Knowledgeable’s Ranking
Execs
- Terribly skinny and light-weight for its dimension
- OLED show supplies punchy distinction and shade
- Strong battery life
Cons
- Plain design with unimpressive construct high quality
- Modest CPU efficiency
- No discrete graphics possibility
Our Verdict
The LG Gram SuperSlim is probably the most transportable 15.6-inch laptop computer you should purchase proper now, however shaving down the profile hurts efficiency.
Greatest Costs Right this moment: LG Gram SuperSlim
$1,899.00
LG’s Gram laptop computer line is thought for its low weight and slim design, nevertheless it appears the corporate’s engineers felt they may do higher. The result’s the LG Gram SuperSlim, a 15.6-inch laptop computer that’s not more than .49 inches thick and weighs a mere 2.18 kilos. It’s the thinnest, lightest 15.6-inch laptop computer offered proper now, however prioritizing portability over efficiency isn’t for everybody. Learn on to study extra.
Searching for extra light-weight laptops? Take a look at PCWorld’s roundup of the very best 2-in-1 laptops out there proper now.
LG Gram SuperSlim: Specs and options
LG’s Gram SuperSlim isn’t a spec sheet celebrity. It packs an Intel Core i7-1360P and sticks with Intel built-in graphics, which is unhealthy information for anybody trying to play PC video games or use a GPU to speed up productiveness. The 1080p OLED show additionally merely whelms, although it does carry out properly in real-world use.
- CPU: Intel Core i7-1360P
- Reminiscence: 32GB LPDDR5
- Graphics/GPU: Intel Iris Xe
- Show: 15.6-inch 1080p 60Hz OLED
- Storage: 2TB PCIe Gen4 SSD
- Webcam: 1080p
- Connectivity: 2x USB 4 with Energy Supply, DisplayPort Alternate Mode, Thunderbolt 4, 1x USB 4 with Energy Supply.
- Networking: WiFi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2
- Biometrics: IR Digicam for Home windows Hiya facial recognition
- Battery capability: 60 watt-hours
- Dimensions: 14 x 8.95 x .49 inches
- Weight: 2.18 kilos
- MSRP: $1,699.99 base MSRP, $1,999.99 as-tested
The entry-level LG Gram SuperSlim, which retails for $1,699.99, packs an Intel Core i7-1360P processor, Intel Iris Xe built-in graphics, a 1TB strong state drive, and 16GB of RAM. That’s seemingly the very best configuration for most individuals, however my upgraded overview unit crammed in 32GB of RAM and a whopping 2TB of strong state storage (within the type of two 1TB PCIe SSDs), which inflates the worth to $1,999.99.
LG Gram SuperSlim: Design and construct high quality
IDG / Matthew Smith
The LG Gram SuperSlim has a navy blue magnesium alloy chassis that’s unadorned apart from a small silver Gram brand within the middle of the laptop computer’s lid. The supplies really feel as plain as they appear, missing any texture that may assist the laptop computer stand out from the gang. I just like the navy blue colorway, not less than.
There may be one factor of the design that stands out: The side ratio. The laptop computer has a 15.6-inch, 16:9 widescreen as a substitute of the taller 16:10 side ratio standard amongst current laptops. In consequence, the laptop computer seems to be and feels extensive relative to its depth. Its bodily measurements, nonetheless, present it’s barely smaller than most 15.6-inch and 16-inch laptops.
As talked about, the laptop computer’s chassis makes use of a magnesium alloy. It’s a remarkably sturdy and light-weight materials that helps the Gram SuperSlim obtain its low weight of two.18 kilos. Magnesium alloy isn’t significantly inflexible, nonetheless, the laptop computer’s slim profile, which measures simply 0.49 inches thick, leaves little area so as to add reinforcement.
Consumers within the Gram SuperSlim should settle for a compromise. This laptop computer is gentle and skinny, which makes it perfect for journey, however lacks the heft and luxurious you’ll take pleasure in from an Apple MacBook Air 15, Dell XPS 15, or Razer Blade 16.
LG Gram SuperSlim: Keyboard, trackpad
IDG / Matthew Smith
The LG Gram SuperSlim has room for a spacious keyboard with giant keys and a numpad on the right-hand facet. Technically, the numpad keys usually are not fairly full-sized, however they’re so shut that the distinction is hard to note. There’s loads of area alongside the palm relaxation, too, so your palms received’t be left dangling off the sting of the laptop computer.
Nonetheless, the laptop computer’s slim chassis means there’s a scarcity of area for key journey. Key motion is brief and agency, which ends up in a picket really feel that lacks tactile suggestions. The keyboard is extraordinarily quiet (which some customers would possibly choose), however I like a little bit extra response after I activate a key. The typing expertise is appropriate total, however options just like the Dell XPS 15 and Lenovo Slim Professional 7 outperform the LG.
