LG announces five Gram laptops for 2021 with 16:10 displays and convertible form factors

[Redaktion]

LG has delivered a few Gram-related surprises ahead of CES 2021. Not only will the company unveil new 14, 16 and 17-inch laptops next week, but it will unveil convertible 14 and 16-inch models. LG's new Gram lineup will all feature 16:10 displays and Intel Tiger Lake-U processors.

https://www.notebookcheck.net/LG-announces-five-Gram-laptops-for-2021-with-16-10-displays-and-convertible-form-factors.513901.0.html

[smh]

LG is known for their laptops not having windows facial recognition, terrible cooling, horrific speakers, and low build quality (they want to keep the weight down). I will not buy any laptop from LG, only if they change these aspects of the machine. The insane battery life does look good though, but that, from my perspective, is the only advantage of an LG laptop.

[vertigo]

My main problem wiht LG is that they have zero support in my experience. The one LG product I've bought, which was a monitor, I ended up returning after contacting support and receiving no response whatsoever.

And I don't understand this bizarre pattern of companies releasing some products and not others in various regions. It seems completely random and nonsensical to not sell the convertible models in Europe (and possibly elsewhere). I prefer that form factor, and intend for my next and all future laptops to be convertible, so I find it frustrating how few models are made that way (really, how much more can it really require to just have the display swing all the way around?) and baffling that when they actually make some, they're going to limit where they sell them.

[Veyron]

8GB of RAM is so last century.
16GB is for browsing the web and watching porn, not for any serious productivity work. So this is a toy.

[I Carumba]

I sure hope they went to a matte screen for the 17" version.   That has been the only thing keeping me from buying one for years.    Only an insane person wants a glossy screen and all of the reflections it causes - or someone who only uses it in the dark, at night, in bed.

[Skopi]

Retarded decision to solder all memory. All that variety is just surficial.

[Dorby]

I wonder why the Gram 16 Touch is not a 2-in-1 laptop when it supports the AES 2.0 pen standard.

Also their 13 and 15 inch Grams seems to have been discontinued, is this true?

[Droppy]

As an owner of the former generation Gram 17, I'm satisfied. 16:10 Glossy screen is PIA when working outside but otherwise is great; this one seems to have improved color coverage, so will be better for photo editing. 16 GB of RAM is plenty for productivity work, unless you need to run stuff within VMs. Magnesium body is way sturdier then it appears. Speakers are awful, I hope they improved them in this newer version.

[JohnIL]

Thin notebooks are nice throw away devices. No practical way to upgrade anything, even things like replacing batteries a challenge. Apple doing similar with its Mac's just its own complex chip on a logic board. Any hardware issue and you're replacing the logic board. I'd rather accept a bit heavier thicker notebook with access to RAM, cooling, and storage upgrades.

[vertigo]

Thin notebooks are nice throw away devices. No practical way to upgrade anything, even things like replacing batteries a challenge. Apple doing similar with its Mac's just its own complex chip on a logic board. Any hardware issue and you're replacing the logic board. I'd rather accept a bit heavier thicker notebook with access to RAM, cooling, and storage upgrades.

Not just for upgrades, but for salvaging. As I just learned with my SP3 that abruptly died (and which appears to be a fairly common issue), super-thin devices are a bit of a nightmare in such situations. Normally, I'd just be able to remove some screws, open the case, and rescue the drive, but instead I had to destroy it to open it up and get the drive out. The complete lack of upgradeability and repairability (even MS won't repair Surfaces, they just replace them, which means without a good backup you're SOL and lose your data, which has happened to many people) simply is not worth the very small reduction in size and weight, not to mention the loss of performance due to limited cooling and small battery resulting in poor runtime.

Everybody is different, and these devices certainly appeal to some people, but I would advise anyone that doesn't absolutely need the smallest and lightest computer to avoid anything that can't be serviced. Not sure how bad these Grams are, but something to be aware of and look for. The main reason I didn't buy one of Dell's laptops is because they chose to solder the SSD. Completely idiotic.

[Leo Ng]

I've got a 2019 LG Gram 17 with the i7-8565U / 16GB RAM - I absolutely love this laptop.  Its hard to believe that anything will ever come close to this for weight/screen size ratio soon.  I'm a software engineer and I find its got enough grunt and memory for my needs - later might update one of the RAM sticks so its got 24GB but I am OK for now.

If they ever do a Ryzen LG Gram 17, especially with a matte screen, I will be super interested.  The only complaints I have about the Gram 17 is that the screen doesn't quite get bright enough / is too glossy and that one of the RAM sticks is soldered on.  Otherwise, its a super awesome device, really love it.

Its also amazing and awesome that they maintain a good amount of ports despite the weight - Thunderbolt USB-C, 3x USB-A, HDMI.  Love the LG Gram 17!