Review: LG Gram +View 16-inch Portable Display

Review unit on loan from LG Singapore

The LG Gram +View 16-inch portable display was released in mid 2022 together with the new LG Gram laptops. This particular display was designed to pair with the LG Gram 16 with the same display size, 2560 x 1600 resolution and colour support.

This review will focus on the LG +View display. The LG Gram 2022 review will be published later here. And my reviews from the perspective of a visual content creator, someone who creates digital art, graphic design, edits photos and videos.

Video review

Here's my video review.

The official retail price on the USA website is US $349. At the time writing this review, the LG +View display is not listed for sale in Singapore yet. I own several portable monitors and have reviewed many portable monitors and I can tell you the LG +View is a good one so I hope they do sell this in Singapore.

Items included in the box are the display, a 1.5m USB-C video cable and a magnetic flip-cover case and stand.

The flip-cover case only protects the front but not the back completely.

This is the common tri-fold case that folds into a triangle at the back to prop up the display.

Magnets are quite strong so the display should not detach itself accidentally.

On the right side of the display is one USB-C port and the brightness controls. On the left side is another USB-C port at the bottom corner. The location of the ports allows this display to be placed on either sides of the laptop.

There's no OSD controls on this display. Colour adjustments have to be done through the computer OS or with colour calibration software.

The display weighs 671g and with the case it's 988g. I would consider this lightweight for a display at this size.

When paired with the 1.199kg LG Gram 16 the total weight is 2.187kg. That's actually not too bad for a 16-inch laptop with two big displays.

I won't stack the metal back side to the LG Gram though as the laptop display cover can scratch.

LG +View only has USB-C ports so it will work best with computers and laptops with USB-C. You can use this with LG Gram laptops as well as other brands of computers and laptops.

I actually tried using HDMI connection with an adapter and USB-C power supply, but the HDMI connection did not work. Anyway, even if HDMI works, you'll be looking at two cables coming out from both sides of the display.

Based on my experience, the display power consumption isn't that high but since it's powered by the laptop, it will still drain the laptop battery faster. How fast the laptop battery drains also depend on the brightness settings. And you cannot charge the laptop through the display as the display has no power delivery feature.

When paired beside the LG Gram 16, you have to move the +View display slightly closer for the two displays to align perfectly.

The display has a matte textured surface just like the new display from the LG Gram 2022 -- the 2021 model uses a reflective glossy display.

Anti-glare from the matte display isn't that aggressive so you can still seen content beneath the diffused reflections.

Design of the display looks good. Bezels are thin and uniform but thicker at the bottom. The black frame is made with matte textured plastic. I'm not sure about the material on the back though but it feels like metal. Build quality is reasonably good. If you associate something heavy with build quality, you'll feel weird with how lightweight this display is.

Colours on this display look terrific out of the box and matches the colours on the LG Gram 2022 display. So colour calibration is probably not needed as the colours look alright to me.

I did colour calibrate both displays and measured colour support for 100% sRGB & P3, 89% AdobeRGB and 87% NTSC. Colour accuracy is reasonably good and this display is certainly good enough for visual content creation.

The advertised maximum brightness is 350 nits but I measured 269 nits. That brightness is still sufficient for use in a bright room environment.

The resolution is 2560 x 1600 and aspect ratio is 16:10. Portable displays with 16:10 aspect ratio are rare and the LG +View is one of those rare ones.

16:10 is better for productivity compared to 16:9 aspect ratio as you get more vertical pixels to show more content. And now you get two of these displays including the one on the LG Gram 16.

The 16:10 aspect ratio also helps this display stand out against the countless 16:9 displays out there.

Pixel density is 188 PPI. While the display is not 4K resolution, it doesn't really matter because all the visuals still look sharp and detailed. The visual improvement from 1080P to 1440P+ is more noticeable compared to 1440P+ to 4K. Pixelation is not noticeable when working from one arms length away.

The IPS panel has good viewing angles. There's minimal colour shift and slight drop in brightness when viewed from extreme angles.

LG has also provided LG Glance software which has many features for dual display productivity. LG Glance is available on the LG Gram 2022 can be used with other brands of external displays too. I will talk more about LG Glance in my full review of the LG Gram 16 (2022).

Some of LG Glance features include moving windows and cursor to which ever display you're looking at, and it works quite well. When I watched the promotional video for LG Glance, I thought the features were gimmicky but after I've used the features for an hour or so I could see how useful they really are.

Conclusion

The LG Gram +View is a beautiful, bright, portable, matte display with good colour accuracy. The 2560 x 1600 resolution makes the visuals look sharp and detailed, and the 16:10 aspect ratio is good for productivity.

The downsides or limitations are there are only USB-C ports, the flip-cover case does not protect the back, and there's no OSD for colour adjustments.

The US $349 price tag is actually quite competitive compared to other 15-inch 4K portable displays. At the time I'm writing this review, it's US $299 on LG's website and Amazon.

In terms of value for money, I do think this display provides good value for money. This is one of those rare high resolution 16:10 displays with good colours and brightness. There aren't many of these out in the market.

Availability

The LG +View is not available in Singapore yet. But you can follow LG on Shopee SG, Lazada and KrisShop to check back.

Here are the Amazon links:
Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.de | Amazon.fr | Amazon.it | Amazon.es | Amazon.co.jp

Those are affiliate links so I earn some money for each sale, but at no extra cost to you.