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00:00This is the 2020 LG Gram, their 17-inch model.
00:03Now, LG normally sends out a laptop to me every year.
00:06Last year, I skipped the video on it, because they didn't really change enough of it from the previous year.
00:11I felt like it just... it wasn't particularly impressive to me.
00:14This year, however, they tweaked a bunch of stuff to the point where I feel like I have to make a video
00:18because there's a bunch of cool stuff going on.
00:19Now, most of the changes are on the inside, so we'll start there.
00:23I opened this in advance, because this is a very difficult laptop to open.
00:28I didn't want to do it in the middle of the video.
00:30Not only do you have a bunch of things to unscrew, but you have to peel off these rubber feet.
00:35They're double-sided tape, and it's just a lot of work.
00:37So, if you do want to get this device, it's something to keep in mind.
00:41It's not the easiest thing to get into.
00:43Now, inside, there's a couple things that haven't changed.
00:45First, they still have a single RAM slot, so you get 8 gigs that's on board,
00:50as well as a single slot that you can upgrade if you want.
00:52And there's also the Wi-Fi card.
00:54This is running the latest Intel card that supports Wi-Fi 6.
00:57But there's three big changes on the inside that I think are fantastic.
01:00The first one is the drives.
01:02This system is now running, finally, PCIe NVMEs, which means that they're super fast.
01:08The old LG Grams, basically every single LG Gram that's ever come out, ever,
01:13has run these slower SATA drives, which were really weird to put into such a premium device like this.
01:18These are now running super fast PCIe drives.
01:21The second big change they've made is the battery.
01:23This is now an 80-watt-hour battery.
01:25Last year was 72, so that's like a 10% increase, but it is noticeable.
01:29So, battery life on this is a 9.5-hour system, which is very impressive for a 17-inch screen.
01:34The third change, and this is the most important one for me, it's the thermal system.
01:38So, last year, sorry, two years ago, and the model last year,
01:42didn't have great thermals on the 15-inch model,
01:44because it's just a super thin device that's super light, you're limited.
01:48They have changed the fan to the point where I would now call it a good performer.
01:52It's not an amazing performer, it's still an LG Gram,
01:55so I guess in the realm of ultrabooks, it's average, maybe even slightly below average,
02:00because the Gram uses a 15-watt CPU instead of the more common 25-watt.
02:05But this year, it can finally maintain a slight turbo clock, unlike before.
02:11These are running the 10th-gen Intel CPU, so they have pretty good CPU performance,
02:15and significantly better GPU performance than their previous generation.
02:19So, they're good for photo editing, and usable, I guess, for video editing,
02:23but because of the lower CPU wattage, it's not as powerful as some other ultrabooks.
02:27But the overall takeaway is that this is a way better performer than any other LG Gram previously.
02:33Gaming performance, if you're interested, is okay.
02:35It is playable for games that aren't super demanding, but it's not a gaming laptop.
02:40So, let's take a look at the screen.
02:42Now, I'm gonna just close this up in a very quick fashion, but the screen is...
02:47Now, if you'll notice, this whole time, this laptop was on.
02:49Normally, when I shoot videos, I don't turn my laptops on, because my mic is quite sensitive,
02:53and it'll pick up any kind of fan noise, even really quiet ones, but this one is silent.
02:58It's an inaudible fan on idle, and even on load, it's a very quiet system.
03:02Now, this screen is a 16x10 aspect ratio, instead of your standard 16x9,
03:07so you get a little bit more vertical room, and it's a huge screen at 17 inches.
03:11It's a solid screen. It's 1440p, good brightness, good color accuracy.
03:16This resolution and aspect ratio combo is, I mean, it's relatively unique to this device.
03:21It's an LG panel on the LG laptop, but it's just a nice screen for people that are into any kind of
03:26creative work or productivity-focused workflows.
03:29Now, this large 17-inch screen is really its most unique feature.
03:33Like, it's a big screen in a 3-pound laptop.
03:36Just to put this into perspective, this weighs less than the 13-inch MacBook Pro.
03:42This is under 3 pounds. The MacBook Pro is slightly over 3 pounds.
03:46Like, it's super lightweight for having such a large screen.
03:50Now, the way they've been able to achieve this lightweight is through build,
03:53in particular, the material they're using.
03:55It's this magnesium alloy. They've used it in all of their previous LG Grams as well.
04:00It's not a particularly rigid material, right? It has flexibility to it.
04:04You'll see, like, even on the screen right here, it's got some bend, but it lasts.
04:08It's very durable. I actually think this material holds up well over time,
04:12but it's not a super stiff laptop, if that's what you were looking for.
04:15The speakers are located on the bottom again.
04:17They don't sound great, but I wasn't expecting too much from them.
04:20Now, the keyboard is something they've also improved a little bit.
04:24Their old one, like the 17-inch model from last year,
04:27used the same keyboard layout as their 15.
04:30Like, they didn't take advantage of the larger chassis,
04:32and they just stuck the 15-inch keyboard into the 17-inch chassis, which was silly.
04:36They've tweaked it this year to actually take advantage of the wider space.
04:39So the layout is a little more spacious.
04:41The backspace and shift key are full-size keys.
04:44And there's also a bigger number pad, if you're a number pad user.
04:48And there's also a fingerprint sensor in the top right corner of the keyboard.
04:51The keys themselves are a little soft.
04:53Like, I don't feel like they are as responsive as I'd like them to be,
04:56but I think most people can get used to this keyboard and actually enjoy it pretty readily.
05:01Trackpad. It's a good trackpad. It's got a glass surface, nice texture.
05:04If you're coming from a MacBook and somehow you're interested in this big-screen device,
05:08I will say that this isn't as good as a MacBook trackpad,
05:11if that's, like, the golden standard, and I would say that it is.
05:14But it's a good trackpad. I like it.
05:16Okay, ports. Just to wrap this up,
05:18there's two things that I think are important here.
05:20The Thunderbolt 3 port supports charging again,
05:22but they still have a regular barrel-plugged AC adapter.
05:26I don't know why they do that.
05:27I feel like, on a device like this, they should just have a USB-C charger
05:30to USB-C charge everything.
05:32It's got three USB-As, which is nice,
05:34and a microSD slot.
05:36This is good for some people,
05:37but I think a full-size SD card slot would have been better.
05:40But I think the overall port selection on this device is fair.
05:44Now, the pricing. I don't know the exact pricing quite yet.
05:47This is kind of like a pre-release model.
05:49I will say, though, that compared to previous generations of LG Grams,
05:53you're getting something that feels appropriate, right?
05:56Like, the whole package feels uncompromised.
05:59I feel like they've done a good job this year.
06:01So, if you're interested in something that's super thin,
06:03super light,
06:04it's literally the lightest 17-inch device in the world right now,
06:07and has good performance,
06:09considering what you're getting,
06:11check out the LG Gram.
06:13Okay, thumbs if you liked it, subs if you loved it.
06:15See you guys next time.