LG Gram 15 review

LG hasn't always been known for its laptops, but it's made some major headway in the states, bringing forth two lightweight 13- and 14-inch models.

Now, with the Gram 15, LG says it has introduced the world's lightest 15.6-inch laptop – and with the Gram 15 Weighing in at 0.98kg (2.16 pounds), the same as its 14-inch notebook, LG is pretty much on the money.

The new notebook is freakishly light, and when viewed from the side it's also bafflingly thin. Just to put the Gram 15 in perspective, the 11-inch MacBook Air weighs 1.09kg (2.38 pounds). The weight savings come largely thanks to the LG Gram 15 being made of a magnesium shell, which is considerably lighter than the aluminum alloy used by most laptop manufacturers.

LG's minimalistic styling of the Gram comes as a refreshing and stark contrast to other laptop manufacturers. You won't find any specially cut edges, soft-touch paint or overbearing logos. The only bit of flair you'll find on the Gram 15 is LG's logo, pushed over to the top-right corner of the screen lid.

The lightweight material choice comes at the cost of some rigidity, however. While the laptop's base feels nice and solid, the display is unsettlingly flexible, almost to the point of feeling flimsy.

That said, there are some things to like about the Gram 15's design. Firstly, the bezels are slim all around the edges of the display, and LG has even moved the webcam to the hinge just to shave off a few millimeters of black border around the screen. These tweaks make the Gram 15's footprint just a tad smaller than your typical 15-inch laptop.

LG as also bumped up the display resolution to 1,920 x 1,080 given the larger screen. The display largely comes off as average, with decent viewing angles and accurate colors, but nothing about it makes me smile with glee.

Despite all the nip-tucking this machine has seen, you'll still find a set of full-size ports along its sides, including two USB 3.0, one USB 2.0, HDMI, USB-C and a SD card slot. What's more, there's Intel Core I power bubbling under the hood, with the choice of either an i5 or i7 processor. 8GB of RAM comes as standard, leaving you to choose between 256GB and 512GB storage options.

However, a few details are being kept in the dark. LG has been mum on expected battery life, and the South Korean firm has also yet to release the all-important pricing details, while announcing a wide availability window of sometime in mid-2016.

The LG Gram 15 is without a doubt the lightest 15-inch laptop in the world, but I'm concerned that too much may have sacrificed in order to hit this headline point. The flimsy screen is inadmissible by today's build quality standards, and the lack of a battery life figure isn't encouraging either.

However, LG is on the right track with certain elements of the Gram 15. The minimalistic styling is a nice change of pace compared to some over-designed laptops, and the screen bezels are a treat too.