Pros & Cons
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- Unbeatably lightweight, surprisingly durable
- Large, high-quality display
- Comfortable keyboard
- Copilot+ PC with additional AI from LG
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- Peak performance limited by lightweight design
- Pricey
LG Gram 17 (2025) Specs
| Boot Drive Capacity (as Tested) | 1 |
| Boot Drive Type | SSD |
| Class | Desktop Replacement |
| Class | Ultraportable |
| Dimensions (HWD) | 0.74 by 14.9 by 10.2 inches |
| Graphics Processor | Intel Arc Graphics 140V |
| Native Display Resolution | 2560 by 1600 |
| Operating System | Windows 11 Home |
| Panel Technology | IPS |
| Processor | Intel Core Ultra 7 258V |
| RAM (as Tested) | 32 |
| Screen Refresh Rate | 60 |
| Screen Size | 17 |
| Tested Battery Life (Hours:Minutes) | 19:01 |
| Touch Screen | |
| Weight | 3.1 |
| Wireless Networking | Bluetooth 5.3 |
| Wireless Networking | Wi-Fi 7 |
LG's 2025 model of its Gram 17 (starts at $1,599.99; $1,699.99 as tested) is likely the closest you'll get to an ultraportable 17-inch laptop. The company, better known for TVs and dishwashers, has carved a niche in computing with laptops built with unbelievably light carry weight, long-lasting batteries, and premium materials. This time around, the Gram gains a suite of impressive Copilot+ PC (not to mention LG's own) AI features, putting it toward the top of the class for big-screen mobile AI PCs. However, that featherweight design doesn't stand out as much as it once did, and the hit to performance to reach that target weight might not be worth it for some buyers. LG's own Gram Pro 2-in-1 16 holds the Editors' Choice award for big-screen ultraportable laptops.
Configuration and Pricing: Grams of Every Flavor
The 2025 LG Gram 17 comes in several configurations. Our review unit is a step up from the starting model, outfitted with an Intel Core Ultra 7 258V processor, 32GB of memory, and a 1TB solid-state drive. It is available through LG and major retailers like Best Buy for $1,699.99.
For a $1,599.99 list price, the starting model has the same processor but half as much memory and storage, so expect to see this one on sale often. LG also sells a top-end model with a faster Intel Core Ultra 9 288V chip and a larger 2TB SSD for $2,199.99.
Beyond that, LG has Gram 17 models with Intel Core Ultra H-series processors for even more productivity power and a tiny bit more weight. These start at a $2,299.99 list price for a 16-core Intel Core Ultra 7 255H chip with the same maximum 32GB RAM and 2TB storage. However, note that these versions don't have the neural processing unit (NPU) capacity to qualify as Copilot+ PCs that the aforementioned Intel Core Ultra 200V models do.
AI Features: Copilot+ Support, and the LG Gram AI Suite
Because this version of the Gram 17 has the required NPU capacity, it counts as what we've come to call an AI PC or what Microsoft calls a Copilot+ PC. This moniker means the laptop comes with Microsoft's Copilot suite of AI-powered productivity tools, accessible via the Windows 11 interface or the Copilot key on the right side of the space bar.
In addition, LG has preinstalled its own hybrid Gram AI, providing both on-device and cloud AI tools. These tools include offline chat assistance, device performance optimization, and cross-device file/call sharing to further enhance the AI experience. LG's Gram AI uses both a proprietary model and a GPT-4o cloud assistant for richer capabilities and deeper AI integrations that control settings and power.
Design: Iconic, Unrivaled Portability
The LG Gram has become iconic in its own right at this point. Its magnesium alloy chassis and ultra-slim design pack a giant 17-inch desktop replacement system into an astonishingly light and portable frame. With an all-metal chassis covered with a black finish, this big-screen laptop will go anywhere and blend in seamlessly, whether you're using it at a coffee shop or in a meeting with the boss.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)The LG Gram 17 has a sleek, minimalist design, trimming away anything unnecessary and leaving only the platonic ideal of a clamshell laptop. Measuring 0.74 inch thick and weighing just 3.1 pounds, it is the most portable desktop replacement laptop I've seen yet.
LG's magnesium alloy construction has been certified MIL-STD 810H for durability (shock, altitude, temperature, vibration), though it's not sealed against other hazards like water and dust. Regardless, that sturdy construction means you can pick up the open laptop or type on the keyboard without feeling much flexing, which is a genuine surprise given the featherweight design.
Display, Keyboard, and Touchpad: Big, Clear, and Comfy
The Gram's 17-inch IPS display has ultra-slim bezels and an anti-glare touch panel. The QHD+ (2,560-by-1,600-pixel) resolution looks sharp and vibrant, with wide viewing angles and decent clarity. You'd see better crispness and detail with an OLED panel, but LG reserves those for the more premium Gram Pro line, like our Editors' Choice-award-winning LG Gram Pro 2-in-1 16.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)LG's full-size keyboard includes a number pad, perfect for spreadsheet slingers and number crunchers, and the square tile keys provide a deeply comfortable typing experience. Bright backlighting makes the keys easy to read in any circumstance, and an integrated fingerprint reader in the power button gives you seamless biometric security. The tile keys also have a pleasant, tactile feel, with enough feedback when released. This sensation is nothing as dramatic as you'd get from a mechanical keyboard, but for a laptop, it's a welcome change of pace from the usual mushy keys.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)The accompanying touchpad is also decently sized, measuring 3.27 by 5.16 inches, giving you plenty of room to swipe and tap. A laptop of this size almost demands an equally large touchpad.
