LG - gram Max 17" Touch-Screen Laptop WQXGA Intel Core Ultra X9 Processor 388H with 32GB RAM - 1TB SSD - Matte Bronze

This LG gram Max 17” Touchscreen WQXGA Intel Core Ultra X9 Processor 388H with 32GB RAM and 1TB SSD in Matte Bronze looks premium and feels it too. It is super lightweight, especially for a 17” screen and loaded with a lot of bells and whistles. As I was unboxing the laptop, I could not help but think how sleek and light it was. I expected it to weigh more. I was pleasantly surprised. This laptop is different in such that I cannot say that it is for students, travelers, work-from-home individuals, creators, or gamers. What I can say is that this laptop is for anyone or everyone, with little exceptions. I would say that moderate gamers would be fine with this laptop, but heavy gamers may need a system with a dedicated graphics card. It all depends on which games you are playing. This packs a pretty punch, and I would recommend trying it. In the box is the LG gram laptop, USB-C charger, and paperwork. Setup was fast and easy. I was not moving anything over from my old laptop, so the process was setting up a new laptop. I did have to install 8 different software titles for productivity and graphics, along with other software that I use for work or hobbies. The laptop setup itself did not take a long time, but depending on what you have to install after setup, it will decide that entire process time. Design & Build of this laptop is very impressive to me. Weight and portability alone are a game changer compared to my old laptop. Usually, you must trade portability for a 17” screen, but not here. The keyboard is full-sized with the number pad, yes, a number pad! Display Ports: HDMI 2.1, 2 DisplayPort, 2 Thunderbolt 4. USB ports: 2 USB-A 3.2, 2 USB-C 4 Headphone Jack: 3.5mm Power adapter: USB-C - the adapter and cord are both Included. The overall durability of the laptop is solid, despite it being lightweight at 3.4 pounds. LG made this gram from premium metal, and it is Military MIL-STD 810H Slim & Strong, which means it had to go through 25 different vigorous tests to get the MIL-STD 810H certification. The Display Quality is fantastic with the WQXGA resolution, you get sharpness and color accuracy. The brightness is good, but not the best. I changed the settings more than a few times to see if I could get the screen brighter, and I did a little, but it could still use improvement. I would not complain about it if I were not testing specifically for it. The touchscreen is great. The responsiveness is spot on, and there is no delay or lag. During streaming, editing, multitasking, or rendering large 3D images, the touchscreen still preforms at top level. Performance is key. The Intel Core Ultra X9 Processor 388H along with the Intel Arc graphics that is built-in is a combo worth mentioning more about. These two together have allowed me to run games on this laptop that I run on my gaming laptop with a dedicated graphics card. The wildest thing here is that this laptop with this combo runs the games better than the gaming laptop. I have never in my life seen a built-in graphics card perform this well. There was no lag in the game or on screen. It held its own very well. Also, I must mention that during the time that the system was being pushed to its max, not once did it slow down, take up more resources than it should have or more than enough to slow anything down, and not once did it get hot. I also did not hear the fan noise I expected to hear.  The RAM is at its peak at 32GB, which is more than enough. It allows all the multitasking and the running of multiple and heavy applications. It also allows you to have multiple browser tabs open without worrying about having to close them due to using up resources. The SSD is 1TB and has a fast boot time. There is another slot to add an additional SSD if you want to add another in the future. Battery Life is great whether you are streaming, doing heavy tasks, gaming, or productivity. The manual says you can get 26.5 hours of lasting battery life on a full charge. I have everything set on AI mode, so it monitors my use and adjusts it from there. I have not had any issues with the battery dying or getting low on me yet. As far as everyday use for this laptop, I love it. It is great for work, school, home, browsing, video calls, creative tasks, gaming, and more. I will use the touchscreen some, but not a lot. The speakers, webcam, and the mic are all good, and there is Dolby Atmos installed for the speakers and headphone settings. Software & Features: The LG Utilities are extremely helpful as you can do PC Maintenance, reach Customer Support, access your Apps that come with the laptop, Security, and settings. The LG gram Link allows you to easily synchronize your webOS, iOS, and Android devices to your laptop seamlessly. There is a troubleshooting guide. LG Channels is a free streaming service with an excellent selection of premium live and on demand shows and movies. This laptop has so many features built in that it will take you a bit to navigate it all. What I love about this laptop: 1.        It is lightweight with a 17” screen and a full-size keyboard with the number pad on the right. 2.        It is loaded with memory and storage. 3.        The built-in graphics card with the processor is just as good if not better than a dedicated graphics card. 4.        The Matte Bronze is elegant looking. What I did not love about this laptop: 1.        No SD Card Slot 2.        Screen brightness could be better. Summary: To sum it up, I love this laptop and would recommend it to so many people. Students, moderate gamers, creators, designers, productivity users, office staff, home users, and travelers. It lives up to the LG name and gives off a great vibe, for this is what you want if you want a big screen and a powerhouse without the big weight.

