Michael C. Smith
LG is breaking new ground with a set of devices, it throws its feet into the ultra-book world with the LG gram 13Z950. If thin and light is what you’re looking for in a laptop, then you can’t go past the 13.3-inch gram 13Z950 with the latest Windows 10 preinstalled. LG debuts one 13-inch and two 14-inch laptops that weigh in at 2.16 pounds and 0.5” thick that are set to compete with Apple’s MacBook Air MJVM2LL/A 11.6-Inch laptop.We focus at the 13.3 inch laptop for this review.
The model is powered by the 2.2GHz Intel Core i5 5200U processor which is capable of boosting up to 2.7GHz, as well as 8GB of on-board RAM. You get 128GB SSD for all your stuff, as well as a handy microSD card reader for extra storage. Let’s see how it adds up to the competition, as we see a new crop of Skylake powered systems trickle into market, meaning we’ll be even lighter, thinner and powerful laptops.
Design
The Gram 13Z950 measures 11.9” x 8.4” x 0.5” and the chassis is constructed of magnesium and polycarbonate (plastic). It features carbon magnesium and lithium magnesium materials that make this laptop strong, solid and looks elegant. These materials are extremely durable, yet far lighter than aluminum. While it’s likely durable, the 13Z950 lacks the beauty of the MacBook or the functional elegance of the Dell XPS 13 Ultrabook. It also packs a 4555mAh, 2Cell Li-Polymer that gives you the power to work or play longer up to 7.5 Hours of battery life thereby striking a perfect balance between design, power, performance, features and productivity for your business, everyday use and multitasking.
When it comes to the keyboard, the keys remain dull and dark, no matter the model you purchase. This is a disadvantage LG shares with the Lenovo LaVie 360. Cramming LEDs behind each key isn’t easy when engineers have just a half-inch to work with, but consumers have come to expect backlighting at this price point. Below the keyboard you’ll find what is possibly the most generic touchpad ever created. It’s about four inches wide, two and half inches tall, and provides an entirely acceptable navigation experience.
In terms of sound, the speaker is enhanced by DTS Sound thereby providing clarity, crisp audio, and immersive sound experience. You can as well enjoy online chats with high quality both video and voice, as the notebook comes with built-in 1.3M HD webcam with integrated microphone. On the downside, the Gram has no USB-C ports, and the stated battery life of up to 7.5 hours is less than the MacBook Air MJVM2LL/A’s 9 hours (for the 11-inch model) and 12 hours (for the 13-inch model). Of course, such slim design means there’s not much room for the battery.
Connectivity
Connectivity includes two USB 3.0 ports, it comes equipped with a built-in HDMI port, a combo headphone/microphone jack and a MicroSD card reader. This is roughly equivalent to the competition, though some systems offer one additional USB port, and a full-sized SD card slot is common. It also has Bluetooth 4.0 to enable you sync with other devices easily. For surfing the web, downloading files or chatting online easily and quickly, the gram has the latest 802.11/AC wireless technology, Dual Band and 10/100Mbps Ethernet for connecting with wired.
Performance
When it comes to performance, LG didn’t skimp with power as the LG gram 13Z950 has the 5th Generation (Broadwel) Intel Core i5-5200U processor under the hood that clocks 2.2GHz capable of boosting to 2.7GHz which will make your user experience wonderful with Windows 10 on board. It has 8 GB DDR3L SDRAM that is enough to handle various tasks and programs that require enough memory. The 128 GB SSD is ideal for storage of various personal documents, movies, music and other files.
It also provides quick boot-up times, high-speed read/write files, no noise and run games or complex apps quickly. The LG Gram offers full HD picture quality with 1920 x 1080 resolution and 16:9 aspect ratio for a more lifelike, immersive viewing experience. The display also sports LG’s In-Plane Switching (IPS) technology that promises accurate color saturation and contrast. That means the blue shirt you order online is more likely to be the shade of blue you actually expected.
The LG 13Z950 lacks a touchscreen but makes up for it with sharpness. The 13.3 inch display is almost bezel-less too, with 2mm edges on each side, which help to make the screen just pop out from the frame. For the road warriors, the LG gram 13Z950 is worth your consideration as it weighs less than a kilogram, 980 grams to be specific, (hence the name gram). The LG gram comes fully equipped with Windows 10, including Cortana and Microsoft Edge for a more personal and productive computing experience.
Summary
The LG gram 13Z950 doesn’t look or feel like any 13-inch laptop you’ve ever handled before. It’s far smaller and thinner than most competitors in the category, and as mentioned, it weighs just a tad more than two pounds. I literally forgot it was in my bag, which led to a hair-raising moment when I carelessly dropped it on a hardwood floor. If the end-user is looking for a powerful Windows ultraportable, then the LG Gram is the perfect choice.
If the end-user would rather have a lean, usable laptop for surfing the Web, a Chromebook such as the Toshiba Chromebook 2 (2015 Edition)is definitely a more sensible choice. And if you’re an ‘Apple Fanboy’ who ambled over to Droid Report because you are scoping out Android news, by all means, stick to our Editor’s Choice Apple MacBook Air MJVG2LL/A, with a 13-inch screen and upto 12 hours of battery life. All said and done, the LG Gram 13Z950’s styling and overall vibe is possibly as good as it gets on this side of the Apple fence.
LG gram Thin & Light Laptop - 15.6" FHD IPS Touch, 8th Gen Core i7, 16GB RAM, 1TB (2x500GB SSD), 2.5lbs, Up to 16.5 hrs, Thunderbolt 3, Finger Print Reader, Windows 10 Home - 15Z980-R.AAS9U1 (2018)
1 used from $1,999.77
LG Gram 13Z950
US 1+
