LG announces refresh for gram ultra-light laptops

LG has announced plans to update its ultralight gram laptops and they're becoming rather respectable high-end systems.

First up is LG's gram 17 which is a 17-inch laptop that also manages to be thin and light - a rare feat for any 17-inch based system. Weighing about 1.35kg, it's roughly the same weight as a typical 13-inch laptop but with a 17.3 inch IPS display involved, offering a resolution of 2560x1600. The chassis is only 17.4mm thick and available in either white or grey. 

Inside is a decent set of specs too. There's an Intel 10th Generation Core Ice Lake based processor with up to Iris Plus graphics alongside it. RAM options go all the way up to 24GB of DDR4-3200, with storage options offering up to 2 M.2 NVMe SSDs. That's not bad going at all, although the use of DDR4 instead of LPDDR4X may raise some eyebrows. 

LG has also bundled in a vaguely titled Mega Cooling System to keep things cool. No, we don't know what that entails either and LG has kept quiet about the specifics, but we're guessing it's pretty effective if it keeps this lot cool. 

There's also Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5, a Thunderbolt 3 port, along with HDMI output, 3 USB 3.1 ports, and a microSD/UFS slot. Plus, an obligatory webcam and a fingerprint reader for good measure too. 

No battery life information has been provided other than LG stating it'll come with an 80-Wh battery. Bu that reckoning, alongside the Ice Lake processor, most sources reckon it should last the day fairly easily, but your mileage may vary here.

There's also a similar refresh for LG's gram's 14-inch and 15.6-inch models with these also using Ice Lake based processors in the very near future. The only key difference is battery size and a small weight reduction for both. The 14-inch variety is set to use a 72Wh battery while the 15.6-inch version will retain the 80Wh battery we'll see in the 17-inch laptop. 

It's worth bearing in mind that the 14-inch gram machine is a convertible device so it'll only support up to 16GB of RAM, but in exchange, LG reckons it'll last over 20 hours on 1 charge. It should be ideal for users who are constantly on the move.