RS4

LG has neglected the standard Gram models for the last 4-5 years with very few useful updates, I am expecting the same this year too. 

LG should improve the display of the standard Gram series, they are selling it at premium prices and it needs a Mini LED HDR screen. In normal use the SDR mode will be at 500 nits but during HDR use it can go upto 1600 nits like Macbook Pro. LG has been selling the same display in Gram since last 5 years.

Nice to see SuperSlim having functional Modern standby, I have disabled the Modern standby on my Gram 16 2021. Still on Windows 10, will get ESU updates bypass after October 2025.

I agree about the navigation keys, went from a Sony Vaio 14 inch to LG Gram 16 2021 and at first I thought these extra keys are useless but now these are a must have for me. The SuperSlim model sounds good for a secondary laptop but too many compromises, the standard LG Gram 14/16/17 is still the best allrounder. I have upgraded both my SSD slots and now it sports 2TB+4TB, my Gram 16 2021 still works as good as new and hopefully I can use this for another four years.

My Battery wear level is now at 21.8%, I use it mostly plugged in so don't care. The outer body, screen, keyboard etc is holding up well, specially the white finish and colour.

On 12/8/2024 at 3:16 AM, Steerpike said:

After using the new laptop for about a week, I'm noticing 'some' problems with the trackpad, but it's not as bad as the old one.  I'm seeing fewer 'cursor moves' due to palm contacts (but it's still happening), and so far I'm keeping the 'pinch to zoom' gesture active - even though when I use two-finger scrolling (two-fingers to move the text up/down on a web-page or document), it is occasionally interpreted as an attempt to zoom.  Given that this is happening to me with both models, and you (and others) are saying it's not happening, I have to imagine there must be something unusual about my particular use situation - the shape/size of my hands, the way I touch the trackpad, etc. 

 

The good news is, it does seem better. 

 

Nice to see your new Gram being better than the old one, regarding new battery it is available on ebay, you can also ask the LG service centre but I am guessing ebay maybe cheaper.

On 8/21/2024 at 6:23 AM, Steerpike said:

Thanks for that link.  I'm already happy with the performance of my 2021 (P designation) Gram 17, so I'm sure this 2024 (S) will be good enough.  My biggest concern with my current model is the 'palm rejection' is only so-so - I'm often finding the cursor getting relocated if I move my hands away and back. Well, I guess also, I had to disable many of the gestures early on (pinch to zoom, two-finger right-click, etc) because it could not distinguish gestures - so I would be curious to see if this model is any better. 

 

I really wish they had reviewed the touch-screen model; I'm really curious to know how the screen looks. I'll probably click 'buy' soon to get the $400 off, before it goes back up in price ... 

I have no problems with touchpad gestures on the 2021 Gram, use the gestures daily and they always work fine. Hopefully the new version works fine for you.

Notebookcheck review with non touch screen: https://www.notebookcheck.net/LG-Gram-17-2024-laptop-review-Small-improvements-and-a-new-Core-Ultra-7.826926.0.html

3 hours ago, Steerpike said:

I've tried and abandoned just about every 'photo sync' 'tool' ever offered (over the past 20+ years!) because they all seem hell-bent on modifying some aspect of metadata on the photos - like changing the file date, or they force you to save photos in the 'user' space, amongst other things. I still use a USB cable, then use two 'file manager' (windows explorer) sessions to copy and paste images from one to the other. 

 

I am now additionally using Google Photos, which makes photos taken on my android phone immediately available for viewing on my laptop. But once a month I still plug the old sucker in and do a manual copy! 

Yes, USB cable is the best option. I do not like syncing things, only drag and drop items occasionally.

I have uninstalled the "sync on mobile" software, there was no drag and drop feature. I use Airdroid and it is a much better way of sharing files between the laptop and phone.

Also had to mark an exclusion in the LG update centre as it kept notifying to install after the uninstallation. 

