LG is going all-in on laptops.
The South Korean company, best known for its TVs and smartphones, appears to be expanding its Gram lineup of super-lightweight laptops with 2-in-1 and 17-inch models. First reported by mobile tech site Liliputing, the mysterious LG Gram 2-in-1 and LG Gram 17 were leaked in Best Buy listings on Monday, ahead of an expected CES 2019 announcement.
The pages for these "Out of Stock" laptops -- likely posted on accident -- were swiftly removed, but not before specs and pricing were recorded online (you can still view cached versions of the listings here and here).
The latest LG Gram features a 14-inch touchscreen, but it lacks a flexible 2-in-1 design for convenient note-taking and drawing. It appears LG will soon release a laptop for people who need that level of versatility.
The $1,499 LG Gram 2-in-1 is a bendback convertible that transforms into a tablet and supports an included Wacom stylus. Like the clamshell Gram, the Gram 2-in-1 has a 14-inch, 1080p touchscreen display, and is equipped with an Intel Core i7-8565U CPU, 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD.
A fingerprint reader will allow users to log in quickly and securely, while three USB ports (2 USB-A, 1 USB-C) should provide plenty of connectivity options. The magnesium alloy laptop will weigh just 2.5 pounds, and, despite having narrow bezels, its HD webcam is located above the display.
If these ephemeral Best Buy listings hold true, then LG will also sell a 17-inch model of the Gram for $1,699. At 2.95 pounds, the magnesium alloy Gram 17 would be the only laptop with this large of a display to weigh less than 3 pounds. And with dimensions at 15 x 10.5 x 0.7 inches, the bezelless laptop has a footprint that's about the size of a typical 15.6-inch laptop.
Similar to the Gram 2-in-1, the Gram 17 will be powered by a Core i7-8565U CPU, and include 16GB of DDR4 RAM and a 512GB SSD. The Gram 17 will also feature a fingerprint reader for Windows Hello login and a backlit keyboard with a numpad. Unfortunately, you'll still have to settle with integrated graphics.
The Gram 17 doesn't appear to support Thunderbolt 3, but the now-removed Best Buy listing did show three USB Type-A ports, a microSD card slot and a USB-C input, among other connections.
LG rates the Gram 17's battery life at an ambitious 19.5 hours, but if recent history is any indication, then the slim laptop will power down long before then.
We suspect LG will officially announce these two new laptops at or shortly before CES 2019 (which kicks off on Jan. 8), so check back in a few weeks from now for more concrete details.