Ports and Wireless: A Well-Connected Laptop
The LG Gram 17's port selection is similarly light but capable. On the left side, you'll find two Thunderbolt 4 USB Type-C ports (supporting Power Delivery and DisplayPort), an HDMI output, and a 3.5mm audio combo jack.
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(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)On the right, you'll find two USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 ports and a microSD card reader. LG's wireless connectivity solutions include Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.3. You may not get an Ethernet port or a full SD card slot, but Thunderbolt is still widely versatile, being compatible with a broad array of adapters and docking stations.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)Performance Testing: A Lightweight Through and Through
For this review, we compared the LG Gram 17 with a selection of top-performing mainstream desktop-replacement systems at the 15- and 16-inch sizes, since 17-inch screens have become significantly less common in recent years. Our comparisons include the Acer Swift 16 AI ($1,199.99 as tested), a 16-inch laptop using the same family (if not exactly the same model) of Intel Core Ultra 7 processor, the Asus Zenbook S 16 ($1,699.99 as tested) with an AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 processor producing similar power and AI capability, and the Lenovo ThinkPad X9 15 Aura Edition ($2,069 as tested), which despite its smaller 15-inch footprint, features similar specs to our review unit: the same CPU and graphics, 32GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD. Finally, for broader context and internal brand comparison, we also included the recently reviewed LG Gram Pro 2-in-1 16 ($2,549.99 as tested), its slightly smaller but more flexible sibling, also with Core Ultra 7 processing and Intel Arc graphics but containing twice as much storage, with dual 1TB SSDs.
Productivity and Content Creation Tests
We run the same general productivity benchmarks across all laptops we test. Our primary overall benchmark, UL's PCMark 10, puts a system through its paces in productivity apps ranging from web browsing to word processing and spreadsheet work. Its Full System Drive subtest measures a PC's storage throughput.
Three more tests are CPU-centric or processor-intensive. Maxon's Cinebench 2024 uses that company's Cinema 4D engine to render a complex scene; Primate Labs' Geekbench 6.3 Pro simulates popular apps ranging from PDF rendering and speech recognition to machine learning; and we see how long it takes the freeware video transcoder HandBrake 1.8 to convert a 12-minute clip from 4K to 1080p resolution. Finally, workstation maker Puget Systems' PugetBench for Creators rates a PC's image editing prowess with a variety of automated operations that it performs in Adobe Photoshop 25.
The LG Gram 17 consistently performed well in our benchmark suite, even if it didn't always lead the pack. In PCMark 10 productivity tests, it dramatically exceeded the 4,000-point baseline for office work. That sets the tone for our entire performance discussion: The LG Gram may not have led the pack, but it performs well in its lane.
The multi-core Cinebench score was lower than expected, with all rivals pulling ahead, and its HandBrake video transcoding time was slower than most, though still decent. Geekbench revealed the Gram 17's weakest numbers. In PugetBench for Photoshop, the LG Gram placed ahead of the Acer Swift 16 AI but behind the Lenovo ThinkPad X9. But it's a narrow comparison, since some competing systems had issues with this specific test and didn't produce a score. Again, the Gram 17 didn't top any comparison here, but it's capable of reliable and relatively zippy mainstream productivity.
Graphics Tests
We challenge all systems’ graphics with a quartet of animations or gaming simulations from UL's 3DMark test suite. Wild Life (1440p) and Wild Life Extreme (4K) use the Vulkan graphics API to measure GPU speeds. Steel Nomad's regular and Light subtests focus on APIs more commonly used for game development, like Metal and DirectX 12, to assess gaming geometry and particle effects. We also turn to 3DMark's Solar Bay to measure ray tracing performance in a synthetic environment. This benchmark works with native APIs, subjecting 3D scenes to increasingly intense ray-traced workloads at 1440p.
Even with the same Intel Arc Graphics seen in competing systems, the Gram 17 fell short, frequently falling behind the rest of our comparison systems. But it was never a major disappointment, either. LG has clearly sacrificed power for lighter weight and better portability, but has admirably kept the capabilities within the expected range for systems with this hardware and price.
We skipped our usual gaming tests since the LG Gram does not have a dedicated GPU. If you need a higher level of graphics horsepower, check out the LG Gram Pro, which adds a discrete GPU for more power in gaming and graphics-intensive use.
Battery Life and Display Tests
We test each laptop's battery life by playing a locally stored 720p video file (the open-source Blender movie Tears of Steel) with display brightness at 50% and audio volume at 100%. We make sure the battery is fully charged before the test, with Wi-Fi and keyboard backlighting turned off.
To gauge display performance, we also use a Datacolor SpyderX Elite monitor calibration sensor and its Windows software to measure a laptop screen's color saturation—what percentage of the sRGB, Adobe RGB, and DCI-P3 color gamuts or palettes the display can show—and its 50% and peak brightness in nits (candelas per square meter).
The LG Gram's design may keep things simple to stay light, but it still provides ample battery life. Lasting 19 hours in our video rundown test, LG will easily carry you through a day without needing to be charged, but it does fall an hour or two short of the longest-lasting (and decidedly heavier) competitors. Given that a smaller battery would be the easiest way for the Gram to cut weight, it's impressive how much longevity LG drew from this 3-pound design.
LG's display quality fits the same general pattern of "above average, but not the best." The screen's sRGB and DCI-P3 color coverage proved excellent, but nothing in its numbers stands out from this crowd. Its brightness was also decent, but not class-leading.