LG Gram 16 / +View screen combo review: the 16-inch laptop and its secondary screen


LG’s Gram laptops got a new release recently, with the new lineup including 14-inch, 15-inch, 16-inch, and 17-inch laptops, as well as 16-inch and 14-inch 2-in-1 models. We start by reviewing the LG Gram 16 (2022). The 16-inch screen size is becoming popular as many consider it ideal for combining work and play. To meet this need, however, a laptop must be powerful and light, with good battery life. Let’s see how the LG Gram 16 (2022), which costs €1600, does.

LG Gram 16

LG Gram 16 – Best prices:

  • Amazon

    1399.99

  • Darty

    1399.99

  • Fnac

    1399.99

  • Fnac marketplace

    1550.04

  • LDLC

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  • Amazon Marketplace

    2196.00

Although the LG Gram 16 (2022) has a hefty price tag, it includes a 16-inch +View display sold separately for €330. My test kit came with the monitor and the required USB-C connection cable. The +View monitor’s 16:10 aspect ratio and 2,560 x 1,600 resolution match the laptop screen exactly, and I found it easy to use them in tandem.

The most striking feature of the LG Gram 16 (2022) is how light this laptop is: at 1,199kg, it puts many small laptops to shame, let alone other 16-inch devices. Despite this, LG managed to make the chassis tough enough to pass the MIL-STD 810G test. The design is clean and crisp, while the deep black livery is understated.

Open the clamshell and the 16-inch screen, with a resolution of 2,560 by 1,600 pixels (16:10 aspect ratio, 189ppi) and matte finish, makes a good impression. The 350 nit peak brightness of the IPS display is a bit low, and no touch functionality is offered. But you get good color gamut support (99% DCI-P3) and narrow bezels all around.

The speakers aren’t quite up to the screen. The grilles are on the underside of the chassis, where their sound outlets are flush with the user’s desk or lap; with the laptop resting on softer surfaces, there was noticeable muffling of sound. The maximum volume level is acceptable, but if you’re interested in sound with rich bass, you might be disappointed.

LG has found room above the display for a 1080p webcam as well as an IR camera, a setup used in an interesting attention-sensing app called LG Glance by Mirametrix.


LG Gram 16 (2022): LG Glance

LG Glance uses webcam and IR camera to provide security and other functions by detecting your attention. Images: Sandra Vogel

By tracking your head and eye movements, the software can, for example, transfer what you are working on between the laptop and the +View monitor and move the mouse pointer depending on where you are. look. Privacy controls can detect if someone else is looking at the screen over your shoulder and blur its content, blur the screen when you look away, and turn off the screen if you step away from the computer portable – thereby pausing any video. A control panel allows granular control over these functions, and I found them all to work very well.


LG Gram 16 (2022): keyboard

The backlit keyboard includes a separate number pad to the right of the main QWERTY keys. Image: Sandra Vogel

There’s a full-size backlit keyboard with a separate numeric keypad whose keys are slightly narrower. The Enter key is elongated but only one height, and I found that my right little finger was hitting the 7, 4, and 1 keys more frequently than I would have liked, and found “https://www. zdnet.fr/” instead of the delete key and ‘-‘ instead of the backspace key with disappointing regularity. You’ll get used to it over time, but the learning curve can be frustrating.

The keys themselves are fairly light to the touch, with little resistance when pressing down and a fairly vigorous rebound. The hollow “noise” produced by typing is quite pronounced, even for a light-touch typist like me, and the noise could irritate co-workers in a quiet space. The touchpad is large and responsive, although the number pad decenters it from the spacebar, which might take some getting used to.


LG Gram 16 (2022): Ports

Left side (top): HDMI, 2x USB 4/Thunderbolt 4, 3.5mm audio in/out. Right side (top): MicroSD card slot, 2 x USB 3.2 Gen 2×1. Images: Sandra Vogel

LG equips the Gram 16 (2022) with a 12th Gen Intel Core i7-1260P processor, 16GB of RAM and 1TB of SSD storage. The operating system is Windows 11 Home. We had no performance issues running common workloads during the test period, but its integrated GPU (Iris Xe Graphics) might struggle with graphically intensive tasks.

