LG’s Gram series of notebooks made its U.S. debut in 2015. At its release, there were only 13” and 14” models, but a 15” version was added in early 2016. With the Gram series, LG is focused on extreme lightness and portability without unnecessarily compromising battery life. The notebooks achieve this by relying on construction technique and lightweight materials.
At CES 2018, the latest version of the 15” Gram was on displayf. Beyond having its CPUs updated to 8th-gen, the 2018 Gram also features some not-very-apparent physical changes. Side-by-side with the old one, you’d notice that the new Gram now has its webcam at the top of the screen and a fingerprint reader integrated in its keyboard-mounted power switch.
The new Gram sports a larger 72Wh battery (up from 60Wh), two M.2 SSD slots beneath its keyboard (up from one), and Thunderbolt 3 on its USB-C port (previously only USB 3.1). To top it off, the new model is also more durable and meets MIL-STD 810G, which includes tests for shock, temperature, and vibration.
For now, there is only one version of the new 15” Gram available: the 15Z980. It’s the highest-end configuration that will be available and has a i7-8550U CPU, 16GB of DDR4 memory, two 512GB SATA SSDs, and an IPS screen that is, unfortunately, only 1080p.
The LG Gram 15Z980 is available now for $2,000 at Amazon.
| LG Gram | 15Z980 |
|---|---|
| Screen Size | 15.6” (1920 x 1080) |
| CPU | Intel Core i7-8550U
(1.8GHz, 4.0GHz Turbo) |
| RAM | 8GB x 2, DDR4
(2,400MHz) |
| Graphics | Intel integrated |
| Storage | 512GB x 2, M.2 SATA |
| I/O | – HDMI
– USB 3.0 x 3 – USB-C (Thunderbolt 3) – Micro-SD/SDXC card slot – Audio jack |
| Connectivity | – 802.11 agn/ac (2×2) Wi-Fi
– Ethernet – Bluetooth 4.1 |
| Dimensions (W x H x D) | 14.1 x 9.0 x 0.7”
2.41lbs |
| Battery | 72Wh
Up to 16.5 hours |
| OS | Windows 10 Home |
| Price | $2000 |
