ZDNET’s essential takeaways
- The LG Gram 17 (2025) is offered now for $1,699.
- You will not discover a thinner, lighter 17-inch laptop computer out there, and the Intel “Lunar Lake” processor is a huge upgrade from in 2015’s design.
- The touchscreen is shaky, the black matte surface draws in finger prints, and I want it had a haptic trackpad.
At Best Buy, the 2025 LG Gram 17 is on sale for $1,750 ($250 off).
You like a huge screen, 17-inch laptop computer, however you desire to bring it around without breaking your back? I got you. LG’s Gram 17 lives approximately its name as the lightest, thinnest 17-inch laptop computer you’ve most likely laid your eyes on.
We’ve gone hands-on with numerous designs from LG’s Gram series over the previous couple of years, such as 2024’sGram Pro 17and the Gram Pro 16 2-in-1Fortunately, the brand-new Gram 17 has some enhancements over in 2015’s design, and truthfully, the distinctions in between the base design and the Pro aren’t as popular as you may anticipate.
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The Gram 17 is an extremely light laptop computer for its size, determining simply 0.74 inches thin and weighing 3.2 pounds. For referral, this is lighter than numerous 16, 14, and even some 13-inch laptop computers, and it does not compromise hardware to arrive.
The Gram 17 is geared up with an Intel Core Ultra 7 “Lunar Lake” processor, 32GB of RAM, and a terabyte of storage, putting it in line with other competitive mid-to-upper-tier laptop computers in the very same rate variety.
Where it stands apart from the crowd, nevertheless, is its type. The record-holding lightness leads to a laptop computer that’s simple to bring around, specifically if you are a hybrid employee who commutes to the workplace. I took this laptop computer with me all over for over a week and hardly saw it in my bag.
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Even more, the 17-inch touchscreen screen is whatever you ‘d anticipate from a WQXGA (2560×1600) IPS: it’s brilliant, crisp, and alleviates glare effectively. I’m not a big touchscreen individual (I generally choose a mouse), however the large size of the screen on this laptop computer welcomes the user to communicate with it in such a way that’s a little various than other laptop computers, and I discovered myself utilizing it more frequently than anticipated.
That being stated, the really thin screen is rather shaky and bends backward and forward with each press, something that will bum some users.
The other physical parts of the laptop computer are streamlined and properly designed. The full-sized keyboard is rather basic, with relatively flat secrets that aren’t rather as premium as a few of the other laptop computers I’ve evaluated just recently, like HP’s Elitebook X G1ahowever it’s practical.
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The touchpad is big and responsive, although I have to state that I want there was a haptic choice. The laptop computer’s general size results in a wrist rest location that is rather extensive. Typing on the Gram 17 implies your whole hand, and– depending upon the size of your arms– mid lower arms will be resting on the laptop computer. You will likewise require appropriate desk area, with the bottom half of the clamshell determining 15 inches in length and 10 inches deep.
LG continues to produce its Gram series with a black matte surface that is, sadly, a little a finger print magnet. Depending upon what sort of lighting you’re in, the laptop computer’s surface area can reveal spots and prints, and if you appreciate that sort of thing, it may be a bit disruptive.
As far as other hardware on board goes, I/O is robust, with an HDMI port, 2 USB-Cs (both with power shipment and assistance for Thunderbolt 4 and DisplayPort), 2 USB-As, an earphone jack, and a Kensington lock slot. The speakers aren’t especially excellent, sounding on the shallow side (affected by the gadget’s ultrathin kind, no doubt) however about what you ‘d anticipate from a mid-tier laptop computer.
The genuine power behind this laptop computer is internal. The addition of the Intel Core Ultra 7 (Series 2) “Lunar Lake” processor upgrades it to a genuinely competitive gadget instead of simply an engineering showboat.
Just like other laptop computers with Intel’s “Lunar Lake” series of processors, such as the Asus Zenbook S14battery drain slows to a drip when it’s idle, enabling multi-day usage without fretting about the battery charger.
