LG gram Pro 17 vs 16 (2026): The Bigger Lightweight Laptop Costs Less!
Two laptops, same brand, same year, almost the same name — and by the end of this, one of them looks like a no-brainer over the other. There's one specific reason, which I'll get to. First, the disclosure: LG sent these out and sponsored the video, but that doesn't change a single thing I'm about to tell you. On one side, the LG gram Pro 17 — which LG calls the world's lightest 17-inch laptop — with an RTX 5050 inside. On the other, the gram Pro 16 with a gorgeous OLED screen.
Quick Verdict
These are twins for CPU and everyday work — writing, browsing, 100 tabs, Photoshop all feel identical. The moment graphics matter (video, 3D, gaming), the RTX 5050 in the 17 pulls comfortably ahead. And here's the kicker: at the time of filming, the bigger 17 with the discrete GPU is actually cheaper — $500 less even at full MSRP. The only real things you give up going 17 are the OLED panel and the lightest possible build. For almost everyone else, the gram Pro 17 is more laptop for less money — it's the one I bought.
Build: The New "Arominum" Lid
The first thing you notice is the lid. Both now use a material LG calls arominum — an aluminum-magnesium alloy for a better strength-to-weight ratio. In the hand, the lid feels more solid and durable than the previous generation, and LG rates it at 135% better scratch resistance. Because the material is lighter, they shaved about 40g off the 16-inch model (3% lighter). The nicest practical upgrade is fingerprints: the new lid finish picks up way fewer of them. The keyboard deck and bottom still feel like last year, so darker colors will still smudge down there, but the lid stays clean. Both pass LG's military-grade durability testing — it's not thin for the sake of thin.
Portability
Portability is the whole reason most people buy a gram. The 16 is 1,199g (about 2.6 lb) and 12.4mm thin. The 17 is 1.74kg and 16.7mm thin — awesome for a 17-inch screen. LG frames this with their Laptop Portability Index (LPI), which weighs slimness, weight, and all-day battery together: the 17 lands in their "versatile" tier (a little heavier for the discrete GPU, but still out-travels most 17-inch laptops), and the 16 sits in the "excellent" tier — the best all-around balance for road warriors.
The port layout is basically identical either way: on the left, HDMI 2.1 and two Thunderbolt 4 USB-C; on the right, a combo audio jack and two USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 ports — plenty for a laptop this thin.
The Display: Where Your Decision Starts
This is one of the two real differences. The 16 has a 16-inch OLED at 2880×1800, up to 120Hz, non-touch with a matte finish, so reflections basically disappear. The 17 has a 17-inch IPS panel at 2560×1600 but pushes 144Hz, is a touchscreen, and is glossy, so you'll catch a bit more reflection. So it's OLED contrast and a cleaner image on the 16 versus a bigger, faster touch display on the 17.
Keyboard, Touchpad, and Speakers
Once open, a lot feels familiar — both have a numeric keypad. But the 17 has more room, so the keys are spread out properly with a clean fourth row, while the 16 crams them a bit (still comfortable). The bigger chassis also gives the 17 a touch more key travel if you like a deeper press. Both touchpads are glass and mechanical (not haptic), and the 17 gives you more real estate. Speakers are the other gap: the 16 has two bottom-firing speakers, the 17 has four.
Software: Dual AI and gram Link
Both run what LG calls Dual AI alongside the Copilot+ PC features Windows includes. Dual AI has two halves: gram Chat on-device runs locally (even offline it can search your files, pull up an old project, or tweak a setting — no need to install your own local model), and gram Chat Cloud, which is GPT-4 powered for heavier lifting like drafting documents or analyzing data.
The piece I keep coming back to is gram Link, which connects your phone, tablet, or even a webOS device to the laptop regardless of OS. You get phone calls and notifications on the laptop, can use your phone as a (better) webcam, extend your screen onto a tablet, and share files and photos across devices right in the app. For anyone juggling a few devices a day, it's one of the better versions of this.
Performance
Both units have 32GB of RAM and similar storage. The 16 runs an Intel Core Ultra 7 358H with integrated Intel B390 graphics; the 17 runs the Intel Core Ultra 9 386H and adds a discrete NVIDIA RTX 5050.
CPU and everyday work — a tie:
| Test | gram Pro 16 | gram Pro 17 |
|---|---|---|
| Cinebench R26 single-core | 497 | 517 |
| Cinebench R26 multi-core | 4,518 | 4,918 |
| Firefox compile | 29 min | 29 min |
| Speedometer | 38 | 40 |
| Photoshop (Puget) | 9,497 | 9,432 |
For writing, browsing, email, and 100 tabs, they feel exactly the same — and both absolutely demolish last year's Pro 17.
Where the GPU opens the gap:
| Test | gram Pro 16 | gram Pro 17 |
|---|---|---|
| Premiere Pro | ~37,000 | ~77,000 |
| 3DMark Steel Nomad | 1,600 | 1,963 |
| Cyberpunk 2077 (1920×1200, High) | 60 FPS | 85 FPS |
| Doom: The Dark Ages | 28 FPS | 65 FPS |
Blender is interesting: the 17's RTX 5050 roughly doubles the 16 on Monster and triples it on Junk Shop — though last year's Pro 17 actually edges the new one on a couple of scenes (same GPU). Both can game comfortably at Full HD+, but the 17 gives you more room to breathe. Summary: for CPU and everyday work, pick either — they're twins. The moment graphics matter, the 17 gives you more (the 16's Intel B390 is genuinely fantastic, it just can't match a discrete GPU).
Cooling, Noise, and Battery
Under sustained load, both run a little warmer than I'd like: the 16 sits around 91°C, the 17 hits about 94–95°C (in line with last year). I'd have loved sub-90, but it's comfortably inside Intel's spec — thin chassis have to run hot to deliver this. Fan noise tracks that: at max, the 17 is louder at 53dB vs the 16's 50dB (that discrete GPU has to breathe), but on performance they're both mid-40s, and on normal/quiet they're near-identical at 42 and 38dB — you'll barely hear them.
Battery is a quiet win for the 17: on my real-world PCMark Modern Office test it lasted 16 hours 20 minutes, and both crush last year's Pro 17 (11 hours). LG quotes up to 27–32 hours of video playback, but that's not representative of real use.
The Verdict: The 17 Is More Laptop for Less
Both are fantastic, but at the prices as of filming it's genuinely hard to justify the 16 over the 17. The gram Pro 16 is $3,300 right now — and the bigger laptop with a discrete GPU is cheaper, coming in $500 less even at full MSRP. And it's not that you pay less to get less: for the lower price, the 17 gives you a discrete RTX 5050, a bigger 17-inch screen, a 144Hz touchscreen, four speakers, a roomier keyboard with more travel, a larger touchpad, and slightly better battery life. The one real thing you give up is the OLED panel and a lighter build.
If the 16 dropped well below the 17, this flips and we have a different conversation. But as it stands today, the gram Pro 17 is the one I bought.
Who Should Buy Which?
- Buy the gram Pro 17 if you want the most laptop for the money — discrete RTX 5050 graphics, a bigger 144Hz touchscreen, better speakers and keyboard, and longer battery, all for less.
- Buy the gram Pro 16 if a matte OLED panel and the lightest possible build matter most to you — or if it drops well below the 17's price.
Where to Buy
This was a sponsored review — LG provided both laptops for testing.
Affiliate Disclosure: This article contains affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Published: July 2026
