LG Gram Pro 2-in-1 (2025) Review: Bending the Laws of Physics (And Occasionally the Screen)
Tested Model: LG gram Pro 16T90TP (Core Ultra 7 / 16GB RAM / 512GB SSD)
It’s lighter than it has any right to be, the screen is gorgeous, and it has actual ports. Just don’t sit on it.
Introduction: The “Empty Box” Prank
When you first pick up the 2025 LG gram Pro 2-in-1, your brain does a little stutter step. You see a massive 16-inch workstation, your muscles prepare to lift a 5-pound brick, and then… whoosh. You nearly throw it into the ceiling.
Weighing in at just 3.08 lbs (1,399g), this thing feels like a hollow prop from a furniture store. But don’t let the weight fool you. Under the hood, LG has made a controversial choice: they ignored the industry’s obsession with “battery-first” chips and stuffed a performance-hungry beast inside. Is it a stroke of genius or a thermal meltdown waiting to happen? Let’s dive into the honest, wobbly truth.
Design & Build: The “Gram Flex” is Real
Material Science vs. Anxiety
Let’s address the elephant in the room—or rather, the lack of an elephant. This laptop is made of a nano-carbon magnesium alloy. It’s the secret sauce that makes it lighter than a MacBook Air while being twice the size.
However, magnesium has a quirk: it bends.
- The Flex Test: If you grab the screen corners, it flexes. If you type aggressively, the deck has a slight bounce. LG claims this “Gram Flex” absorbs shock (like a skyscraper swaying in an earthquake), but to the uninitiated, it feels like you bought a $2,500 kite.
- The Hinge: In laptop mode, the screen has a bit of wobble if you poke it. It’s simple physics—light screen + stiff hinge = bounce. But flip it into “Tent” or “Tablet” mode, and the dual-torque hinge solidifies into a surprisingly stable digital canvas.
Verdict: It’s tougher than it feels. Drop it, and it’ll likely survive better than rigid aluminum. Just don’t use it as a seat cushion.
The Screen: A Visual Mic Drop
Display Specs: 16″ OLED / 48-120Hz VRR / DCI-P3 100%
If the build quality is polarizing, the screen is a universal crowd-pleaser. It’s a 16-inch OLED panel that makes spreadsheets look exciting (okay, almost exciting).
- The Secret Weapon (VRR): Finally, LG added a Variable Refresh Rate. This is huge. When you’re reading a PDF, it drops to 48Hz to save battery. When you’re scribbling with the pen, it ramps to 120Hz so the “ink” flows instantly.
- Touch & Pen: The included stylus (which magnetically charges on the side—thank you, LG!) feels fantastic on this glass.
- Audio: The speakers are… fine. They exist. They make sound. But compared to the visual feast of the screen, the audio is merely a snack. Bring headphones.
Performance: The “Arrow Lake” Gamble
Specs: Intel Core Ultra 7 255H | 16GB LPDDR5X | 512GB NVMe SSD
Here is where LG went rogue. While Samsung and others switched to Intel’s “Lunar Lake” chips (which prioritize battery life above all else), LG chose the Arrow Lake H-Series.
- The Engine: This chip is a muscle car with 16 cores. Even with 16GB of RAM (soldered, so no upgrading later—choose wisely), it tears through productivity tasks.
- The Bottleneck: While the processor is ready for 4K video editing and heavy compilation, the 512GB SSD fills up fast if you’re storing raw media footage. Furthermore, for extremely heavy creative multitasking, the 16GB ceiling might hit sooner than the CPU limit. It’s a race car with a slightly smaller fuel tank.
- The Thermal Cost: Because the chassis is thinner than a smartphone (12.9mm), cooling this beast is hard. LG uses a “Mega Dual Cooling” system. It works, but the keyboard center gets warm under load. The fans kick in with a “whoosh” rather than a whine.
Battery Life: Marketing vs. Reality
LG claims “up to 19 hours of video playback.” Sure, and I claim I can run a marathon if I’m being chased by a bear.
- Real World Testing: In our mixed usage test (Wi-Fi 7 on, brightness at 60%, typing, Slack, Spotify), we got a respectable 10 to 12 hours.
- Why? That OLED VRR screen saves the day. It’s not the 20-hour miracle of the Lunar Lake chips, but for a high-performance workstation? It’s genuinely impressive. You can leave the charger at home, provided you aren’t rendering video in the park.
Input & Connectivity: The Dongle-Free Life
- The Keyboard: Deep travel (1.6mm)! It feels fantastic to type on, vastly superior to the shallow clicks of a Dell XPS. However, they squeezed in a numpad, which shifts the trackpad off-center. My OCD hates it; my accountant loves it.
- The Ports: Two Thunderbolt 4s, an HDMI 2.1, and—gasp—two USB-A ports. You can plug in your old mouse without a dongle. Courage.
The Verdict: Who is this for?
The 2025 LG gram Pro 2-in-1 (16GB/512GB) is a specialized tool that bends the rules.
Buy it if:
- You commute, and your back hurts.
- You are an artist or note-taker who needs a massive canvas
- You need actual processing power (Arrow Lake) and legacy ports (USB-A).
Skip it if:
- You need a laptop that feels like a solid brick of steel (get a MacBook or HP Spectre).
- You plan to edit massive 8K video projects (get the 32GB RAM model).
- You hate off-center trackpads.
Final Score: 4.5/5 Stars – It flexes, but it doesn’t break.
https://www.lg.com/ca_en/laptops/gram-2-in-1/16t90tp-g-aa75a9
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