LG Gram Fold: Tablet and laptop in one

Photo: LG

Laptop or tablet? That's what we're wondering after looking at the LG Gram Fold device that was recently launched in South Korea. We were confused by the 17-inch OLED screen, which can be folded and, as a result, the device can be used as a laptop or tablet.

LG has followed the example of rivals HP, Lenovo and ASUS, who have also already tested a similar concept. The basic price of the LG Gram Fold computer starts at a dizzying 4,000 euros. Information about the European edition is not available for now, but we hope to be able to test the computer in the editorial office as well.

Similar to the foldable laptops we've seen before, the LG Gram Fold can be used in a variety of layouts. If you want a traditional laptop experience, you can stand it upright and place a Bluetooth keyboard on the bottom half to use the rest of the screen as a 12-inch 3:2 aspect ratio laptop. If you forgo the physical keyboard, you can type on the virtual on-screen keyboard.

You can fully extend the laptop and use it as a tablet, or add a keyboard and use it as a 17-inch computer. There is also a book mode, which is designed so that you fold the laptop in half and hold it in your hands in landscape or landscape orientation. The screen has a resolution of 1920 x 2560 with a maximum brightness of 500 nits. In a separate press release announcing mass production of the panel, the LG Display division points out that the display on the foldable part contains a special material to reduce wrinkles.

LG says the Gram Fold is rated for 30,000 folding cycles. This may seem small compared to the 200,000 or even 400,000 cycles that the latest foldable phones have, but LG warns that we tend to fold the laptop less often.

LG's folding screen is the freshest news in this field. Last month, HP introduced the Specter Fold, which also has a 17-inch screen, but a much higher price – 5,000 euros. Before that, we got the ASUS Zenbook 17 Fold OLED laptop with a 17.3-inch screen for three and a half thousand. Lenovo also tried its hand at the foldable display market with the ThinkPad X1 Fold. It has a smaller 13.3-inch screen and a lower price (around 2,500 euros).

Apart from the main attraction (folding screen), the rest of the specifications are more modest. It is powered by an Intel i5-1335U processor with 16GB of RAM, 512GB of storage and a 72Wh battery. It weighs 1250 grams. It measures 19.9mm around the waist when folded and 9.4mm when extended. There are two USB-C ports, one of which is Thunderbolt 4 compatible and the other is USB 3.2 Gen 2×1. The LG Gram Fold is also compatible with a digital pen, but it is sold separately.

The additional competition in the field of folding screens is only good news for users. Maybe in the next few years we'll even get a specimen that won't cost a fortune.