This LG UltraPC Review reveals that the LG laptop is a blend of commendable strengths interspersed with perplexing oversights. It shines with its sturdy build quality, luxurious design, and impressive keyboard-touchpad duo, making it a standout in the design and build quality. Its 512GB SSD and the 16GB LPDDR4X RAM certainly pack a punch, delivering fast and reliable performance for most tasks. The battery life is another feather in its cap, thanks to the efficient AMD Ryzen 5 chip and a sizable battery.
However, it’s impossible to overlook the puzzling choices LG made. The trackpad’s uneven finish, the absence of a keyboard backlight in an age where it’s considered standard, and a screen that misses the mark in color accuracy are all blemishes on an otherwise solid machine. Additionally, its choice of processor and memory technology feels dated.
In the under Rs 1 lakh bracket, the LG UltraPC carves a niche for itself as a premium thin, and light laptop. Yet, the missed opportunities are evident. If you prioritize build quality, battery life, and a superior typing experience, the LG UltraPC is a worthy contender. But if cutting-edge performance and display accuracy are high on your list, you might want to explore other options in the market.
As you may have understood from the “LG UltraPC Review” heading, the LG UltraPC is a complicated machine. Sure it has good build quality, a nice tactile keyboard, and a portable design, all of which highlight its great qualities. However, it lags behind in several key areas. And it really is a missed opportunity because premium thin and light laptops like the LG UltraPC are a rare sight in the under Rs 1 lakh price category in India.
For the uninitiated, LG laptops’ portfolio in India consists mainly of the Gram series, primarily known for their super sleek design and lightweight. The laptops in this series are usually powered by Intel processors. However, LG has another series of laptops powered by AMD processors known as the UltraPC. And today, we’re taking a look at the LG UltraPC featuring an AMD Ryzen 7000 series APU. The laptop becomes a point of interest mainly because of that. Let me explain.
While writing this this LG UltraPC Review I’d be remiss if I didn’t talk about the laptop’s robust design typical of LG. Usually for slim and big laptops, that are bigger than 15 inches, the chassis flex is a common problem. But the LG UltraPC contains these flex very well. And LG accomplishes this by keeping the material premium. As a result, the device exudes both robust and luxurious vibes.
The full-size keyboard is also pretty fantastic. Usually in a thin and light laptop, key travel is quite less but over here they feel pretty satisfying to click. The keys are square in shape and are spaced apart generously and the keyboard still has enough area left for accommodating a numpad. The touchpad is also bigger than average and leaves enough room on its top and bottom to prevent any mistouches. It has a very smooth surface and works quite well.
My only complaint here is in regard to the fit and finish of the trackpad. It is not leveled and its right side seems to be pushed more inwards compared to the trackpad’s left side. Moving on with my complaints I’d also like to mention that the keyboard has no backlighting. Yes! In 2023, LG chose to ship their laptop with a feature that’s ubiquitous in literally every other device in every price range. What’s the reasoning behind it, I have no idea. But the keyboard has no backlighting so you cannot use it in a dark room.
As difficult as it is to wrap our minds around the problem I mentioned, let’s talk about the rest of the laptop. Speaking of which it comes with a solid hinge that seems like it’d withstand the test of time. Moreover, the laptop’s lid also has a premium finish and features an LG logo, the only branding on the UltraPC to speak of. So in terms of build quality and robustness, the LG UltraPC scores highly but a few totally alien decisions do reduce the laptop’s value.
In terms of I/O, I am happy to say that the LG UltraPC delivers. It features an HDMI slot, a USB Type-C superspeed port, a headphone and mic combo jack, two USB Type-A superspeed ports, an SD card slot, and a docking port. The USB Type-C port doesn’t mention itself as a lighting port, because it is a proprietary tech related to Intel. But you can still charge the laptop using a USB type-C cable. My only complaint here is that they should have given another Type-C super speed port on the laptop so you can use it for faster data charging while charging using a Type-C cable.
