LG Gram Laptop - 13.3" Full HD Touchscreen, Intel 8th Gen Core i5, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, 20.5 Hour Battery, 13Z990-A.AAS5U1 (2019)

 Let me start off by saying that I did a lot of research into this model before deciding to buy, so I have no idea why other reviews are complaining about features not included. I strongly considered the Dell XPS 13 and similar ultrabooks in this price/feature range. I decided to go with the gram for a number of reasons, which include the ability to add RAM and storage.I have had it for a few days and I am extremely impressed with what LG has done with the latest version of the gram. After seeing previous models and having one or two things that really turned me off (the camera located by the hinge), I am thrilled to see that LG listened to customer feedback and made changes.The 8th generation i5 has proven quite fast and I have not had any issues with any of what I have thrown at it. Battery life is excellent, but I have not put the 22 hours to the test yet. I am currently on battery saver and at 75% remaining it says I have 17 hours and 25 minutes left. The fan isn’t silent on load but it isn’t crazy loud either – I would classify it as normal. I do like that the fan vent openings face to the rear of the computer (see video) instead of facing down. This allows it to stay cooler when it is being used on your lap, the air can escape.The fit and form of the laptop is top notch. It does not feel flimsy or cheap and does not flex or bend. I do not think that there will be any issues, it feels sturdy and well-made. The screen is sharp, clear, and plenty bright. I really like the keyboard and the touchpad. I think LG did a great job with the keys, they have just the right amount of travel. I would call the touchpad good, I have not had any issues with it so far. I also like the Fn buttons, particularly the keyboard backlight, touchpad on/off, and reader mode (reduces blue light).Unfortunately, the Windows 10 it came with had all kinds of bloatware. I attached the screenshot of the used space on the hard drive when I received it (35.6 GB) and when I formatted and put a fresh install of Windows 10 Home back on and added the LG drivers/software from the website (16.8 GB). The difference is crazy, I would recommend that everyone wipe their systems, reinstall Windows, and download the LG software. It saves a ton of space and give you a lot more control of what is on your system. This isn’t just advice for this particular laptop, but really any computer you buy these days.I did not want a fingerprint reader, I did not want an i7, I did not want a touchscreen. I wanted a fast, 8th generation, extremely portable computer for grad school and everything that comes with that (video chat, internet use, writing, etc.). I also wanted the longest possible battery life – which is why this model is perfect for me. So far it has delivered and I am extremely pleased with the new gram.I will update this review if anything changes.Pros:It is extremely lightUpgradeableIt is a great looking computerThe keyboard and touchpad are fantasticCons:No Fn key on the right side of the keyboard (personal preference)No Thunderbolt 3Bloatware (which all companies do these days)

Can't quite attest to the battery life yet, but the bugger took forever to charge, and it was nearly empty out of the box, so that says something. I've got brightness on the screen almost to max, Word, Excel, Firefox, and Chrome open, as well as the usual background mess of integrations, bluetooth and wifi on etc, and it's estimating 9 hours. I'm inclined to believe it. If I can get through my entire workday (I literally do not leave the computer, I work a solid 10-12 hours a go), that will be a commendable record.It's extremely snappy. Loading tabs on browsing, loading complicated spreadsheets with scripts and scrolling pages, it all works fine. Connected to my gaming PC and streamed some Doom 2016 and Half Life 2 just to see how that would work out, and it does very well with some noticeable but acceptable lag (though I needed to switch to 5G band). Don't expect e sports over wifi, kids. Haven't tested any gaming running on the actual hardware, but I would think it's pretty garbage for any graphically intense games. Not going to be a great one for that, but that's not the purpose here. 1080p youtube and netflix runs and looks great with no tearing or other visual noise, so hard to complain there, the IGPU is doing well enough for that.There aren't a ton of ports, but what's there is good enough. Running my SteelSeries Rival 100 because I refuse to sacrifice on mouse quality. The trackpad is fine and will do well enough on something like an airplane ride, and I appreciate the ability to right click. Tried charging through the USB C port and can report that it prevented the PC from dying, though it recommended I plug in something with 10W or higher rating in order to actually charge the machine, so I may try that out. With the computer almost dead, I went to bed and the USB-C had charged it by the morning, so it certainly works when it's not drawing power. Good to know I probably won't have to depend on the proprietary charger if it goes bad or gets damaged.The inclusion of Bluetooth and Wireless makes it pretty easy to hook up plenty of externals, and my 60% mechanical bluetooth keyboard worked swimmingly. I really thought I would need it for this machine, but to be honest, if you're trying to incognito type a bunch of notes while you're on calls with clients, this keyboard is a hell of a lot quieter, and is honestly kind of incredible. There's a satisfying punch on the keys, and they seem spaced and sized well. The throw on the keys is obviously very short, but you do get the feeling you're typing and not just touching a flat surface. Feels just as good as the Macbook Pro. I'm a very large person and it's working out for me. I'm a solid 90wpm on a variety of mechanical keyboards, and my first ten runs with this thing were frankly ridiculous: I keyed in at just shy of 101. It's a great keyboard, and I think I might just have to leave the 60% for longer trips when I know I'll want to use the laptop more as a desktop than anything else. I will be adding a numerical mechanical bluetooth keypad because of my data entry needs, but this little guy will do amazingly well for the glut of emails and notes I have to take throughout a day.The screen is great. Not as good as the MacBook, but close enough for work that it doesn't mater. Off axis viewing is is true to color and you'll be able to collaborate on a screen if need be. The size takes almost full advantage, beveling is super small and looks great. I got mine in the white finish because the silver wasn't available, and I'll deal with that because it was cheaper. I don't do any sort of content creation or color work, but everything looks pretty great, almost up to snuff with my desktop monitor. No, you don't get the density of other laptop screens, but brightness is acceptable and color and contrast are great, and the 1080p panel scales well and keeps the battery life going.To be honest, it feels like a lightweight version of the MacBook Pro. The build quality isn't quite up to that snuff, but it is very solid, I'm sure it will hold up nearly as well, and I'll take the weight tradeoff since the warranty is so cheap. You don't get the same peripherals, but to be honest almost nobody actually uses all those freaking Thunderbolt ports, can we all stop pretending? The company wanted to get me into one of those, but I really don't like their ecosystem or their interface. Apple has just never been as intuitive for me as it seems to be for everyone else. Anyway, since every dollar I spend eventually comes out of my paycheck, I wanted to find something reasonable that would last through a long flight with snappy performance and wouldn't make me look like a teenager with a gaming laptop. Grabbing a Macbook of any sort was going to be another 1-2000 dollars, and the performance would have been identical.I guess that's kind of the thing here. If you need something that actually gets real work done, looks professional, is incredibly lightweight and compact, and won't need to be plugged into the wall all day, this is as good as it gets in this price point. You can spend twice as much for the exact same hardware specs and a prettier screen with that sweet Apple logo, but you'll be laughing with the extra thousand dollars you have in your pocket when some Jobs acolyte is looking for a wall charger and you've still got 30%.