The LG Gram Pro 16 exists to answer a specific question: what's the lightest 16-inch laptop you can buy without sacrificing display quality or battery life? At 1.19kg — lighter than most 13-inch ultrabooks — it's an engineering achievement that makes every other large-screen laptop feel unnecessarily heavy. After three weeks of daily use, including a week of travel, here is our comprehensive review.

The Weight Miracle: How LG Does It

LG achieves the Gram Pro 16's extraordinary weight through a magnesium alloy chassis that's both lighter and stronger than aluminium. The laptop has passed MIL-SPEC 810H testing across 14 categories including drop, vibration, altitude, and extreme temperature — so the light weight doesn't come at the cost of durability. Carrying it in a bag, you'll frequently forget it's there.

The engineering required to achieve 1.19kg in a 16-inch laptop is remarkable. LG has thinned the chassis walls to the minimum structurally safe thickness, used a magnesium alloy that is 30% lighter than aluminium, and optimised every component for weight. The result is a laptop that is 400g lighter than the MacBook Pro 14 — a difference you feel immediately when picking it up.

Display: OLED in an Ultralight

The 16-inch 3.2K (3200×2000) OLED display is a genuine highlight. At 120Hz with 100% DCI-P3 coverage and 1,000 nits peak brightness, it's one of the best laptop displays available. The 16:10 aspect ratio provides more vertical space than 16:9 panels, making it excellent for document work, coding, and web browsing.

The anti-reflective coating is effective enough for outdoor use in shade, and the 1,000 nits peak brightness makes it usable in most indoor environments. The OLED panel's true blacks and infinite contrast ratio make it significantly better than the IPS panels in competing ultralight laptops like the Dell XPS 13 and HP Spectre x360 13.

Performance: Capable Without Compromise

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265H delivers strong performance for productivity and creative workloads. In Cinebench 2024 multi-core, it scores 14,800 — competitive with the MacBook Pro M4 base model and significantly ahead of the Snapdragon X Elite in sustained workloads. It won't match a gaming laptop under sustained load, but for the target audience — business travellers and remote workers — it's more than sufficient.

The Intel Arc graphics are capable of light creative work — photo editing, video playback, and basic 3D tasks — but not gaming or professional 3D rendering. For users who need GPU performance, the Gram Pro 16 is not the right choice. For everyone else, the Arc graphics are adequate and significantly more power-efficient than discrete NVIDIA or AMD GPUs.

Battery Life: The Killer Feature

The 99Wh battery is the maximum allowed on commercial flights, and LG's efficiency optimisations deliver a genuine 18–22 hours of mixed use. In our testing — a mix of writing, browsing, video calls, and light coding — we consistently got 19–21 hours. This is the laptop you take on a long-haul flight and don't plug in once.

The 65W USB-C charging is fast enough to top up during a meeting or lunch break. The laptop supports charging from any USB-C power source, including the 30W chargers that come with many smartphones — useful in a pinch when you've forgotten your laptop charger.

Keyboard and Trackpad

The keyboard has 1.5mm of key travel — good for an ultralight laptop — with a comfortable, quiet typing experience. The backlight is even and bright. The large glass trackpad is smooth and responsive, with Windows Precision drivers that make it competitive with the best ultrabook trackpads.

The Verdict

The LG Gram Pro 16 is the best laptop for frequent travellers who need a large screen. It makes no compromises on display quality or battery life, and its weight advantage over competitors is so significant that it changes how you think about carrying a laptop. At $1,699, it's a premium product that earns its price for the right user.

The Competition

The LG Gram Pro 16's main competition comes from the Dell XPS 15 ($1,899), MacBook Pro 14 ($2,499), and HP Spectre x360 14 ($1,799). Against the Dell XPS 15, it wins decisively on weight (1.19kg vs 1.86kg) and battery life — but loses on GPU performance and port selection. Against the MacBook Pro 14, it wins on weight and Windows ecosystem — but loses on performance, software quality, and the M4 chip's efficiency. Against the HP Spectre x360, it wins on weight and battery life — but the Spectre's 2-in-1 form factor and included pen are advantages for users who take handwritten notes.

For the specific use case of a large-screen laptop for frequent travellers who prioritise weight and battery life above all else, the LG Gram Pro 16 has no peer. For users who need GPU performance, the MacBook Pro or a gaming laptop is a better choice. For users who want a 2-in-1, the HP Spectre is better. But for the traveller who wants a 16-inch screen without the weight penalty, the Gram Pro 16 is the answer.

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