LG

LG Unveils Gram Laptops With Local AI Powered By Lunar Lake And VRR Gaming

Even though the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) doesn't begin in earnest until next week (Tuesday, January 7 through Friday, January, 10), LG isn't waiting around to tease and unveil some of its upcoming products and product refreshes. Earlier this week, for example, LG teased the first bendable 5K2K OLED gaming monitor. Following up on that announcement, LG says it is readying the launch of several "hybrid AI" Gram laptop models.

What the heck is hybrid AI? It basically means that LG's laptops can process some AI-powered activities on-device, as well as tap into the cloud, depending on the task.

"These laptops utilize AI algorithms to process and analyze data locally without requiring a network connection. At the same time, they provide convenient access to cloud-based AI services via gram chat Cloud, powered by GPT-4o. This subscription-based service, which uses GPT-4o, is offered free of charge for the first year," LG explains.

There are four base laptop models in all, including the 16-inch Gram Pro 2-in-1 (16T90TP), 17-inch Gram Pro (17Z90TR), 16-inch Gram Pro (16Z90TS), and 15.6-inch Gram Book (15U50T). These include a mix of Intel Core Ultra H-series CPUs based on Arrow Lake and Core Ultra V-series chips based on Lunar Lake.

"The H-series processors are designed to maximize traditional PC performance, while the V-series CPUs are optimized for AI-driven PC experiences," LG explains.

Out of those models, LG is presenting the 16Z90TS as the first Copilot+ PC in the Gram series. It features an LCD screen with a 2560x1600 resolution, 144Hz refresh rate with variable refresh rate (VRR) support), Core Ultra 9, 7, and 5 processor options, Arc graphics, up to 32GB of LPDDR5X-8533 RAM, and up to 2TB of NMVe SSD storage.

The larger 17-inch model (17Z90TR) also employs an LCD screen with the same resolution, refresh rate, and VRR support, but drops the Core Ultra 9 option, However, it's offered with NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 4050 GPU (6GB). Storage and RAM capacities are the same, albeit topping out at LPDDR5X-8400.

Meanwhile, the 16-inch 2-in-1 (16T90TP) optionally swaps the LCD screen for an OLED display with a 2880x1800 resolution and 120Hz refresh rate, along with VRR support. It too eschews the Core Ultra 9 for Ultra 7 and 5 processor options, while embracing Intel's Arc graphics instead of a discrete NVIDIA GPU.

All three feature two USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports, two USB4 ports (supporting Power Delivery, DisplayPort, and Thunderbolt 4), and an HDMI 2.1 output.

Finally, the Gram Book (15U50T) is built around a 15.6-inch LCD screen with a 1920x1080 resolution and 60Hz refresh rate. It's the sole model that lacks VRR support. Other specs include a Core i5 processor with Xe graphics, up to 16GB of DDR4-3200 RAM, and up to 1TB of NVMe SSD storage. Connectivity options include a single USB 3.2 Gen 1 port, two USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports, a USB 2.0 port, and an HDMI 2.1 output.

None of these are hardcore gaming laptops, obviously, even with VRR support. However, there's enough hardware grunt to blow off some steam in lighter weight titles, especially if opting for the model with NVIDIA's entry-level GeForce RTX 4050 GPU.

LG doesn't mention pricing or availability in its press release(https://www.lgnewsroom.com/2024/12/lgs-hybrid-ai-gram-laptops-offer-the-best-of-both-worlds-with-on-device-and-cloud-ai-services/), though we expect more details to become visible next week at CES.

mundophone