This laptop goes for being big and light, with long battery life, and achieves all of those things. It is actually impressive how light it feels, yet still having a large screen, AND full-size keyboard with a number pad. Not many laptops have all of that anymore. The speakers on this aren't so bad either, so it makes for a good laptop for watching Netflix for extended periods of time, because the battery will last several hours. How many hours? hard to say, because it does last so long, and I didn't have the patience to test multiple full-to-empty experiments. I've also been impressed with the performance of this laptop. It doesn't have a dedicated GPU, but it's still able to play games with reasonable performance. Not AAA titles at max settings, but you'll be able to play casual and less demanding games without a problem, which isn't something I expected. It tested it on Steel Nomad Light benchmark, and it got 5650, which is the highest score I've seen on any of my computers without a dedicated GPU, and even the ROG Ally, which is intended for gaming. Surprisingly, it does have a free m.2 slot for a 2nd SSD to expand the storage. The rest of the laptop is rather unremarkable; It's lightness makes it almost feel cheap, even though it's very much not. The display is average. Not mind blowing, but not disappointing either. I do wish it would get brighter though. I just wish this laptop felt more premium, though at the end of the day I suppose that doesn't matter, since it very much is and performs like a premium laptop.

Up until now, laptop computers were mostly designed to focus on a single type of user. Whether you are a hardcore gamer, a budget-conscious student, an everyday user, or a content creator requiring heavy-duty photo and video editing capabilities, there simply wasn’t a single device capable of managing every task seamlessly. In the past, I have personally used gaming specific laptops for photo and video duties, due to their faster GPU and processors, but other features always fell short and left me unsatisfied with the experience, mainly the display resolution and overall size and weight. The LG Gram is packed with all of the most important specifications needed to handle just about any task you can throw at it, making it a truly versatile powerhouse. *** DISPLAY - GRAPHICS - PERFORMANCE *** As a content creator, the display and graphics capabilities are front and center. The LG Gram display is a comfortable 2560x1600 IPS touchscreen. Normally I wouldn’t be that interested in a touchscreen, as resolution and pixel density are the most important features for me personally. That said, the touchscreen actually has some benefits that I didn’t think about before. Namely, scrubbing and moving clips in the timeline of my video editing software. You can even resize video clips by touching the side of a clip and dragging it left or right. This has become a great way to navigate the timeline and pinpoint specific areas very quickly, making my workflow much more efficient. This ultimately saves time and time is at a premium. I also appreciate that this panel is 17 inches with a resolution of 2.5K (WQXGA). Having that extra real estate not only makes photo and video editing easier, but also makes your text and graphics razor sharp. Without getting too long winded, this display boasts DCI-P3 99% color gamut, which is cinema standard for color accuracy, making the LG Gram a truly capable and precise video editing machine. All of that said, I do think the panel could stand to be a bit brighter. I couldn’t find much technical information on the overall brightness, but it seems to be less than ideal for outdoor work. That coupled with the fact that the screen is a glossy touchscreen, makes this an indoor laptop only. Since that is precisely how I will be using it, the brightness is plenty sufficient for my needs and is by no means a deal breaker. Gaming on this PC has also been a very pleasant surprise. The display is equally impressive while playing games as it is for photo and video editing. After pairing my Xbox controller, I loaded up Hogwarts Legacy and tested the capabilities of the Intel Core Ultra X9 and Arc B390 GPU. I will be upfront and just say that the combination of the new X9 and B390 are an extremely capable duo, not only for video editing, but for gaming sessions as well. Upon launching the game the very first time, I let the Xbox app select the in-game settings based on the LG Gram hardware and it defaulted all of my settings to medium, which makes the game look awesome and perform flawlessly with zero lags or glitches. The all aluminum chassis build (more on this later) and dual fan design kept the PC cool to the touch, even after intense battles. I am confident that this PC can handle even more demanding game titles without breaking a sweat. This Gram comes standard with 32GB of RAM, which is more than enough for all of my demanding use cases. This model is maxed out at 32GB and cannot be upgraded to add more. The Dolby Atmos speakers are also very nice and sound rich and full. Whether you are listening to music, playing a game, or watching videos in bed, the sound that the Gram produces is satisfying and provides plenty of volume without distortion. If you prefer to be discreet, the Gram includes a 3.5mm headphone port, but you could always