advantage
- exceptionally light
- LG Glance security software
- +View monitor included
- MicroSD card slot
Cons
- Basic (but usable) keyboard
- Speakers lack bass
- Monitor cannot be disaggregated
- moderate battery life
LG’s Gram laptops recently got a yearly update, with the new lineup including 14-, 15-, 16-, and 17-inch laptops, as well as 16- and 14-inch 2-in-1 models. We start with a look at the LG Gram 16 (2022). The 16-inch screen size is becoming popular as many see it as ideal for combining work and play. However, to meet that need, a laptop must be powerful and light, with good battery life. Let’s see how the LG Gram 16 (2022) fares, which costs £1,549.98 in the UK (~$1,868 at the time of writing).
Although the LG Gram 16 (2022) has a high price, it includes a 16-inch screen +View monitor retailing for £299.98 when sold separately. At this time, you cannot undock this pairing at the point of purchase. My review kit came with the monitor and its required USB-C connection cable. The +View monitor’s 16:10 aspect ratio and 2560 by 1600 resolution precisely match my laptop screen, and I found it easy to work with them together.
The 1,199kg LG Gram 16 (2022) comes with a 16-inch +View monitor, worth £299.98 at the time of writing. Image: LG
The most striking feature of the LG Gram 16 (2022) is how light this laptop is: at 1,199kg, it puts many smaller laptops to shame, let alone other 16-inch devices. Still, LG has managed to make the chassis tough enough to pass MIL-STD 810G tests. The design is clean and crisp, while the deep black livery is stylish yet understated.
Open the cover and the 16-inch screen, which has a resolution of 2560 by 1600 pixels (16:10 aspect ratio, 189ppi) and a matte finish, makes a good impression. The IPS panel’s maximum brightness of 350 nits is a bit low, and no touch functionality is offered. But you do get good color gamut support (99% DCI-P3) and narrow bezels all around.
The speakers do not reach the standard set by the screen. The grilles sit on the flat bottom of the chassis, where their sound vents are flush with a desk or user’s lap; with the laptop on some softer surfaces, there was noticeable damping. The maximum volume level is acceptable, but if you’re interested in bass-heavy audio, you might be disappointed.
LG has found room above the screen for a 1080p webcam, as well as an IR camera, a setup used in an interesting call attention detection app. Mirametrix LG Glance.
LG Glance uses the webcam and IR camera to provide security and other features by detecting your attention. Images: Sandra Vogel
By tracking your head and eye movements, the software can do things like transfer what you’re working on between the laptop and the +View monitor and move your mouse pointer according to where you’re looking. Meanwhile, privacy controls can detect if someone else is looking at the screen over your shoulder and blur your content, blur the screen when you’re looking away, and turn the screen off if you move away from the laptop, pausing any video in progress. the process. . A control panel provides granular control for these features and I found that they all worked very well.
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 number pad whose keys are slightly narrower. The Enter key is elongated but only one height, and I found my right little finger hitting the 7, 4, and 1 keys more often than I would have liked, as well as finding “https://news.google.com/ ‘ instead of the Del key and ‘–’ instead of the Backspace key with disappointing regularity. You’ll get used to this over time, but the learning curve can be frustrating.
The keys themselves are fairly light to the touch with little resistance when you press them down and a reasonably brisk bounce. The hollow ‘thunk’ that occurs when typing is quite pronounced even for a light typist like me, and the noise could irritate co-workers in a quiet space. The touchpad is large and responsive, though the numpad pushes it off center relative to the space bar, which can take some getting used to.
Left side (top): HDMI, 2x USB 4/Thunderbolt 4, 3.5mm audio in/out. Right side (top): MicroSD card slot, 2x USB 3.2 Gen 2×1. Images: Sandra Vogel
LG equips the Gram 16 (2022) with a 12th generation Intel Core i7-1260P Processor, 16 GB of RAM and 1 TB of SSD storage. The operating system is Windows 11 Home. We had no issues with performance when running conventional workloads during the test period, but its integrated GPU (Iris Xe Graphics) could struggle with graphics-intensive tasks.
There’s a decent array 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 the computer laptop is charging. Wi-Fi 6E (with 6GHz support, as well as 2.4GHz and 5GHz) and Bluetooth 5.1 cover wireless connectivity, but there’s no NFC.
Although the LG Gram 16 (2022) has a high-capacity 80Wh battery to power that 16-inch screen, the company’s claim of up to 20.5 hours of life is optimistic. Under 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 a total battery life of just under nine hours. If you need a full day of work with this laptop, keep the charger handy.
The loading speed is reasonably healthy. When I started charging with the battery at 26% it reached 34% in 15 minutes, 43% in 30 minutes and 55% in 45 minutes.
Conclusions
The LG Gram 16 (2022) is remarkably light, making it extremely portable for a 16-inch laptop. Its MIL-STD 810G certification also helps in this regard. The screen 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, though I could live with them long term. Clustering a second monitor is an interesting move: some will find it very useful, but others may find it superfluous.
LG Gram 16 (2022) specifications
| Processor | Intel Core-i7-1260P |
| GPU | Intel Iris Xe Graphics (Integrated) |
| RAM | 16GB (LPDDR5) |
| Storage | 1TB (M.2 NVMe) |
| storage expansion | Micro SD |
| operating system | Home Windows 11 |
| Screen size and type | 16-inch IPS (non-touch) |
| Resolution | 2560×1600 (16:10, 189ppi) |
| Brightness | 350 nits |
| contrast ratio | 1200:1 |
| color range | 99% DCI-P3 |
| Wifi | 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 in/out) |
| Webcam | FHD IR with dual microphones |
| Keyboard | full size, backlit, with separate numeric keypad |
| Navigation | Precision touchpad with scrolling and gestures (131.5mm x 82.6mm) |
| battery capacity | 80Wh |
| Battery life (claimed) | 20.5 hours |
| Power supply | 65W USB-C PD Adapter |
| Accessory | USB-C to RJ-45 adapter |
| Dimensions | 354.6 mm x 242.1 mm x 16.76 mm (13.96 in. x 9.53 in. x 0.66 in.) |
| Weight | 1,199kg (2.64lbs) |
| Sturdiness | MIL-STD-810G |
| preinstalled software | Microsoft Office 2016 (30-day trial), DTS X:Ultra, Virtoo by LG (select countries), Alexa for PC (US, UK, Canada, Japan), 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 | £1,549.98 |
Alternatives to consider
Laptops with 16-inch screens are relatively new to the market, but there’s now a good selection of products in this form factor, offering a decent amount of screen real estate while avoiding the extremes of bulk and weight found on many 17-inch devices. . These are some of the main contenders.
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