LG

LG

LG

LG

We're just a few weeks away from 2019's Consumer Electronics Show (CES), and some companies are drumming up hype by revealing some new products early. LG is one of them, as it announced the newest devices in its Gram family of thin-and-light laptops. Joining the lineup are a new 17-inch LG Gram, which the company claims to be the lightest 17-inch clamshell on the market, and the family's first 2-in-1 device in the form of the new 14-inch Gram convertible.

The mammoth 17-inch laptop appears to take most of its design from the original LG Gram, which Ars reviewed last year. It looks like a standard ultrabook, with a nearly edge-to-edge display and a slightly larger chin bezel. LG claims to have put a 17-inch display in a 15.6-inch chassis, but it's hard to tell how well that statement holds up through images alone.

Lightness is the main selling point driving the Gram family, and LG followed suit with this new laptop. It weighs 1,340g, or 2.95lb—remarkably light for a 17-inch laptop. On top of that, the larger chassis includes a 72W battery that LG claims will last 19.5 hours on a single charge. Considering the LG Gram we reviewed last year delivered on its battery life promises, we're hopeful that this model will do the same.

LG put a 2560×1600 panel on this device, but it's currently unclear if the display can be configured to 4K or with a touch panel. It has an aspect ratio of 16:10, which the company says will suit photographers and video editors better than that standard 16:9 ratio.

The 17-inch LG Gram will include standard ultrabook specs: 8th-gen Intel processors, up to 16GB or RAM, and up to 512GB SSD. It will also have one Thunderbolt 3 port in addition to three USB-A 3.1 ports, HDMI port, microSD card slot, and an audio combo jack. An IR camera for Windows Hello isn't mentioned in LG's release, but the laptop will include a fingerprint reader (as the original Gram did).

The new 14-inch convertible is the first 2-in-1 Gram device, but otherwise it's akin to the original Gram in many ways. Weighing 2.5 pounds, it comes with a 14-inch 1920×1080 IPS touchscreen with a 16:9 aspect ratio, 8th-gen Intel processors, up to 16GB of RAM, and up to 512GB SSD. LG includes a Wacom stylus that has 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity, and it upped the battery from a 60W to a 72W, the same as in the 17-inch laptop. LG estimates the convertible will last 21 hours on a single charge.

But Thunderbolt 3 didn't trickle down to the 14-inch convertible, which is disappointing. The 2-in-1 has one USB-C 3.1 port, two USB-A 3.1 ports, an HDMI port, a microSD card reader, an audio combo jack, and a fingerprint reader.

Both the 17-inch laptop and the 14-inch convertible fix two of the problems we had with the original Gram: their webcams now sit at the top of the display (despite the ultra-thin bezel) and both now have Precision glass trackpads. Adding new sizes and styles of devices to the Gram lineup can only help LG. The original Gram laptop was good but not great, blemished by a few problems that made us raise our eyebrows at its price tag. LG may be able to capture more ultrabook customers by offering devices that speak to specific needs, namely large screens and the flexibility of a convertible.

LG hasn't officially released pricing for either model, but Best Buy leaked the 17-inch laptop on its website a week or so ago, and it was priced at $1,699. The full Gram laptop lineup will be center-stage at CES in January.

Listing image by LG