use Bluetooth headphones as well. The Gram comes with a USB-C wall charging brick and cable. Much better than some proprietary charging solution. *** BUILD *** The LG Gram has passed rigorous Military Standard testing and has received the coveted 810H certification, making this laptop extremely durable for everyday users. LG claims to have passed seven of the most important tests, ranging from moisture and temperature tests, to drop tests. This translates to a mobile PC that theoretically, should withstand common elements, and last a very long time, all while being extremely light, thin, and easy to carry. The keyboard and track pad feel very well made. The keyboard is your standard backlit low travel variant and feels great under the fingers. The inclusion of a 10-key is a very welcome addition to any laptop and is very useful in many applications. Props to LG for including the 10-key! The track pad measures 4x6 inches, has a soft but slick matte feel, and is sealed along the edges, making it essentially impervious to the elements. The battery life has been excellent in my tests. Rated at 77Wh, I have found that working unplugged with full brightness, I am able to always get what I need completed with plenty of battery to spare. LG claims “up to” 26.5 hours, but in reality, when running games, watching Netflix, or doing some photo-video editing, you can expect that number to decrease significantly depending on your resolution and brightness settings. The LG Gram has two USB-C Thunderbolt 4 ports, an HDMI port, two USB 3.2 ports, and a headphone/mic 3.5mm combo port. As a content creator, I would prefer an SD card slot on my laptops for quick file transfer, but most companies have excluded them lately. You can always use an SD card reader, but that is one more item to take and possibly lose. Lastly, I have learned that the Gram has an open M.2 SSD slot inside for a possible future upgrade. To me, this should be standard on all laptops. In my line of work, storage space is crucial for media and files. Having the ability to add an additional SSD internally for project storage means one less thing to carry and worry about while working remotely, or traveling. *** IN CONCLUSION *** The LG Gram is the next step in mobile computing and covers all of my needs in one powerful, thin, light, and durable laptop. The 17 inch (touch) screen resolution is vibrant and displays my work beautifully, while giving me the peace of mind of having DCI-P3 color accuracy for clients. Having one mobile computer that handles intense 4K video editing, displays high resolution films, and handles large game titles with ease, is, to say the least, awesome. I feel like I have finally found an all-in-one device that can live comfortably on my desk, or be taken anywhere easily. I highly recommend stopping at your local Best Buy to see the new LG Gram in person. Oh and one last thing, I love the colorway. The matte aluminum bronze is resistant to fingerprints, feels solid, and stands out in a sea of black, white, and grey devices. Go see one today! *** PROS *** Gorgeous 2560x1600 IPS touchscreen display Excellent build quality The Intel Core Ultra X9 and Arc B390 combo can handle the most demanding tasks Great cooling and battery life Light, thin, and durable Backlit keyboard Nice speakers USB-C charging *** CONS *** No SD card slot Could be a bit brighter for exterior use

Speed, light weight, screen size and battery life. I can go on! So happy with my new laptop. Definitely worth it. A bit pricey but such an amazing investment.

This is my first LG Gram laptop, and I was surprised at how light it actually felt in my hands for such a large format display at just under 3.5 lbs. It comes with a pocket-sized 65 Watt USB-C power brick and 6ft USB-C to USB-C charging cable making it convenient for travel. This build has an Intel Core Ultra X9 388H CPU, 1 TB of SSD storage, and 32 GB RAM. The laptop is incredibly thin at around 0.5 inch tall at the back, tapering slightly towards the front. For I/O, on the left side at the back corner there is an HDMI 2.1 port and two USB-C 4 Thunderbolt ports that both support DisplayPort out and double as power input. On the opposite side are a headphone/mic combo port and two USB-A 3.2 ports. The entire chassis of the laptop is made from an aluminum metal alloy for strength, lightness, and a luxurious look. It has a sleek, high-end matte bronze finish that is smudge and fingerprint resistant, so it is easy to keep clean. It is also mil-spec 810H rated for durability in extreme conditions. On the bottom is a single vent that runs the width of the laptop, 5 non-slip feet, and two tiny lift points for additional support. There are no visible screws anywhere on the unit, as the ones holding on the bottom panel are hidden beneath the rubber feet. That being said, it is possible to open up the laptop if you want to upgrade the included 1TB SSD or add additional storage since there is a second, unoccupied M.2 slot inside. The RAM, however, is soldered to the motherboard and not upgradable. I like that you can use either USB-C port to charge and power the laptop, although I would have preferred if they were on opposite sides rather than adjacent to one another for space management. The laptop runs on a 77 Wh battery that uses AI-driven power management, advertising