White LED keyboard backlighting comes normal and is managed with a keyboard shortcut. It does the job however is in any other case unremarkable. There’s no shade customization and simply two brightness settings (apart from off).
A small touchpad measuring 4 inches extensive and three inches deep is centered under the keyboard. It’s tiny by the requirements of recent 15 and 16-inch Home windows laptops, most of which have a touchpad measuring 5 or 6 inches extensive. The shortage of area is perhaps a difficulty for individuals who take pleasure in Home windows’ multi-touch gestures. Luckily, the touchpad in any other case feels responsive and clean. I additionally respect that the touchpad is centered on the laptop computer as a substitute of pushed in the direction of the left facet, which is normally the case with laptops which have a numpad.
LG Gram SuperSlim: Show, audio
IDG / Matthew Smith
Each LG Gram SuperSlim has a 1080p 60Hz OLED non-touch show. It doesn’t look spectacular on a specification sheet, principally on account of its 1080p decision, nevertheless it seems to be unbelievable in real-world use.
The show’s 1,920 x 1,080 decision works out to 141 pixels per inch, which is a bit decrease than a 27-inch 4K monitor’s pixel density of 163 pixels per inch. Nonetheless, the Gram SuperSlim packs sufficient pixels to ship sharp visuals. YouTube movies look crystal-clear and tiny fonts and rendered with minimal pixelation.
The OLED panel provides punch with an successfully infinite distinction ratio and very good shade gamut. It delivers wealthy and vivid visuals, rendering darkish scenes with convincing shadows alongside saturated colours in brighter content material. The Gram SuperSlim is nice for watching a film or streaming Netflix. The show’s glorious shade efficiency additionally proves helpful when modifying pictures or video.
Avid gamers can be disillusioned to study the show has a 60Hz refresh price. That’s considerably stunning, as many competing laptops which have an OLED panel ship a 90Hz and even 120Hz refresh price. Nonetheless, given the absence of discrete graphics on this laptop computer, gaming efficiency clearly isn’t a precedence.
Whereas the show is strong, the Gram SuperSlim’s audio is satisfactory at greatest. Most quantity is loud sufficient to fill a small room with sound, however the audio system have a skinny, hole high quality and a muddy mid-range. Even acoustically easy content material, like a podcast, can introduce distortion that makes listening disagreeable. Headphones or earbuds are beneficial.
LG Gram SuperSlim: Webcam, microphone, biometrics
LG conceals an important 1080p webcam within the Gram SuperSlim’s skinny show bezel. It delivers a pointy picture with good shade copy, and whereas I wouldn’t advocate it for skilled video content material creation, it performs properly for video conferencing on platforms like Zoom.
The webcam is accompanied by a microphone array that captures robust, sturdy audio. You’ll not often hear exterior noises, too, because the microphones within the Gram SuperSlim appear to filter out background noise extra aggressively than most laptops. This may cut back the quantity of your voice should you’re indirectly dealing with the laptop computer throughout a name, nonetheless.
Home windows Hiya facial recognition login is supported by the webcam and works flawlessly, offering a fast and simple technique to log into the laptop computer the second you sit in entrance of it. As is typical of Home windows Hiya facial recognition, it really works properly even in low-light environments.
LG Gram SuperSlim: Connectivity
IDG / Matthew Smith
The LG Gram SuperSlim is concentrated on USB-C connectivity with three USB 4 Kind-C ports, two of which help USB Energy Supply, DisplayPort Alternate Mode, and Thunderbolt 4. The third USB 4 port solely helps USB Energy Supply.
This has its advantages. All USB-C ports present excessive knowledge switch charges and connectivity is well improved with a USB-C hub. I additionally like that every one three USB-C ports can cost the laptop computer. However, the laptop computer would require an adapter or hub to be used with older screens, exterior exhausting drives, and most webcams, which is annoying should you use these peripherals often.
There may be one extra port to say: a 3.5mm combo audio port. It’s included on almost all trendy laptops, after all, however I’m comfortable to see LG didn’t sacrifice it within the identify of portability.
LG’s choice to depend on USB 4 isn’t distinctive. Dell takes an analogous tact with the Dell XPS 15 (although it does present an SDcard reader). Apple’s just lately launched MacBook Air 15 has even much less connectivity, providing simply two USB 4 / Thunderbolt 4 ports. However different potential options, just like the Lenovo Yoga 7i 16-inch, have USB-A and HDMI-out.
The Gram SuperSlim’s wi-fi connectivity picks up slack for the slim port choice with help for Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2. The laptop computer’s Wi-Fi remained robust and dependable even when utilizing the laptop computer 50 toes away from the router in a indifferent workplace.
