Posted at 11:00 am
Karim Benessaieh The Press
We love
LG’s Gram lineup has often inherited the title of best ultralight laptop, and the 2022 version with its 17-inch screen still has something to impress. With a weight of 1342 g, it is easy to carry and its autonomy of 26 hours makes it the ideal companion for a student or worker on the go.
The screen has a resolution of 2560 by 1600 pixels, a brightness of 350 nits and shows rich colors. In terms of performance, the model we tested is among the best Windows laptops thanks to its 12th generation Intel Core i7 processor, its 16 GB of RAM for 1 TB.
The speed of the Samsung SSD hard drive is top-notch at 3305 MB/s writing and 3223 MB/s reading for large files. In our previous tests, only the HP Specter x360 performed better.
SCREEN CAPTURE FROM FLASHBENCH SOFTWARE
The speed of the LG Gram 17 inch hard drive is 3305 MB/s writing (red line) and 3223 MB/s reading (green line) for 16 MB files.
These technical considerations alone would make it a recommendable choice, but it’s other features that impressed us that make the LG Gram 17” stand out. Packaged in an app called LG Glance, these innovations seem so experimental that we tested them with some skepticism. And they all work without any notable errors. Importantly, they can be undone if they irritate you.
The most useful thing: when the LG Gram is connected to an external monitor, the cursor follows your gaze and moves according to the screen you are looking at without having to move the mouse. The computer even remembers where the cursor was the last time it appeared. If you click on a window while holding down the button, that window will move when you look at the other screen.
When you leave your computer, your screens lock or dim according to a configurable delay of between 5 and 30 seconds. When listening to a movie or video on YouTube, streaming stops when you move away from the computer and resumes when you return to the screen.
Even more spectacular: the LG Gram warns you if someone is behind your back and is looking at your screen. Depending on the visitor’s position, an annoying icon is displayed on one side. You can then blur the screen or turn it off, or do nothing at all.
SCREENSHOT FROM LG WEBSITE
An icon appears on the screen when someone is behind the user.
Finally, for important video conferences, your microphone will automatically turn off when you walk away from the computer. If you speak while your microphone is off, the computer will warn you.
For connectivity, there are two USB-C Thunderbolt 4 ports, two USB-A 3.2 ports, an HDMI output, an audio jack, and a microSD card reader. Note that LG created a rare flower for French speakers: the keyboards sold in Canada have accents.
We love less
With its Iris Xe graphics card, the LG Gram defends itself well for everyday work, photo and video viewing, but don’t rely on it for video games or more demanding editing.
Advertised with “clear sound and more powerful bass”, the speakers are rather disappointing. They’re enough for a video conference or broadcasting a music video, but they’re not enough for a movie or an album.
The screen isn’t touch-sensitive and obviously isn’t compatible with a stylus.
At $1899.99 we are not at all in the affordable product designed for all uses and all budgets.
You buy?
At this price you don’t buy an LG Gram 17” if you don’t need its performance, the large screen and the above-average battery life. Many cheaper laptops will do for your needs. And if the detachable touchscreen is a must for you, the Galaxy Book2 Pro 360 offers the same performance at a similar price.
For everyday work, however, one can hardly imagine anything better than the attractive functions of the LG Glance. In short, a highly recommended purchase for those willing to pay the price.
Specification: LG Gram 17” model 17Z90Q-K. AA78A9
Manufacturer: LG
Price: $1899.99 (on sale at BestBuy)
Rating: 8.5 out of 10