Following the modern trend, LG outfitted its laptop with a 16:10 aspect ratio display, a key highlight in the LG UltraPC Review. As a result, it has a 1200p maximum resolution compared to the normal 1080p resolution usually seen in the standard 16:9 displays. But the real difference you’ll actually notice is that the screen now has more height. This is really good as now you fit more stuff into it including more editing timelines, sheets, documents, etc.
In terms of specifications though, the screen is kind of a hit-and-miss. Sure, it has an anti-reflective coating and around 340 nits of peak brightness making it suitable for use in indoor conditions where there’s a lot of light. But the screen is not colour-accurate at all. It doesn’t even have 100% sRGB colour space coverage, which is again something quite common in many laptop’s nowadays.
The speakers too are pretty average. They aren’t going to blow you away in any way and are barely loud enough to be used in an outdoor environment. But they are viable for indoor usage though but I’d still advise getting a pair of headphones if you want to have a better and more reliable sound experience.
One thing that you can rely on the LG UltraPC for, as highlighted in this LG UltraPC Review, is the performance. The laptop is not a powerhouse by any means but delivers consistent performance. The LG UltraPC features an AMD Ryzen 5 7530U processor, which, firstly, is an odd choice, especially in the Rs 1 lakh price segment. LG should have at least gone with A Ryzen 7 7735U, mainly for DDR5 and LPDDR5 RAM support and more L3 cache.
Mainly because, the Ryzen 5 7530U limits the processor from using DDR5 and LPDDR5 RAM, which further puts a cap on the laptop’s overall performance. In terms of benchmarks though, the Ryzen 5 7530U performs well. For instance, in the Cinebench R23 benchmark, it scored 8096 in the Multicore and 1314 in the single-core test. For instance, this chip is slightly less powerful than the Intel Core i5 1335U processor.
But it makes up for it, in terms of iGPU performance. In our LG UltraPC Review, we found that it scored 1349 and 3396 in 3D Mark’s TimeSpy and Firestrike tests, which is better than the Iris Xe CPU found in most Intel processors. The LG UltraPC comes equipped with a commendable 512GB SSD which has read and write speeds, clocking in at 3632 MB/s and 2510 MB/s respectively. To contextualize this, such speeds translate into a lightning-fast user experience, whether you’re transferring large media files, booting up intensive applications, or multitasking between demanding software. For a content creator, this means that transferring a 10GB video file would take just a matter of seconds.
The LG UltraPC is equipped with an ample 16GB of LPDDR4X RAM and based on the AIDA 64 memory benchmark, the RAM showcases impressive figures: read, write, and copy speeds of 38906 MB/s, 41841 MB/s, and 42647 MB/s respectively. The latency stands at 111.7 ns, underlining a responsive user experience. In comparison, the HP Envy x360 15, which sports the newer LPDDR5 RAM, presents a compelling performance differential. Its read, write and copy speeds soar at 47709 MB/s, 76215 MB/s, and 57303 MB/s respectively, paired with a faster latency of 109 ns.
This stark contrast underscores the advancements of LPDDR5 over LPDDR4X. LPDDR5 offers not only faster data transfer rates but also improved power efficiency, which, in turn, can lead to better battery life and overall system performance.
But one area where the LG UltraPC surely gains ground is in terms of battery performance. It scored around 7.5 to 8 hours of battery life in the PC Mark 10 Extended battery test. The higher-than-expected battery life comes down to the AMD Ryzen 5 chip which consumes a mere 15W and the 72Wh battery is large enough to continuously provide backup for a long time.
The laptop, as highlighted in the LG UltraPC Review, presents a mix of robust design, solid performance, and impressive battery life, showcasing its strengths in the design and build quality segment. However, its uneven trackpad finish, lack of keyboard backlighting, and limited color accuracy on the display are noticeable drawbacks. While it offers value in the under Rs 1 lakh segment, certain choices feel outdated. It’s a good pick for those prioritizing build and battery, but those seeking the latest tech might want to explore the LG UltraPC Performance and Battery Life before making a decision.