runtimes upwards of 25 hours when economizing power settings. I found between 8-9 hours was a more realistic expectation for my usage habits that include video content creation, watching videos, and casual gaming. Initially during setup, a failed Windows 11 update caused an endless loop of error messages preventing me from proceeding beyond Windows' Out-of-Box Experience (OOBE). I had to manually override the system and perform a factory reset, and on the second attempt, I was able to complete Windows setup and log in. I decided to enable the integrated 2.1 MP webcam’s facial recognition feature to log in more quickly via Windows Hello as well as its AFK (Away from Keyboard) presence detection to auto-lock the screen, if I’m away for more than 60 seconds. The webcam works well for video chat, virtual meetings, and live streaming with clear, clean audio captured by the dual-array mic with AI noise-cancelling for omni and uni-directional pickup patterns. The IPS touchscreen has a max resolution of 2560 x 1600 pixels with 99% DCI-P3 color gamut, and opens to a maximum angle of around 135°, though it wobbles when you tap it. The color range of this panel is suitable for creators making and editing art, photography, and video content, and I found the colors on the screen to be accurate and vibrant with good contrast. I especially appreciate how dark the blacks appear despite the screen not being OLED. The display is glossy so reflections will be visible on it, as are fingerprints if you use the touchscreen often. It has a max brightness of 350 nits which is still decently bright when set at 80% to prolong battery life. The integrated Intel Arc B390 CPU graphics has impressive performance similar to a lower-tier dedicated GPU. Although, the refresh rate of the panel is fixed at 60 Hz, I was still able to play games like Halo Infinite and CS2 at full-resolution and get 60-75 fps with medium to high graphics settings and AI frame interpolation. I didn’t experience any performance issues like stuttering, lag, or dropped frames, even while on battery power. When set to Max performance in LG’s “My gram,” the fans ran continuously while under load to keep the unit cool and did make a decent amount of noise. Most of the heat generated is concentrated above the keyboard deck, so the actual keys remain cool to the touch. This laptop has four built-in downward-facing speakers that support Dolby Atmos 3D Surround Sound for virtualized 360° audio. The sound produced is just okay, and while you do get a sense of stereo separation and a little depth, the sound stage is fairly small and boxed in, and music can still sound a bit thin in the upper ranges without much bass support. I felt the volume levels were also somewhat low even at the highest setting which also produced noticeable distortion. You’ll have a much richer and fuller listening experience using headphones. The full-sized keyboard with numpad has ultra low-profile keys that have a mushy feel when pressed despite a higher-than-expected actuation force. This combination made typing somewhat more tedious for me resulting in reduced speed and accuracy. I do appreciate, however, that you can toggle on backlighting for the keys with two brightness levels making them easier to see in the dark. Just remember that they dim after 30 seconds of inactivity. Half-size arrow keys are below the right-hand shift key, and a right-hand control key is eschewed in favor of a dedicated Co-pilot launch key. There is a massive mouse trackpad with a 6 x 4 inch area and it has good sensitivity. It is also responsive to the same multi-finger gestures as the touchscreen, including 2-finger pinch-to-zoom and 3-finger swiping. The processor has a 2.1 GHz base clock with max boost speed of 5.1 GHz over 16 intelligent cores delivering power and performance while keeping power consumption low. It handled exporting 4K video from Adobe Premiere just fine with speed and efficiency, and multi-tasking with various applications running simultaneously didn’t bog down the system. As for connectivity, while the laptop has no Ethernet port, it does support WiFi 7 for fast, reliable, and stable connections for networks that support it. The Bluetooth 6.0 adapter has lower latency than previous standards for less audio lag, better stability and syncing, and channel sounding for near pinpoint accuracy of device location tracking, all while consuming less energy to extend battery life. Two AI assistants are built-in, Windows Co-Pilot and LG’s on-device gram chat. The former requires an internet connection and can answer general queries and do research with all the information of the Internet at its disposal. The latter is designed to help with device specific tasks like offline file searching, adjusting system settings, summarizing documents, and browsing computer usage history. However, I found gram chat’s ability to recognize simple prompts lackluster if not within a specific instruction set, making its usability and convenience fairly limited. Overall, the LG gram Max is an excellent large format laptop, delivering plenty of power in a lightweight but durable machine that looks as good as it functions. I love it for daily and on-the-go use as I can seamlessly transition from work to casual use or gaming with long-lasting battery performance that lasts all day.