Focused, sustained usage, nevertheless, leads to the sort of battery drain you ‘d anticipate, with about a complete eight-hour day’s worth of deal with one charge, skewing on the longer end– approximately 10 hours, depending upon how difficult you press it. That’s to state, the battery life on this is great, particularly considering it’s powering a 17-inch screen.
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How does the Gram 17 vary from the Pro? The Pro has more horse power, with a 16-core Intel Core Ultra 7, as opposed to the very same chip however with 8 cores on the base design. The Pro likewise has a larger 90Wh battery compared to the base design’s 77Wh, suggesting it can remain unplugged longer.
In spite of the power, the Gram Pro 17 is likewise a little thinner and lighter, as you’re spending for a more superior style. Side by side, the 2 laptop computers look almost similar.
Neither 17-inch variation features an OLED display screen (you’ll need to go down to the Gram Pro 16 for that), however the Pro does have a 144Hz revitalize rate, unlike the base design, which caps out at 60Hz.
Besides that, with the very same I/O choice and color, and style plan, the distinction here is fairly subtle, regardless of a $380 cost dive up to the Pro variation with 16GB of RAM. The Gram 17 base design with 32GB of RAM, alternatively, is less expensive, beginning at $1,699.
Because of that, I suggest the LG Gram 17 over the Pro variation unless you’re definitely bent on pressing the type aspect as far as it can enter regards to battery life and power.
Mentioning battery life, I did a bit of video gaming on this laptop computer, and after a handful of updates, it carried out well, however the battery life does take a hit. I likewise got a couple of visual problems (tearing, polygons) throughout screening it, however the Intel Arc GPU holds its own, particularly for titles that aren’t especially requiring.
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The “Lunar Lake” Intel chip leads to a cool-running laptop computer. Even with the fans cranking, it never ever truly warms up to uneasy temperature levels, specifically thinking about how hot I keep in mind in 2015’s Gram Pro 16 getting.
I’ll point out the Gram’s on-device AI, “Gram Chat”, which is LG’s exclusive AI-driven assistant that is expected to assist the user discover services to typical problems like finding files or troubleshooting. I will state that for really fundamental demands, it works, however it does not comprehend conversational triggers, much less more unclear ones.
On-device AI is something that various makers are attempting, however as the majority of users will confess, outcomes are blended, a minimum of in the meantime. LG’s Gram Chat might work for some, however I didn’t discover myself returning after my very first couple of efforts yielded uninspiring outcomes.
ZDNET’s purchasing guidance
LG’s Gram 17 is an exceptionally thin and light laptop computer, and the addition of the Intel Core Ultra 7 “Lunar Lake” processor finishes the photo with a direct enhancement in methods customers will appreciate.
The $1,700 cost point is on the high-end, however this laptop computer is an engineering declaration. You will not discover a thinner, lighter, 17-inch laptop computer out there.
The LG Gram Pro 17 will cost around $400 more, however it uses a more effective processor, larger battery, and more exceptional construct. Simply for clearness, that implies it is over the $2,000 mark. For the majority of users, nevertheless, the base design Gram 17 is a strong option for customers who like a huge display screen and excellent type aspect.
The current United States tariffs on imports from nations like China, Vietnam, and India goal to improve domestic production however are most likely to increase rates on customer electronic devices. Products like mobile phones, laptop computers, and TVs might end up being more pricey as business reconsider international supply chains and weigh the expense of moving production.
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Laptop computers and PCs are likewise struck hard by the brand-new United States tariffs, with import tasks possibly increasing costs by approximately 35%. Lots of significant brand names still count on Chinese and Vietnamese factories for assembly, suggesting customers might quickly pay considerably more for whatever from budget plan Chromebooks to high-end video gaming rigs.
These tariffs might speed up efforts to move production to areas like Mexico or India, however buyers can anticipate greater expenses and less discount rates in the short-term.
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