There’s a decent decent amount of ports and connectors, including a MicroSD card slot – something you don’t often see on laptops. There are also two USB-A ports, a full-size HDMI port, a 3.5mm combo audio jack, and a pair of UDB-C (USB 4/Thunderbolt 4) ports, one of which is occupied when charging. laptop is charging. Wireless connectivity is provided by Wi-Fi 6E (with support for 6GHz frequency as well as 2.4GHz and 5GHz frequencies) and Bluetooth 5.1, but there’s no NFC.

Although the LG Gram 16 (2022) comes with a high-capacity 80Wh battery to power the 16-inch screen, the company’s claimed battery life of up to 20.5 hours is optimistic. In my usual test – three hours of working on web apps, streaming video and music, and using web browsers – a full charge dropped to 66%, suggesting full battery life of a just under nine hours. If you need a full day of work with this laptop, keep the charger handy.

Charging speed is reasonably healthy. When I started charging the battery at 26%, it reached 34% in 15 minutes, 43% in 30 minutes, and 55% in 45 minutes.

Findings

The LG Gram 16 (2022) is remarkably light, which makes it extremely portable for a 16-inch laptop. Its MIL-STD 810G certification also helps it in this regard. The display lacks a bit of brightness but is otherwise very good, and LG’s camera-based security features are welcome.

The speakers leave a bit to be desired, and I’ve used better keyboards – but I could live with that in the long run. The provision of a second monitor is attractive: some will find it very useful, but others may find it superfluous.




Specifications of the LG Gram 16 (2022)


  • Processor Intel Core-i7-1260P
  • GPUs Intel Iris Xe Graphics (integrated)
  • RAM 16 GB (LPDDR5)
  • Storage 1 TB (M.2 NVMe)
  • Storage expansion MicroSD
  • BONE Windows 11 Home
  • Screen size and type 16 inch IPS (non-touch)
  • Resolution 2560×1600 (16:10, 189ppi)
  • Brightness 350nits
  • Contrast ratio 1200:1
  • Range of colors 99% DCI-P3
  • Wireless WiFi 6E (802.11ax; 2.4GHz, 5GHz, 6GHz)
  • Bluetooth 5.1
  • USB 2x USB-A (USB 3.2 Gen 2×1), 2x USB-C (USB 4/Thunderbolt 4)
  • hdmi yes
  • Speakers stereo, 2x 1.5W
  • 3.5mm audio jack yes (audio input/output)
  • webcam IR FHD with dual mic
  • Keyboard full size, backlit, with separate numeric keypad
  • Navigation precision touchpad with scroll and gesture functionality (131.5mm x 82.6mm)
  • Battery capacity 80Wh
  • Battery support (claimed) 20.5 hours
  • Power supply 65W USB-C PD Adapter
  • Accessory USB-C to RJ-45 adapter
  • Dimensions 354.6mm x 242.1mm x 16.76mm
  • Weight 1.199 kg
  • Robustness MIL-STD-810G
  • Pre-installed software Microsoft Office 2016 (30 day trial), DTS X:Ultra, Virtoo by LG (select countries), McAfee Live Safe (30 day trial), Cyberlink Power Media, Photo Director LE, Power Director LE, Audio Director LE, Color Director LE, LG Smart Assistant, LG PC Care, LG PC Manuals, LG Update & Recovery, LG Glance by Mirametrix, PCmover Professional
  • Price 1600 €

LG Gram 16 – Best prices:

  • Amazon

    1399.99

  • Darty

    1399.99

  • Fnac

    1399.99

  • Fnac marketplace

    1550.04

  • LDLC

    1599.95

  • Amazon Marketplace

    2196.00


Source: “ZDNet.com”





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