LG Gram 16Z90Q (2022), first impressions: its ‘thermonuclear’ autonomy is enough to liquidate many competitors

LG’s flagship ultralight for this year is here. In fact, it’s not really about one team; they just landed in stores no less than six different versions of this stylish laptop. Of course, all revisions of the Gram have in common an enormous lightness and very competitive autonomy figures.

However, this is not the only thing they share. They also have in common a very careful construction, a quality IPS LCD panel and state-of-the-art specifications in which the presence of a 12th generation Intel Core microprocessor with Alder Lake microarchitecture, 5200 MHz LPDDR5 memory modules and SSD units stand out. with PCIe 4.0 interface. We have tested one of these teams, the Gram 16Z90Q with a 16-inch screen, and we assure you that it has what it takes to leave no one indifferent.

LG Gram 16Z90Q (2022): technical specifications

It’s very light, but built like a real tank

Before we delve into the design and finish of this laptop, it’s worth taking a moment to look at its screen. The version we have tested uses a 16-inch IPS LCD panel with WQXGA resolution (2560 x 1600 points) and a maximum brightness delivery capacity of 350 nits. In my opinion, this resolution fits well with the size of this panel, and, in addition, the quality of this IPS matrix is ​​very high.

According to LG, the panel of this laptop offers us a coverage of 99% of the DCI-P3 color space, and, although I have not yet had the opportunity to test it calmly enough to form an accurate idea about its performance, during this initial contact I realized that stands out for the richness with which it reproduces color. LG has been making good quality IPS panels for many years, and it’s only reasonable to accept that the ones it has chosen for the various versions of its flagship ultralight will be up to the task.

There goes one of the most attractive qualities of this laptop: it weighs only 1.1 kg. Its lightness can invite us to intuit that it is not a resistant equipment, but it is. And it is because both its internal structure and its enclosure are made of magnesium carbon alloya material that gives them great rigidity and a high capacity for absorbing impacts.

Another of the characteristics that allow this ultralight to stand out from many of its competitors is its autonomy, although in this first contact we have not had the opportunity to put it to the test. This is the reason why for the time being we will have to keep the 16.5 hours that LG promises us, although we users know that the most prudent thing to do is to take the figures that brands offer us when they talk about autonomy with some reservations.

On the other hand, at its thickest part this laptop measures 16.8mm, so it doesn’t take up much more than a folder. Of course, when you have it in your hand it transmits robustness. It does not give the feeling of being a fragile equipment, which invites us to use it without reservations even outdoors. The rigidity that the magnesium and carbon alloy confers to the internal structure and the case is clearly perceptible.

In the detailed photograph that we publish above these lines we can see the connectors housed on the right side of this laptop: a card slot microSD 3.0 UHS-I, two USB 3.2 type A ports and the relevant Kensington lock. On the other side of the device are the HDMI output, two USB 4 Gen 3 type C ports and the Jack 3.5 mm to which we can connect our headphones.

The keyboard on this laptop is a delight. And your touchpad, too (although a little less)

To get a precise idea about the quality and performance of many of the components of a laptop, it is usually necessary to test them calmly, but this does not happen with the keyboard. Usually a few minutes are enough for us to realize if it is up to the task or not, and the one of this ultralight yes it is.

As you can see in the following photograph, it is of the chewing gumand the mechanism housed under each key achieves inhibit transverse oscillation of each of them very effectively. The travel of each key is short, but they have a generous surface, they are not too close together and their touch is delightful.

LG has also not neglected the touchpad of this team. Its surface is widemeasures 131.5 x 82.6mm), implements gesture control, vertical and horizontal scrolling, and responds to our touches with speed and precision. I have nothing to object to touchpad of this ultralight, although it seems appropriate to admit that during this initial contact it did not surprise me as much as the keyboard with which it coexists did.

If you try LG’s new portable monitor, you’re lost (because of how good it is)

We have no room to doubt it: the external screen Gram +view (16MQ70) that LG offers us is the star peripheral of this laptop. It weighs 670 grams, it has USB-C connectivity (it receives both data and power through this connection interface), it has a sensor that allows it to act on the orientation of the images to identify whether we place it vertically or horizontally and it measures 360 x 245.5 x 8.3mm.

Its IPS-type LCD matrix is ​​16 inches and has a WQXGA resolution (2560 x 1600 points), so its aspect ratio is 16:10. According to LG, this panel offers us a coverage of the 99% of DCI-P3 color spaceand yes, despite not having been able to analyze its image quality in detail, we can anticipate that it is a good panel.

In any case, beyond its specifications, what makes this external screen so attractive is the profound impact it has on our experience. And also in our performance. By connecting it to an ultralight Gram we can extend your desk to a whopping 33 inches at most. This feature is very interesting when we are forced to improvise our setup work outside our usual space.

In the following photograph we can see how the external screen looks when we place it on top of the ultralight to, in this way, transport the two devices together. The thickness of both teams when they are placed in this way amounts to a reasonable 25.1 mm, and their combined weight is 1.77 kg, so its portability is not compromised. One more point: the cover that you can see in the photograph is the one that LG proposes to protect the external screen when we are not using it.

This is what really makes the difference: LG Glance software

So far we have limited ourselves to investigating the hardware of this equipment, but its software is also very attractive. In fact, the artificial intelligence application that Mirametrix has implemented for LG may cause some users to choose a laptop from the Gram family.

In the field of productivity, this tool uses the webcam to identify if we are looking at the laptop screen or the external one, and automatically move the pointer to the one on which we want to act. It’s a nifty feature, and it works surprisingly well.

However, this is not all. Not much less. As far as privacy is concerned, this software acts blurring at each moment that screen with which we are not interacting, and to which, therefore, we are not looking.

It also notifies us by displaying an alert message if someone stands behind us and is dedicated to gossiping what are we doing with our laptop. These are just some of the features that this software offers us, so we will delve into them more when we thoroughly analyze this ultralight and we can test them thoroughly.

Welcome LG Gram: You’re a breath of fresh air, and it’s not easy being original

I cannot put any relevant objection to the hardware of this ultralight, although, yes, it seems to me a good idea to suggest to those who decide to get one of the new Gram of 2022 that they do not settle for the 8 GB of main memory that some give us versions as a starting point; 16 GB will have a positive impact in our workflow.

Beyond this point, I like the hardware of this laptop. And its design and finish, too. And a lot. I also find the artificial intelligence software that LG gives us together with the team to be very useful. due to the deep impact that it can have on both our productivity and our privacy.

We still have to thoroughly analyze this ultralight, but this first contact has left a very positive taste in my mouth. And, to conclude, there goes its price: the version that we have tested costs 1849 euros, but the cheapest Gram has a price of €1119. And the portable monitor costs 349 euros. Both laptops and this peripheral have already reached stores.