LG update centre has installed a new program: "Sync On Mobile".  Any opinions? This program first shipped with 2023 Gram and now they have pushed to older Grams via LG update centre.

9 hours ago, Steerpike said:

 

What did you end up buying and ... did it work? Was 10mm a good fit?  I notice that @John Ratsey's link was for 'pads', 1mm thick, while your second ebay link above was for 'foam', at 1.5mm thick.  Also, the first link no longer finds anything. 

 

I can't find any such product selling in the US, so my options are to order from China or UK.  This looks to be the same product that John Ratsey recommended, but from Ebay US (still shipping from UK). 

 

3M DOUBLE SIDED STICKY PADS Strong Heavy VHB Adhesive Mounting Tape Square Round | eBay

 

Did you cut out a hole with a knife ahead of installation (before removing the covers)?  I'll probably order the 'pads' above, but I'm curious to know if you think 10mm is the best size. 

I bought the one sold by seller Tamanala but never got the product, forgot about it. I have only opened the laptop once for adding 2TB SK Hynix P31 SSD, so the rubber feet glue are still in good condition. John would be able to guide better on this matter as he is the only one with experience on this.

I have a  LG Gram 16Z90P in white colour, have kept the battery charging locked to 80% since the start and the battery health is excellent, battery wear level is at just 1.1%.

The screen is in excellent condition, zero dead pixels and brightness is same as new.

The white paint used by LG is good, no chipping/bubbling or fading or yellowing.

Fingerprint reader works as good as new, no change. I have kept the laptop on Windows 10, have added 2TB SK Hynix P31 to the second SSD slot. 

Keyboard is in good condition, no stuck keys, some frequently used keys show signs of oil which is expected on a white keyboard.

Touchpad is as good as new, palmrest is also in excellent condition, the white paint used is fantastic.

The Gram chassis is strong, I move it around daily from desk to sofa to bed and have also travelled with it in a laptop backpack with zero issues.  

conclusion:  I am very happy with the LG Gram 16, no complaints, I plan to use the same laptop for 5 years and will keep updating the thread here.

Chrome/Brave users can try the Session Buddy extension:

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/edacconmaakjimmfgnblocblbcdcpbko

Yes, the display is glossy for the touchscreen Gram 2 in 1 version and matte display for the regular Gram series.

1. I use the Gram 16 mostly on power but all the reviews show good battery life and it will certainly have better battery life than XPS 15.

2. The USB A port is solid, no problems with it. I use the USB-A port loads of times with pen drives, External drives, printers etc.

3. The new LG Gram 2022 version has matte screen, so reflections will not be a problem.

4.  The fan speed and sound will be much better than XPS 15, you can expect a quieter experience.

5. Speakers are at the bottom, so they can be called average, not good not bad. Decent loudness, can watch youtube videos etc but I use headphones for TV shows, Movies.

6.  It is made of Magnesium alloy for light weight but still meets MIL-STD-810G standard for toughness, so do not worry about this point.

I have also set the charge limit to 80% as my laptop is plugged in most of the times.

13 hours ago, jaybee83 said:

yep at first i was thinking of that as well. but its not available in europe, which i assume is the OP's location due to him/her citing prices in €. so would have to add shipping and import taxes from the US, Korea, China or Taiwan (those are the listings ive seen so far on ebay).

Yup, SK Hynix started their consumer division only a few years back and don't sell in many countries. I asked my friend who was visiting USA to get the 2TB Hynix P31 to India.

For notebooks the most important metric is power/battery efficiency and SK Hynix Gold P31 is the big winner in that department, Anandtech review:

https://www.anandtech.com/show/16012/the-sk-hynix-gold-p31-ssd-review/8

Installed 2TB SSD SK Hynix Gold in the second slot, took some effort in prying away the back panel, must say the older laptops with exposed screws were much easier to disassemble.

