Hands-on impressions: The 2017 LG Gram lineup, which comes in 13-, 14- and 15-inch sizes, feels a lot better than the 2015 Gram, which suffered from flimsy build quality. LG’s “instant booting” feature offers a speedy start, but still takes a few moments to power up. Starting Price: TBD Release Date: 1st half of 2017 Replaces: LG Gram (2015) Key Specs: 14-inch, IPS display; 2.16 pounds. What’s New: The 2017 14-inch LG Gram will be a hair heavier than the previous version, but LG is adding new software features, including supposedly “instant booting,” a Security Center and Headphone X surround sound. LG’s also updating the 13-inch and 15-inch Gram notebooks with these same features. Why You Should Care: LG is making a huge claim by saying this year’s 14-inch Gram will offer “up to 17 hours of battery life.” The previous 14-inch Gram only made it 5 hours and 38 minutes on the Laptop Mag Battery Test, so we’ll be surprised and impressed if this one (which, at 2.16 pounds, is only 0.5 pounds heavier than last year’s) lasts for even 10 hours. LG’s also claiming the updated 13-inch Gram (17.5 hours) and 15-inch Gram (15.5 hours) will provide similarly lengthy endurance. Outlook: Cautious, slightly optimistic. These battery life numbers need to be tested to be believed.

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