Battery life
At the same time, it has a fast CPU and a high-resolution 16-inch display. I wasn’t too sure what kind of battery life to expect.
What I certainly didn’t expect is some of the best battery life we’ve seen. In all our tests, the Gram 16 lasted an exceptionally long time, coming in either as the longest-lasting laptop or in the top tier.
Starting with the PCing test that stresses the CPU and GPU, the Gram 16 lasted for five hours. The next-closest laptop is the XPS 13 Full HD+ that lasted a full hour less. In the PCMark 10 Applications test that’s the best measure of productivity longevity, the Gram 16 managed almost 18 hours, which is more than three hours longer than the next best, Lenovo’s Yoga 9i 14. In third place is the XPS 13 at just under 11 hours.
In our web-browsing test, which loops through a series of popular websites, the Gram 16 https://onlinedatingsingles.net/pl/tinder-recenzja/ made it to almost 14 hours. Among Intel laptops, only the Samsung Galaxy Flex 13 came close (in fact, it lasted exactly as long). Only ARM-based laptops have lasted longer, including Apple’s M1 MacBook Air and MacBook Pro 13. The XPS 15 we reviewed included discrete graphics and lasted just seven hours, while the XPS 17 with discrete graphics lasted just over six hours. You can buy both of these laptops with integrated graphics and they’d likely do much better.
Finally, the Gram 16 lasted for roughly 24.5 hours in our video test that loops through a Full HD Avengers trailer. The Lenovo Yoga 640 with a 10th-gen Core i3 is the closest competitor at 23 hours, and the Dell Latitude 7410 2-in-1 with its low-power display lasted for just under 22 hours. Again, you have to switch to an ARM processor to get better battery life in this test. As with our web-browsing test, the XPS 15 trailed at just over seven hours, and the XPS 17 lasted over nine hours.
Simply put, the Gram 16 exhibited spectacular battery life. In fact, it was a real pain to review – I had to wait over 60 hours for all the battery tests to complete. For the typical productivity user, though, you’ll likely make it through two full workdays before needing to plug in.
Our take
The LG Gram 16 is almost unbelievably light to have such an expansive display and incredibly long battery life. I wasn’t enamored with the keyboard, and the best performance required turning on performance mode and putting up with a bit of fan noise. But I could live with those flaws to have a laptop that I wouldn’t have to worry about plugging in for days and that I’d barely notice in my backpack.
My biggest issue with the laptop, though, is how flimsy it feels. I don’t want to overstate things – the laptop feels robust unless you purposely twist the display or press harder than usual on the keyboard deck. But we do these things in reviews and so we notice them. Whether the typical user would notice – or care, given that the laptop meets military specifications for robustness – is an open question.
Are there any alternatives?
The Dell XPS 15 offers a display that’s also in the aspect ratio and provides much better quality in its 4K variant. It’s also almost twice as heavy even though its display is a bit smaller, and it can’t come close to matching the Gram 16’s battery life. You’ll also pay about $300 more for a similarly equipped XPS 15.