Another thing to appreciate about the LG Gram is the good quality LG Chem batteries, it is more than a year since getting this laptop and the wear level is at miniscule 1.4%, have never heard of weird battery expansion/bulging which is a common complaint with Dell XPS.

5 hours ago, skipper said:

Just to let you know that I installed the Mirametrix software in my 2021 Gram 16 and works perfectly. Still figuring out if it really helps or I will uninstall it eventually. But just to say that one less difference between the 2021-22 versions.

I followed the 2nd link in the following page and installed it through the app store.

https://help.mirametrix.com/hc/en-us/articles/360018030672-Installing-Glance-on-your-system

Nice discovery, do post a mini review of the features and if you found anything useful. Will the normal camera of the 2021 Gram work as well as the upgraded Full HD IR camera of 2022 Gram? Will the battery consumption increase due to this always on software-hardware combo?

Nice Ad from LG describing the Glance:

@Ishatix Yes, I am using OnlyOffice for more than a year now and it has completely replaced my old MS Office installation. Just one correction in your comment: OnlyOffice has good "compatibility" with MS Office not "incompatiblity".

Download link for OnlyOffice: https://www.onlyoffice.com/desktop.aspx

On 7/26/2022 at 1:30 AM, John Ratsey said:

Yes, try to put the feet back so that the glue residue forms a rough circle. I pulled off one of the back feet and took a photo to illustrate how it looks.

 

Your first ebay item will probably be fine. I think LG used something similar but as a ring. The back feet are about 17mm dia and the front feet 15mm but the ring of glue is smaller than the size of of the foot. I can't find the tape circles on ebay UK, only the circular pads (which I'm sure would work fine as they are buried in a hole).

Thanks for illustrating with a picture, will be helpful for myself as well as others who need it. I will also place the order from that first ebay link, good price for four sheets of stuff.

21 hours ago, John Ratsey said:

It's now been opened up 3 times. Yesterday I temporarily put back the original SSD as I needed to release the licence on a software package which didn't like the SSD swap (two other packages didn't complain). While I had the base off I also repasted the CPU to see if I could reduce the occurrence of thermal throttling. The original paste was a bit dry. The CPU still hits the thermal limits under sustained load but now it's running a bit cooler under normal conditions. I also put thermal pads on the SSDs and they are keeping cooler.

 

As for the glue, it's still quite sticky. When the feet are pulled off some of the glue comes with them and some stays on the base cover. I try to put back the feet so that the circle of glue is reformed.  However, the computer's feet have an easy time as my Gram 17 is used as a compact desktop and doesn't get put into / taken out of a bag several times a day. Nonetheless, for anyone worrying about the feet getting loose, the fix will be to buy some 15mm circular double-sided tape pads (example here) and use them to replace the original glue when it gets tired.

How to make sure that the circle of glue is reformed? Do we have to line up the glue residue on both feet and the base so that they join perfectly?

Regarding those 3M tapes, will 10mm size also work? Looking at these two ebay listings:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/233290973133?hash=item365139bfcd:g:kqkAAOSwuFxcuBw9&shqty=1

https://www.ebay.com/itm/194060824786?hash=item2d2eed30d2:g:0xsAAOSw9idaK2Vd

Yes, the 2022 LG Gram keyboard lettering is definitely a downgrade when compared to clear and big 2021 version.

On 7/18/2022 at 2:45 AM, John Ratsey said:

It's a nominal 4TB (never that much in reality plus I've left about 150GB unallocated on each SSD to help with garbage management (which might not be necessary these days). When I've time and inclination I'll work through all my old drives and try to get everything into one place which will then be backed up onto a portable HDD. I also wanted enough space to do some video building.

 

I've not looked at the power consumption as my Gram 17 is being used as a compact desktop which is easy to put out of the way if I want the desk for other uses. However, I think that power management on recent NVMe SSDs is good and they quickly go to sleep if not busy.

After opening it up twice, how is the glue of the rubber feet holding up? A Gram owner was complaining about feet feeling loose afterwards.