LG Announces Foldable 17" OLED Laptop - I want to put all my money into it.

LG Announces Foldable 17" OLED Laptop - I want to put all my money into it.

I have donated heavily to LG over the years. That's because I am unconditionally enamored with the best OLED TVs the company produces. Now, it looks like this Korean company will be skimming money from my wallet again in the near future.

Currently only set to launch in Korea, the LG Gram Fold is already making me drool (thanks to The Verge). This laptop/tablet hybrid is built around a 17-inch foldable screen. And the best feature? That screen is an OLED display.

Of course, foldable laptops are nothing new, an area that Asus, HP, and Lenovo are entering; what's notable about the Gram is the presence of a particularly intriguing feature that LG teased in a recent press release.

According to the press release, "The company's groundbreaking 17-inch foldable OLED for notebooks integrates a special material that minimizes wrinkles in the folded portion of the screen. This results in a seamless display and crisp image quality, unlike conventional foldable panels."

Of course, it is always a good idea to take a press release or two with a grain of salt until the product being advertised is actually launched. In this case, however, I'm willing to jump on the pre-launch hype train.

LG has been the market leader in the OLED space for the last decade. If the Gram Fold's display is even half as great as the new LG OLED G3 TV I recently maxed out my credit card for, this laptop hybrid could be something a little more special.

The LG Gram Fold goes on sale in Korea on October 4 for 4.99 million won (roughly $3,700/$3,050). Sadly, no international release schedule has been announced yet.

In terms of specs, the Gram's screen has a resolution of 2,560 x 1,920 and a screen peak brightness of 500 nits (respectable in the laptop field). Naturally, these specs are further enhanced by infinite black levels, a technology for which OLEDs have long been famous.

The LG Gram Fold also appears to be a particularly flexible device. In its fully folded state, it functions as a 17-inch portable monitor or tablet. When folded, however, the bottom half of the display functions as a touchscreen, allowing it to be used as a 12.3" laptop. If you prefer a more tactile approach, a physical keyboard is also included.

For those concerned about durability, LG claims that the Gram Fold can withstand 30,000 folds. This is much less than folding phones like Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 5, which is rated to withstand 200,000 openings and closings, but typically laptops are opened and closed much less.

As for the actual internals, they are not as exciting as OLED displays. This is a hybrid laptop with an Intel i5-133U processor, 512GB of storage, and 16GB of RAM. Weighing 2.7 pounds, it is at least a fairly slim device; LG sells the stylus separately, but you can also purchase a stylus for the Gram Fold.

Expect the LG Gram Fold to be available internationally. LG is still the master when it comes to OLED panels. If the screen turns out as it should, this could be one of the best 2-in-1 laptops.

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