LG UltraPC 16" 2023

This thing weighs just 1.20kg, making it one of the lightest 16-inch laptops you can find. But that's the highlight reel. The integrated graphics are in the bottom 19th percentile, the 256GB SSD is cramped, and the reliability score is a rough 10th percentile. It's a single-purpose machine for basic tasks on the go, and only worth it if you find it at the low end of its $863 to $1643 price range.

The Intel Core i5-1345U handles everyday office tasks without breaking a sweat, but don't expect any heavy lifting. Its 47th percentile CPU score means it's perfectly middle-of-the-pack for web browsing, email, and document editing. The real bottleneck is the integrated Intel Iris Xe graphics, which land in the 19th percentile. You can forget about modern gaming or GPU-accelerated creative work. The 16GB of LPDDR5 RAM is a decent spec for multitasking, though it's soldered down, so what you buy is what you get. Storage is a real weak spot. That 256GB SSD is cramped by modern standards, sitting in the 27th percentile, and you'll likely need an external drive or cloud storage before long.

Stacked against the competition, the LG's main calling card is its weight. The ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 and Lenovo Legion Pro 7i are in a different universe for performance, especially in graphics, but they're also heavier gaming machines. The MSI Prestige and HP OmniBook X Flip are more direct rivals for the thin-and-light crown. The HP in particular offers a more modern design and likely a better screen, while the Apple MacBook Pro M5 Pro will obliterate the LG in both CPU and GPU performance, battery life, and display quality, though at a higher price. The LG's only real win here is being lighter than all of them.

Pricing for this model is all over the map, with a spread of $780 between vendors. At the low end around $863, it's a reasonable deal for a featherweight 16-inch machine with Windows 11 Pro. But pushing anywhere near the $1643 mark puts it in dangerous territory. For that kind of money, you're brushing up against far more powerful and reliable options. If you're buying, hunt for the deal on the lower end of that range.

The LG UltraPC 16" is a study in trade-offs. You get a shockingly light 1.20kg chassis and a big 16" screen, but the performance numbers tell a story of a machine built strictly for the basics. The CPU lands right around average in our database, and the integrated graphics sit in the bottom fifth of all laptops we've tested. That 72Wh battery is a bright spot, promising solid endurance for a full workday away from an outlet.

Anyone who values reliability or storage space should look elsewhere. The 10th percentile reliability score is a red flag, and the 256GB SSD will feel claustrophobic fast. If you do any creative work, the dim, color-inaccurate screen and weak integrated graphics are dealbreakers. Even students might find the storage limiting, despite a decent 50.5 out of 100 student score.

The LG UltraPC 16" is a niche machine. If your absolute top priority is carrying the lightest possible 16-inch laptop and your workload never goes beyond Office apps and web browsing, it fits the bill. For everyone else, the mediocre performance, cramped storage, and worrying reliability score make it hard to recommend, especially when the price can swing so high. There are simply better, more well-rounded ultrabooks out there.