46 fps – 1% low)
68 fps (39 fps – 1% low)
70 fps (48 fps – 1% low)
102 fps (63 fps – 1% low)
70 fps (40 fps – 1% low)
Doom: Eternal 28 fps (21 fps – 1% low)
26 fps (17 fps – 1% low)
-70 fps (48 fps – 1% low)
29 fps (15 fps – 1% low)
45 fps (34 fps – 1% low)
–
Far Cry 5 26 fps (22 fps – 1% low)
26 fps (20 fps – 1% low)
33 fps (25 fps – 1% low)
29 fps (15 fps – 1% low)
39 fps (31 fps – 1% low)
26 fps (18 fps – 1% low)
Dota 2 63 fps (35 fps – 1% low)
59 fps (33 fps – 1% low)
51 fps (36 fps – 1% low)
76 fps (52 fps – 1% low)
74 fps (46 fps – 1% low)
56 fps (44 fps – 1% low)
Shadow of Tomb Raider 27 fps (14 fps – 1% low)
27 fps (16 fps – 1% low)
23 fps (12 fps – 1% low)
36 fps (23 fps – 1% low)
47 fps (35 fps – 1% low)
28 fps (16 fps – 1% low)
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 32 fps (14 fps – 1% low)
31 fps (14 fps – 1% low)
34 fps (14 fps – 1% low)
38 fps (20 fps – 1% low)
41 fps (26 fps – 1% low)
–
Doom, Dota 2, Witcher 3 – recorded with MSI Afterburner in game mode;
Bioshock, Far Cry, Tomb Raider – recorded with the included Benchmark utilities;
Just like in the sustained CPU tests, the CPU power fluctuates in games in order to keep the laptop within acceptable thermal limits.
On High, we’re looking at 15-22W of power with fan noise around 37-38dB and CPU temperatures in the mid-70s and to mid-80s C.
At the lower power end, the GPU only runs at about .75 Mhz, which is about 60% of its maximum design speed of 1.4 GHz. With longer gaming sessions, the GPU averages .95 to 1.05 GHz between the tested titles, so roughly 70-75% of the platform’s maximum capabilities.
On Normal, the power drops to around 12W, with quieter fans at 31-32 dBA and lower temperatures. The performance takes a dip as the GPU runs at .7 GHz in this mode, but at least I haven’t experienced the stuttering encountered on the Gram 17 on the same profile.
I was also hoping that placing the laptop on a raiser stand in order to improve the airflow of fresh air into the fan would have a positive impact on the internal temperatures and the performance, but it actually didn’t, and that’s a result of how the thermal module is designed. We’ll discuss it in the next section.
Noise, Heat, Connectivity, speakers, and others The LG Gram 16 gets a basic thermal module with a single fan and a short heatpipe, just like all the other Gram notebooks.
An updated thermal module is most likely available on the LG Gram 16 Pro with the RTX 2050 GPU, but that’s something we will discuss in a future article.
On this regular Gram 16, fresh air comes inside through the bottom of the laptop, through the punctured intake grill. However, that intake grill is only partially open over the CPU and is covered over the fan and the heatpipe, in an effort to channel the air over the CPU, into the fan, and then out through the exhaust grill.
This design particularity is the reason thermals are not significantly improved when placing the laptop on a raiser stand, as I believe they would if the fan would have been allowed unrestrained air access through the intake grill.
The hot-air exhaust is placed in between the hinges and under the screen, and the hinge is designed so that it sends most of the hot air to the back of the laptop and away from the user. Still, some of the air still gets pushed into the screen, which reaches temperatures in temperatures in the mid-40s around the radiator and high 30-s on the panel, with games and other combined demanding loads. These are acceptable temperatures that shouldn’t affect the screen in any way, even if the design is surely not ideal.
Everything’s fine with daily use and multitasking, with the fan keeping idle with light use and barely kicking in with multitasking, and cool internal and external temperatures. I also haven’t noticed any coil winning or electronic noise during my time with this unit.
*Daily Use – streaming Netflix in EDGE for 30 minutes, Normal Mode, fan idle *Gaming – High mode – playing Witcher 3 for 30 minutes, fan at 37+ dB
For connectivity, there’s WiFi 6E and Bluetooth 5.1 through an Intel module on this laptop. It performed well with our setup and the signal and performance remained strong at 30 feet, with obstacles in between.
Audio is handled by a set of stereo speakers that fire through grills placed on the underside. They can be easily covered while using the laptop on the lap, so keep that in mind.
