Hands-On with the LG gram Style - Ultra Light, Ultra Portable

MicroCenterOfficial · May 2023

Written by @Julia_V

The 14-inch LG gram Style, featuring the new 13th Generation Raptor Lake i7-1360P processor, is an amazing ultraportable laptop. For the week that I got to go hands-on with this laptop, it was clear the gram Style was truly one of its kind. Not only does it live up to its name–the gram–in terms of weight and portability, the gorgeous OLED display and the finish on the chassis really drive home the “Style.” And that is to say nothing of its incredible battery life when using productivity apps, like word processors and the internet.. The gram Style is an amazing option for students and business professionals on-the-go.

First Impressions

The gram shows its uniqueness and innovative features right out of the box. It has a shiny, almost iridescent cover that displays hues of purple, blue, and white under different lighting. The area where the trackpad lives uses the same finish as the iridescent cover, creating an interesting contrast between the matte white keyboard. What surprised me initially was that there was no defined trackpad area, no clear indication of where it starts and ends, as you would typically find on a laptop.. But when I turned on the laptop, I noticed that there were actually two streaks of light that indicated the trackpad area–and these lights only turn on when you actually use the trackpad itself, helping to preserve battery life. The haptic response from the trackpad also feels natural and streamlined. Overall, the laptop is sleek, light, and incredibly pretty.

Specifications

The model I am reviewing comes with the 13th generation i7-1360P processor, 16 GB DDR5-6000 RAM, and a 512GB Solid State Drive. The LG gram Style is Intel Evo Certified, which means that it has features such as instant wake, all-day battery life, blazing fast connectivity, and rapid charging. and This laptop comes with Windows 11 Home, a Full HD webcam, and an IR camera–for Windows Hello. Windows Hello unlocks the laptop when it it recognizes your facial features.

For connectivity, there are two USB Type-C Thunderbolt ports and a headphone jack on the left side of the laptop. On the right side, there is a standard USB Type-A port and a microSD slot. The battery of the laptop is rated at 72 Watt-Hours, and is supposed to provide up to 15 hours of battery life in one charge. The highlight of this machine is, of course, the light weight–only 2.2 pounds, or 1 kilogram. Even the power adapter that comes with the computer is compact and lightweight. The brick plugs directly into the wall, and the USB-C charger is detachable. I have never seen such a small and impressive 65W charger for a laptop–it looked more like a phone or a tablet charger than a laptop one.

Personally, my favorite spec on this laptop is its OLED display. As an artist and creator, I always keep an eye out for color accuracy and my ability to enjoy content in true-to-life colors. I was super impressed with the 100% DCI-P3 color gamut and VESA DisplayHDR500 True Black that the screen is rated for. Not only can the laptop display film-grade colors, it also shows perfect blacks for amazing contrast. I also love how smooth the screen looks with the 120hz refresh rate and a 0.2ms response time. Even if I am not gaming on this laptop, simply switching between browser pages or scrolling through the web is a more-than-pleasant experience.

Hands-On Test

For my hands-on test, I used the laptop to write this article, attend zoom calls, and respond to your posts on the Micro Center Community. I did these tasks while bringing the laptop with me between work and home for about a week. When I first received the laptop, I downloaded a couple of applications like Discord, Google Chrome, and Zoom. Then, I logged into my Google Drive so I can start writing my article on Google Docs.

Fairly quickly in the setup process, I found myself loving the LG gram’s keyboard. My personal laptop is the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Nano, so I used that as my point of reference for the keyboard and feel. Lenovo ThinkPads are known for their amazing tactile laptop keyboards, so my bar for testing how comfortable the gram’s keyboard is was fairly high, and it absolutely surpassed expectations. The iridescent part of the laptop serves as a comfortable wrist-rest, while the matte finish on the keys themselves prevent my fingers from sliding around. The backlit keys have a gentle glow that makes the keyboard pleasing to work with in the dark. I typed on the keyboard on my lap, on a desk, laying down, and even while holding it with one hand. All of the configurations, no matter where or how I used the keyboard, felt exceptionally comfortable.

I also loved using the display to watch Netflix, browse YouTube, and look through digital illustrations. Since the colors on the laptop were so vibrant and accurate, I often found myself thinking how it would make for a great digital art laptop. While the gram does not have a touchscreen built in, a drawing tablet can definitely be paired up with it. With the powerful i7 processor and the color-accurate OLED screen, the gram would make an exceptional digital art laptop as well.

The quality of the chassis is also something to note. Even if the laptop does not have a metallic finish, the overall exterior still feels very sturdy. As a nice bonus, fingerprints do not stick to the laptop easily. Even after using the laptop for a week, I don’t see any visible fingerprints on the front or back of it.

Something else that I made sure to test was the weight and battery life. I have to admit, there were times where I would forget that I had the laptop on me, because it was so lightweight. Carrying it from work to home was exceptionally easy. Back in college, I would carry a lot of different notebooks, books that I was reading for my classes, and my heavy gaming laptop. If only I had an LG gram, I wouldn’t have needed all the different notebooks and the heavy laptop. I did not need to charge the laptop for almost a week–although I only used it for an hour to an hour and a half each day. Still, this makes me confident that the gram is exceptional for anyone that needs to be on-the-go with blazing fast performance.

Looking for more reviews, news, and guides for laptops? Check out our Platinum Collection guide over here, as well as our Intel Evo Guide and Essential Creator Laptops! And if you're looking for more fantastic computers, be sure to visit us in person for even more options!

Rye_Bread · May 2023

I got the chance to try this one out, I loved it! It took me a moment to realize that the keyboard was haptic and not a physical button. All too often I see older laptops with trackpads with unusable buttons because they're been worn down over time, I'm curious to see how this helps with longevity.

Julia_V · May 2023

https://community.microcenter.com/discussion/comment/49905#Comment_49905

yup! i thought the haptic trackpad was really interesting too - and it made it fun to click around on. I don't fully understand the technology but it's super cool. :)