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This ultraportable LG laptop gives the MacBook Air some serious competition – and it’s on sale

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At Best Buy, the 2025 LG Gram 17 lives up to its name as the lightest, thinnest 17-inch laptop you’ve likely laid your eyes on.

We’ve gone hands-on with multiple models from LG’s Gram series over the past few years, such as 2024’s Gram Pro 17, and the Gram Pro 16 2-in-1. Luckily, the new Gram 17 has some improvements over last year’s model, and honestly, the differences between the base model and the Pro aren’t as prominent as you might expect.

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The Gram 17 is an exceedingly light laptop for its size, measuring just 0.74 inches thin and weighing 3.2 pounds. For reference, this is lighter than many 16, 14, or even some 13-inch laptops, and it doesn’t sacrifice hardware to get there. 

The Gram 17 is equipped with an Intel Core Ultra 7 “Lunar Lake” processor, 32GB of RAM, and a terabyte of storage, putting it in line with other competitive mid-to-upper-tier laptops in the same price range. 

Where it stands out from the crowd, however, is its form. The record-holding lightness results in a laptop that’s easy to carry around, especially if you are a hybrid worker who commutes to the office. I took this laptop with me everywhere for over a week and barely noticed it in my bag. 

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Further, the 17-inch touchscreen display is everything you’d expect from a WQXGA (2560×1600) IPS: it’s bright, crisp, and mitigates glare very well. I’m not a huge touchscreen person (I almost always prefer a mouse), but the sheer size of the screen on this laptop invites the user to interact with it in a way that’s slightly different than other laptops, and I found myself using it more often than expected. 

LG Gram 17
Kyle Kucharski/ZDNET

LG continues to produce its Gram series with a black matte finish that is, unfortunately, a bit of a fingerprint magnet. Depending on what kind of lighting you’re in, the laptop’s surface can show smudges and prints, and if you care about that sort of thing, it might be a bit distracting. 

As far as other hardware on board goes, I/O is robust, with an HDMI port, two USB-Cs (both with power delivery and support for Thunderbolt 4 and DisplayPort), two USB-As, a headphone jack, and a Kensington lock slot. The speakers aren’t particularly good, sounding on the shallow side (influenced by the device’s ultrathin form, no doubt) but about what you’d expect from a mid-tier laptop. 

LG Gram 17

Kyle Kucharski/ZDNET

Other than that, with the same I/O selection and color, and design scheme, the difference here is relatively subtle, despite a $380 price jump up to the Pro version with 16GB of RAM. The Gram 17 base model with 32GB of RAM, conversely, is cheaper, starting at $1,699. 

For that reason, I recommend the LG Gram 17 over the Pro version unless you’re absolutely intent on pushing the form factor as far as it can go in terms of battery life and power. 

Speaking of battery life, I did a bit of gaming on this laptop, and after a handful of updates, it performed well, but the battery life does take a hit. I also got a few graphical glitches (tearing, polygons) over the course of testing it, but the Intel Arc GPU holds its own, especially for titles that aren’t particularly demanding. 

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The “Lunar Lake” Intel chip results in a cool-running laptop. Even with the fans cranking, it never really heats up to uncomfortable temperatures, especially considering how hot I remember last year’s Gram Pro 16 getting. 

Lastly, I’ll mention the Gram’s on-device AI, “Gram Chat”, which is LG’s proprietary AI-driven assistant that is supposed to help the user find solutions to common issues like locating files or troubleshooting. I will say that for very basic requests, it works, but it doesn’t understand conversational prompts, much less more vague ones. 

On-device AI is something that different manufacturers are trying, but as most users will admit, results are mixed, at least for now. LG’s Gram Chat may be useful for some, but I didn’t find myself going back after my first few attempts yielded uninspiring results. 

ZDNET’s buying advice

LG’s Gram 17 will cost around $400 more, but it offers a more powerful processor, bigger battery, and more premium build. Just for clarity, that means it is over the $2,000 mark. For most users, however, the base model Gram 17 is a solid choice for consumers who love a big display and impressive form factor. 

The recent US tariffs on imports from countries like China, Vietnam, and India aim to boost domestic manufacturing but are likely to drive up prices on consumer electronics. Products like smartphones, laptops, and TVs may become more expensive as companies rethink global supply chains and weigh the cost of shifting production.

CNET: Tariff Pricing Tracker: We’re Watching 11 Products You Might Need to Buy

Laptops and PCs are also hit hard by the new US tariffs, with import duties potentially increasing prices by up to 35%. Many major brands still rely on Chinese and Vietnamese factories for assembly, meaning consumers could soon pay significantly more for everything from budget Chromebooks to high-end gaming rigs. 

These tariffs may accelerate efforts to move production to regions like Mexico or India, but shoppers can expect higher costs and fewer discounts in the short term.

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Source : ZDNet

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