Customer Ratings & Reviews

LG - gram 13.3" Touch-Screen Laptop - Intel Core i5 - 8GB Memory - 256GB Solid State Drive - Dark Silver Summary: Great laptop to have to do work on-the-go. Pros: - Light for its form factor. - Nice and bright screen with a perfect resolution for its size. - Touch screen is convenient. - The Finger print reader is fast and accurate (enables Windows Hello!) - Unit charges via USB-C port, as well; one less charger to worry about! Cons: - Proprietary charger provided. Why not USB-C? - The build quality is solid, but the feel can seem cheap compared to similarly equipped competing products. - Why isn't there an LG logo on the device (externally)? Use: I use this unit for work when I'm on-the-go, but don't expect to have to work. That means I leave my main workhorses (a desktop and a larger laptop) at home and I bring this guy around. I use it to VPN and remote desktop and get stuff done. I work as a database administrator so the size is just about right for my use. The finger print reader works quite well, surprisingly, and is similar to those used on mobile phones. I have not had a chance to put the device through other potential uses I might have for it (like quick gaming at low/mid/high settings - while traveling), but expect it to function at some level given how snappy it is. The LG Gram has replaced my aging and more expensive to replace (and heavier?) Surface Pro 3. It is a good buy. But for its price point I think some might look towards other options such as the competing similarly equipped Surface Laptop.

On it’s own the LG Gram is a great laptop and if you are looking for one in this size 13” size it will definitely serve you well. I like the amount of ports it has and the screen clarity has a richness to it that others I have seen appear washed out. I can recommend this laptop very easily based on its use and performance...but I am hard pressed not to compare this to another “L” branded laptop that I have been using extensively for nearly 2 years now. I have been the ultraportable category for about 4 years as I want/need/like the concept of having a highly portable, true, laptop that doesn’t give me much by way of the portability, but also through a second monitor on it and you can get some serious work done at a desk. 5 Stars based on use and functionality. It is as expected. 3 Stars based on bang-for-buck. High asking price compared to the competition. There are some innovative features at play here, but I’m not sure its worth the move from the industry standards. The issues I have really come down to bang-for-buck. I was shocked when I first pulled the LG Gram out of the packaging as it looked liked the design of an old Acer Chromebook from circa 2009, same dark grey plastic body/shell, at about half the weight though! Obviously I know the hardware is a far cry from a 10 year old Chromebook, but this is where it is hard not to compare to other laptops in this category. LG describes this build material as Carbon-Nanotube Magnesium Alloy mixture, well that feels like plastic and reacts like plastic. It has a MIL-STD 810 rating, personally I’ll take their word for it, but my eyes see plastic, my fingers think they are touching plastic, and my brain interprets, this thing feels light, but brittle; so I better be careful putting in a bag. There is a bit of flex when closed when pushing on various parts of the device and again my brain says brittle. This is where I’m guessing the light weight comes in for the name “Gram”. However, my aluminum laptop of same size and same specs weighs less than half a pound more still under 3 lbs. So again, my brain is having a hard time with it. I like the cold touch of aluminum. Looking at upgrading, LG went the route of hiding the screws, while I understand the design aesthetic, its re-world practicality sucks. In two years time I know with my usage I’ll be ready for a battery or maybe want to upgrade the hard drive space (at least it has a microSD slot to stave off that part longer) Screen: looks fantastic out of the box. It was a definite upgrade over my current which made me go back and tweak the settings to see if I could match it. I came close but the richness in contrast is better with the LG. Staying on the topic of screen, I don’t like how the LG screen is “in-layed” in the frame, so that the bezel and screen are not one, which means using the touch feature will be harder when trying to access something nearer the bezels. It also gives the appearance of a smaller screen...sometimes I like to be deceived. Keyboard is great no quirks or crazy changes to the shift key that some manufacturers do when creating something in the ultrabook category. I love that the backlighting has two settings of brightness, custom setting would be even better, but I’ll take more than just on/off. Against the black keys it looks better than gray or lighter color keys. Touchpad works well, no issues there, seems maybe a tad resistive to sliding, but could just be that I’m used to a worn in one. Hinge, may seem odd to talk on this, but it is super easy to open, it can be laying flat on the table and one-handed the screen will lift up. This may be because it is not a 2-in-1 which is my preference just so I have the option of putting the screen in any configuration depending on the setting, but I have never found one that is easy to open one handed. Audio: Clarity and loudness is great. Software: minimal bloatware and after spending some time with the LG software (only 2) I actually quite like the tweaks that can be made to make the machine mine. Battery Life: 20.5 hours claimed, typically they say you should expect 70% of that for real world use which gets you to about 14 hours of usage and that is dependent on what you are actually doing. All most all of my work is either done in MS Office or Chrome Browser, little to none video, with audio streaming only via downloaded app. Tabs open minimum of 5 and Microsoft's Your Phone App for Android for SMS. Probably a PDF or two open via Adobe DC Reader, system calculator. Typically that load on the PC is less than 20% usually less than 10 though and the temps are between 45C and 55C, which tends to run on the higher side for that load. The fan is through the back only and the slots are not all that big, so I imagine that this will run a little hotter. Another reason I like aluminum though in ultrabooks as it will help to pull heat out of the machine. Unless of course you are in a hot environment and then it works against you. So in this case the LG may come out on top...not to sure of the properties of their Carbon Nano Tube Magnesium Alloy mixture. Ports: I made mention that this machine has a lot of ports where I have been used to for the past 2 years 2 x USB-C and 1 x USB 3.1 in which one of those USB-C was the charging port as well and had Thunderbolt. I’m torn with the LG as the charger is proprietary and that is my only gripe, I love I have a true HDMI port, no more dongles, oh and LG gives you an Ethernet dongle over USB, which I had to purchase separately for my last machine. Rounding out the ports are 2 x USB 3.1, MicroSD as stated earlier, and combo mic/headphone jack. Of course having bluetooth 5.0 is nice too. I recently acquired an LG 34” Ultrawide monitor and it is a great companion for some serious spreadsheet nirvana...ha, that’s an oxymoron. I debated on staying with what I had or moving to the LG Gram 13. I’ve decided to follow Jesus and go with the LG Gram 13 the two are mutually exclusive...however Jesus could walk on water and I’m pretty sure the LG Gram 13 would take some time to sink as light as it is. For a cheaper price the one I have used for the past two years has served me well and will continue to for someone else after I replace the battery (easily by the way, with no hidden screws). But I do like new too. You have to decide where you will put your money, I can recommend this LG easily for quality and use, but as stated bang-for-buck feels a little off knowing what else is out there given the Chipset, RAM, Storage is the same, touchscreen, etc. All that being the same, its a hard sell based on price. If there is a superior advantage to the Carbon Nanotube Magnesium Alloy then it could change that the paradigm a bit.