LG Gram 14 (2023) vs Dell XPS 13 Plus (2023): Which laptop should you buy?

Need a super lightweight laptop? Dell and LG have some great options

The latest LG Gram 14 is a lightweight, ultra-portable laptop that clocks in at just 2.2 pounds. With a massive 72Wh battery, this laptop is the ultimate choice to bring with you anywhere.

This lightweight Dell laptop comes packed with capable hardware, a 55Wh battery, and a sleek design. At just 2.77 pounds, this laptop is a great machine to bring with you out in the world, and it's certain to wow your friends with its futuristic design.

Laptops are portable machines at their core, but they're not always lightweight. That's not the case with the LG Gram 14 and the Dell XPS 13 Plus, which both weigh under 3 pounds. Dell and LG already make some of the best laptops around, so it's no surprise that these two are great options. But which one should you opt for?

You can pick up an LG Gram 14 from all your favorite retailers. The base model goes for $1,100, while the more premium one retails for $1,700. You've got your choice between an Intel Core i5-1340P and Core i7-1360P processor, 8GB or 32GB of RAM, and a 512GB or 1TB hard drive. You'll get Intel Xe graphics with either machine. It's not designed for much gaming, but you'll have no trouble browsing the web and getting work done.

The XPS 13 Plus is similarly available from a bunch of different locations, including Dell's site, and it starts off at $1,199 (thanks to an ongoing sale), scaling up depending on how you configure it. This laptop comes with a 13th-generation Intel Core i7-1360P processor, integrated Intel Xe graphics, either 16GB or 32GB of RAM, and up to 2TB of storage space. You'll also get an option for an OLED panel, making this a great device to watch a movie on after you finish up your work for the day or when you get tired of surfing the web.

LG's Gram 14 is built out of magnesium alloy, comes in at a startlingly low weight (2.2 pounds), and with its wedge shape and harder edges, it feels even lighter and slimmer than it actually is, making this laptop truly look portable in every way. With options for just black or white colorways, the Gram is minimalist in every respect. It's not as elegant looking as something like a MacBook, but it's a sleek, well-designed machine nonetheless.

The XPS 13 Plus is made out of CNC-machined aluminum, and from top to bottom, this laptop embodies a futuristic vibe. With its platinum colorway and gorgeous rounded corners, the XPS 13 Plus gives off a premium feel that's much more in line with Apple's design language than the Gram. Since it weighs just 2.7 pounds, it won't be too heavy to carry around and show off to all your friends.

In terms of I/O, though, there are some notable differences. The XPS comes with Thunderbolt and USB-C, but the Gram has Thunderbolt, USB-C, a 3.5mm jack, an HDMI port, USB-A, and a microSD slot. Of course, you can bridge this gap with accessories, but the Gram is just more versatile out of the box, which can be a meaningful difference depending on your use case.

While the Gram is an eminently portable, well-designed piece of kit, it's hard not to be more impressed in terms of design by the XPS Plus 13. However, the XPS is a bit heavier than the Gram, so if portability is your top concern, you may still appreciate the Gram more.

In terms of display, the Gram offers up a serviceable 14-inch 1920x1200 IPS 60Hz display, and that's it. There's no option for a fancier panel, like OLED, and no option for a higher refresh rate. With a 14-inch display, that resolution isn't too much of a drawback, but text won't be as clear as it will be on a higher-resolution panel. While 120Hz support isn't as relevant for a productivity-oriented laptop as it is for a gaming machine, it at least makes web browsing look a lot smoother. Put simply, it's a solid display but nothing especially impressive.

However, you'll get way more options with the Dell XPS 13 Plus. You can choose between a more basic 13.4-inch 1920x1200 display with either touch capability or without, or you can opt for a 3840x2400 60Hz touch display. The cream of the crop, though, is the 3456x2160 OLED touch panel. None of these options go above a 60Hz refresh rate, but you have your pick of resolution, panel type, and whether you want touch support.