LG Gram SuperSlim: Efficiency
LG’s Gram SuperSlim sits in an odd place between bigger and extra highly effective 15-inch and 16-inch laptops, such because the Dell XPS 15, and extra transportable 14-inch laptops just like the Lenovo Yoga 9i or Slim Professional 7. All Gram SuperSlim configurations ship with the Intel Core i7-1360P, a 12-core processor with 4 efficiency cores and eight environment friendly cores, and all depend on Intel Iris Xe built-in graphics.
IDG / Matthew Smith
Our assessments start with PCMark 10, a benchmark suite that judges a laptop computer primarily based on a wide range of assessments. The LG Gram SuperSlim has bother right here, reaching a complete rating of simply 4,989. That’s a tad higher than the Intel Core i7-1355U however in any other case falls behind comparable laptops.
IDG / Matthew Smith
The Gram SuperSlim hit a Cinebench R15 multi-core rating of 1,430. That’s an affordable rating for a laptop computer with an Intel Core i7-1360P processor and sufficient to position the LG above the Lenovo Yoga E book 9i and the Microsoft Floor Laptop computer 5. Nonetheless, it clearly loses to the Lenovo Slim 7 Professional’s new Ryzen 7735HS and the Dell XPS 15’s extra power-hungry Intel Core i7-13700H.
IDG / Matthew Smith
Our Handbrake check wasn’t the Gram SuperSlim’s best second. It transcoded a 30GB video file into an Android-friendly 1080p .MKV format in 26 minutes and 21 seconds.That’s barely faster than a Microsoft Floor Laptop computer 5 packing a last-gen Intel Core i7-1255U processor.
What provides? Blame the Gram SuperSlim’s thermal administration, which prioritizes quiet operation over efficiency. That’s excellent news if the whirr of followers annoys you—the laptop computer isn’t silent, nevertheless it’s quiet and fan noise solely turns into noticeable throughout heavy, sustained hundreds. It rapidly turns into scorching, nonetheless, reaching exterior temperatures of as much as 107 levels.
IDG / Matthew Smith
Graphics efficiency is arguably the Gram SuperSlim’s most critical limitation. Intel Iris Xe is able to enjoying many trendy 3D video games at low framerates and element settings, nevertheless it doesn’t preserve tempo with the most recent AMD Radeon graphics built-in into Ryzen 7000-series processors, and even probably the most primary discrete graphics options will depart Intel Iris Xe within the mud.
That’s an issue for 3D video games, after all, and would possibly maintain the laptop computer again in productiveness workloads. Many trendy purposes can use a GPU to speed up video encoding or AI duties, however that’s not an possibility on the Gram SuperSlim.
The LG Gram SuperSlim’s efficiency is simple to sum up: it’s not nice, Bob. Efficiency is greater than satisfactory for day-to-day use and simply tackles reasonably demanding duties, like modifying giant pictures or a 1080p YouTube video. Nonetheless, it’s clear the LG Gram SuperSlim’s efficiency is extra in keeping with 13 and 14-inch laptops and falls behind many equally priced than 15-inch and 16-inch opponents.
LG Gram SuperSlim: Battery life
The LG Gram SuperSlim packs a meager 60 watt-hour battery. That’s small for a laptop computer on this class—the Dell XPS 15, by comparability, supplies an 86 watt-hour battery.
IDG / Matthew Smith
It’s a little bit of a shock, then, to see the Gram SuperSlim outlast many options. The LG endured our battery check, which loops a 4K clip of the quick movie Tears of Metal, for 12 hours and 51 minutes. That defeats the Dell XPS 15 and Microsoft Floor Laptop computer 5 and comes near the Lenovo Slim 7 Professional.
Credit score the laptop computer’s meager {hardware}. The LG Gram SuperSlim’s efficiency is modest for the worth, however the lack of power-hungry {hardware} helps squeeze most life from each watt out there. The Gram SuperSlim ought to deal with an eight-hour workday of sunshine to average use.
The laptop computer expenses over USB-C, as properly, and can fortunately suck energy from any half-decent 65-watt energy adapter. That additional aids its portability, as frequent fliers can simply cost the laptop computer with a compact third-party energy adapter.
LG Gram SuperSlim: Do you have to purchase it?
The LG Gram SuperSlim is a laptop computer designed for a selected area of interest. It gives a giant 15.6-inch show, a lot of reminiscence, and gobs of strong state storage, however lacks the CPU and GPU efficiency most individuals will count on in a big laptop computer with a base worth of $1,699.99. The LG Gram SuperSlim might make sense if you need a big laptop computer solely since you choose a giant display screen, or if you need a big laptop computer that feels smaller than it’s. If you’d like efficiency, nonetheless, you’ll be happier with a bigger, thicker laptop computer just like the Dell XPS 15 or Asus Vivobook 16X OLED.
