The unit we reviewed was the cheapest version of the product available and it comes in at a jaw-dropping £1,349.LG Gram is also available in 14-inch and 15.6-inch screen sizes that cost even more.The 14-inch model with an Intel Core i5 comes in at £1,399 while the souped up i7 version retails for a staggering £1,549.The single 15.6-inch variant, that is only available with an Intel Core i5, is priced at £1,449.Such price tags are incredibly steep and neither the design or performance of the laptop are premium enough to justify such lofty amounts.In comparison, customers can pick up the baseline MacBook Pro currently offered by Apple for £1,249.
This comes with a 2.3GHz dual-core 7th-generation Intel Core i5 processor, Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640 and 8GB of LPDDR3 RAM.The MacBook Pro is renowned for its performance and would be capable of video editing, photo editing and a more enjoyable gaming experience than the LG Gram overall.And picking up Apple's lauded product would also be a no-brainer for those that enjoy macOS more than Microsoft's Windows 10 operating system.Moreover a score of other laptops running Windows 10 are available for similar price points but offer greatly-improved performance, even if they do sacrifice some of the thin and lightweight nature of the LG Gram that makes it appealing.The ASUS ROG Strix GL703GM-EE063T gaming laptop weighs a more hefty 2.95kilograms, but it does come with a lush 1080p display running at 120Hz, a NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 graphics card, 1TB hard drive with a 128GB SSD and an 8th generation Intel Core i7.
Additionally Microsoft's Surface Pro and Laptop line in addition to Google's Chromebook products all offer great performance for a lower cost than the LG Gram.And specifications on the LG Gram are also confusing somewhat with the 14-inch version being the only one to feature an i7 processor.The LG Gram is an incredibly capable laptop delivered in a thin and lightweight package that also flaunts commendable amounts of battery life.Moreover the product seems to know exactly who it is designed for and what that audience needs from a laptop.But the whopping prices of the computer mean it will surely be drowned out by its very comparable competition that deliver products at figures substantially lower than the LG Gram.If the South Korean tech giant were to cut the baseline model of the product down to around the £800 mark it would make it an absolute steal.
This would also put it in a much better position to capitalise on the incredibly high demand for portable performance that made the MacBook Air one of the most popular products in Apple's lineup.A much lower price would also mean inconsistencies of the device such as the speaker placement could be overlooked in favour of everything the LG Gram does right.When you’re ready to buy a new laptop, you have to choose between hundreds of online stores and up to dozens of physical locations. All of them may sell a variety of models at many price points, but you have to find the right place to shop, and you probably don’t want to make any mistakes.Amazon wins the prize of first stop thanks to its vast variety of laptops from manufacturers around the world, and its excellent laptop-buying guide that helps you search for laptops based on your lifestyle (student, travel, etc.) or the specs you are interested in (SSD, battery life, display size, so on.). If you want to find all laptops available with a particular set of features, this is one of the best tools online.
Add in the fast, reliable shipping and easy payment options, and Amazon becomes the number one recommendation for finding the exact laptop you need. While Amazon ratings aren’t always the most trustworthy, comparing rating and reviews between your top laptop picks is also a simple, effective way to make up your mind between contenders. On top of all that, it’s pretty common to find sales on laptops on Amazon that may have costed more buying directly from a retailer.The one thing to be a little wary of on Amazon are the specific build options. Because many different sellers may be selling various builds or generations of the same laptop, shopping can occasionally get confusing. Keep an eye on the specs, the year the laptop was produced, and even the exact model number to make sure you know exactly what you’re buying.If you purchase directly from a company like Dell, Microsoft, or Apple, you avoid the confusion of digging through listings on Amazon or Best Buy. This option is best for those who’ve done the research and know exactly what they want.
Also, purchasing through a retailer gives you the most amount of options for customization. Want a laptop with extra RAM or a memory but don’t care about the 4K display? Well, chances are, you’ll be able to configure it that way. If you love tweaking features to get exactly the computer you want, consider buying from a retailer worth the extra cost or shipping fees.Newegg may not have as many reviews as Amazon, but its reviews tend to be well informed and worth poring through, instead of meaningless comments. If you love doing a lot of research and reading up on a lot of different opinions before making a choice, Newegg is a great place to visit. The site also offers its own laptop buying guide that breaks down your options by interesting categories such as screen size and CPU class.
Newegg also impresses with its sales, discounts, and features like activating a product for price alert so you can watch for future deals. If you don’t get what you wanted, there’s a 14-day return policy and well-respected customer support to help out.When it comes to buying a laptop in a brick and mortar store, only a few options remain. Best Buy is obviously the first one people think of — and for good reason. Walking into a Best Buy to discover and purchase a laptop isn’t what we’d recommend as the most strategic option, but for those who want to take the anxiety out of researching and scouring the web, it might be the preferred method. Furthermore, there’s nothing quite like getting hands-on time with the device you’re about to drop loads of cash on.
Beyond the physical store, Best Buy also has a comprehensive laptop site that offers its own take on a shopping guide. You have options to show for laptop packages, specific brands, operating system, and even laptops compatible with specific technologies Windows Ink.From new models to refurbished products, Overstock.com specializes in discounts and low prices. The interface isn’t anything special, but there are plenty of filtering options reminiscent of Amazon, and it’s easy to spot items that have particularly low prices or that are well reviewed. Overstock is a good stop if you love hunting for good deals from reputable sources, and don’t mind checking in every day to see if that one low price you want is finally there.
Chris Hill (@lifebyhill) is an active U.S. Army officer who’s now pursuing menswear photography and public relations. Priyanka Naik (@chefpriyanka) spends hours in the kitchen developing the recipes that have helped her make a mark as a chef and blogger. While they inhabit different worlds, both focus on creativity and discipline as part of a flexible, productive workday routine. And the right laptop is central to that equation, in terms of not only capabilities but also design. “The design aesthetic of a laptop is a part of the lifestyle: clean, simple, and neat,” Hill says.Chris Hill usually starts the day with good coffee and a healthy breakfast at home—while editing photos on his MSI P65 laptop. The soft lines and subtle lighting of the P65 help get him in a productive frame of mind. “When I open it up, it helps me get into the creative mindset,” he says. “I know that it’s time to work and it’s time to get inspired.”
Heading out for a day of meetings and photo shoots means dressing up, even if a 21st-century creative like Hill can usually skip the necktie. He puts his computer in his camera bag, which tends to contain about 30 pounds of gear already. At just under four pounds, the P65 is an ultra-thin accessory that can anchor a workstation anywhere, from the train into New York City from Hill’s place in New Jersey to a downtown Manhattan café. And a razor-slim bezel means that nearly all the P65’s 15 inches of panel are screen.
Hill’s favorite place to work? “My couch, hands down.” He’ll sometimes wrap up a workday there, sipping whisky and not worrying about a plug-in. A P65 is likely still going strong at this point, with a lithium-polymer battery that lasts up to nine hours. “Knowing that I can get a full day’s worth of work done without being tied down to a single location is a fresh breath of air,” Hill says. “It’s good to know that I have the latest technology under my hands when I need to get work done,” he adds. The P65’s superlative color accuracy (close to 100% sRGB) is also a major perk for a photographer, and with a graphics card that supports video editing and virtual-reality work, Hill’s got room to expand in new directions.