If you want the best display, the easy choice here is the XPS 13 Plus, especially with the OLED panel option

Moving above the display, the Gram comes with an FHD IR webcam, while the XPS 13 Plus offers up a 720p HD IR camera. We'd wager both of these are good enough for a casual Zoom meeting, but the Gram certainly has the edge in terms of resolution that will look less pixelated than the XPS. If webcam quality is especially important to you, you may want to opt for the Gram or buy an external webcam for the XPS.

As you'd expect, if you want the best display, the easy choice here is the XPS 13 Plus, especially with the OLED panel option. You can get a higher resolution, a touchscreen, and a gorgeous OLED panel. You won't get a high refresh rate, but you won't get that with the Gram, either.

Performance between the Gram and XPS 13 Plus is going to be similar thanks to significant hardware overlap, but there are some key differences to keep in mind.

In terms of CPU, both come with Intel's 13th-generation Core i7-1360P, although you can opt for a more affordable Core i5-1340P on the Gram. Both come with integrated Intel graphics and support up to 32GB of RAM, though the choice with the Gram is between 8GB and 32GB and between 16GB and 32GB on the XPS. Fully kitted out, we wouldn't expect a big performance differential.

Neither of these machines is capable of doing much gaming, and while you won't have any trouble surfing the web and getting work done, don't expect these machines to render 8K video well. These are productivity laptops, not pro-grade machines or gaming monsters. That said, both the Gram and the XPS 13 Plus are capable, modern laptops that'll offer up more than enough power for most people, especially so with the 12-core i7 chip courtesy of Intel clocked up to 5GHz.

Performance-wise, the differential here is largely going to be a draw unless you opt for a less powerful Gram to save some money.

These laptops differ once again with their batteries. The Gram comes with a 72Wh battery, while the XPS comes with a 55Wh battery, which is a fairly substantial difference.

In our review of the XPS 13 Plus, we averaged up to five hours of battery life on a charge with the 55Wh battery. Our test model came with an older 12th-generation i7-1280P Intel CPU, so battery life with the 2023 variant may vary slightly, but we wouldn't expect earth-shattering gains. On the other hand, the Gram is rated by LG for up to 10 hours of battery life on average, and while official numbers can certainly be deceptive, we'd expect better battery life out of the Gram anyway.

If you want the best battery life, the answer here is definitely the LG Gram. Although, make sure to keep in mind that the 10-hour average number with the Gram can and will go lower depending on what you're doing on your laptop.

Of course, which laptop you go with is going to come down primarily to your preferences. However, when it comes to the Gram 14 and the XPS 13 Plus, there is one machine more likely to better serve most people. With more portability, significantly better battery life, and just as much hardware power, the Gram 14 is our overall recommendation.

With the Gram 14, you're getting a performant, modern Intel CPU, up to 32GB of RAM, and up to 1TB of storage on top of a solid IPS display. Weighing in at just 2.2 pounds and with a meaty 72Wh battery, this is an all-around excellent productivity laptop. It might not be as flashy as the Dell XPS 13 Plus, but it's a sleek, capable machine that will serve just about anyone well.

The latest LG Gram 14 is a lightweight, ultra-portable laptop that clocks in at just 2.2 pounds. With a massive 72Wh battery, not only is this machine portable but it's got excellent battery life, making this laptop the ultimate choice to bring with you anywhere.

If being less portable and needing to charge more often don't matter as much to you, treating yourself to a gorgeous, hi-res OLED display on your XPS is a major win. When it comes to productivity, high resolutions and OLED panels aren't as relevant as they are for a gaming machine, for example, but they certainly work to make the XPS an ultimately more versatile laptop. Plus, the design on the XPS definitely has more of a wow factor to it than does the Gram.

This lightweight Dell laptop comes packed with capable hardware, an optional OLED display, a 55Wh battery, and a sleek design. At just 2.77 pounds, this laptop is a great machine to bring with you out in the world, and it's sure to wow your friends with its futuristic design.