The audio quality is fine for an ultrabook as the speakers in this 2022 model are an update of the smaller ones used on past Grams. They get louder at 85+ dB at head level, but still lack a fair bit in the lows. They also push vibrations into the chassis at volumes over 60%, so expect to use them at lower levels.
The camera has been updated from the previous Grams as well, and is now a higher-quality and higher-resolution FHD 2 MPx shooter. It’s better than the average laptop camera, but still not amazing by any means.
It also supports IR with Hello and is flanked by some decent microphones. Be careful that the camera might be disabled by default, and you’ll need to press Fn + F4 to deactivate Secure Mode for it to work (or enable it in the control app).
Battery life There’s a large 80Wh battery inside this LG Gram 17, which is fair-sized for this sort of laptop. Of course, LG could have even included an even bigger battery in this 17-inch chassis, but instead chose a consistent internal design between the different Gram models. A larger 90Wh battery is available with the i7+RTX 2050 Gram 17 Pro models.
Here’s what we got in terms of battery life, with the screen’s brightness set at around 120 nits (~60 brightness).
8.5 W (~9 h of use) – text editing in Google Drive, Optimal + Balanced Mode, screen at 60%, Wi-Fi ON;8 W (~10 h of use) – 1080p fullscreen video on Youtube in Edge, Optimal + Balanced Mode, screen at 60%, Wi-Fi ON;7 W (~11 h of use) – Netflix fullscreen in Edge, Normal + Balanced Mode, screen at 60%, Wi-Fi ON;14 W (~5-7 h of use) – browsing in Edge, Normal + Balanced Mode, screen at 60%, Wi-Fi ON.
These are some good runtimes for a 12th-gen Core P implementation, and slightly longer than on the Gram 17.
LG pairs the laptop with a compact and lightweight 65W charger that plugs in via USB-C. It’s a dual-piece design with long cables. A full recharge takes a little over 2 hours.
Price and availability- LG Gram 16 This 2022 version of LG Gram 16 is widely available in stores in most regions of the world.
The i7-1260P / 16 GB RAM / 1 TB SSD model reviewed here is currently listed at $1399 MSRP in the US, 1699 CAD in Canada, 1399 EUR in Germany, and 1549 GBP in the UK.
Those are MSRP prices and quite high for the specs, but I’ve seen this discounted time and again to as low as ~1000 USD. Amazon even offers a renewed model for $850 at the time of this article, which sounds like a great deal for this sort of laptop.
Various other discounts might apply at the time you’re reading the article, so follow this link for updated prices and configurations in your region .
Final thoughts- LG Gram 16 Much like the 17-inch LG Gram, this 16-inch LG Gram is a rather unusual laptop.
It’s as lightweight as much smaller ultrabooks, despite packing a full-size 16-inch display, full inputs, and a good set of ports, as well as a large battery that allows it to run for many hours on a charge.
At the same time, it only offers the performance of a smaller ultrabook, and is in fact outmatched by many of these modern 13 and 14-inch units, mostly because LG use a common internal design between all their Grams, thus the space in this 16-inch chassis is not fully utilized. In other words, that means this Gram 16 is mostly suited for daily tasks and multitasking, but not for serious workloads or for gaming.
Furthermore, in order to keep this as light as possible, LG use magnesium alloys for the construction of this notebook, which are more flexible and not as solid-feeling as the premium aluminum designs out there.
Hence, the LG Gram 16 is not for everyone, especially when you also factor in the price that you’re paying for it. But that’s where things get interesting. At MSRP prices, the slightly larger LG Gram 17 makes more sense to me. If you’re going for this sort of large-screen laptop for daily use, why not get the largest possible display, especially when the Gram 17 also offers a brighter panel and a full keyboard, plus a minor bump in performance based on our experience with the two units?
However, I’ve seen the Gram 16 significantly discounted over the past months, for around $1000 and even lower if you don’t mind going for a renewed product. At these levels, the Gram 16 is a very compelling option, as long as you understand its strong points and its quirks.
As far as the competition goes, there’s the Gram 17 already mentioned, and the Acer Swift Edge , another lightweight 16-inch laptop . That’s built on AMD Ryzen U hardware , which I know some of you will love, but it’s also a low-power design with minimalist cooling, and it gets a 4K OLED screen and a 56 Wh battery. You’ll find all about it in our review.
This wraps up my time with the 2022 LG Gram 16, but I’d love to hear your thoughts as well, so get in touch in the comments section below.
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Andrei Girbea, Editor-in-Chief . I've been covering mobile computers since the 2000s and you'll mostly find reviews and thorough guides written by me here on the site.
