LG announces CES lineup of new monitors and laptops

LG's CES 2016 Lineup

LG unleashes a pre-emptive strike on the competition by announcing its CES lineup weeks before the show.

When it comes to new product announcements, some companies prefer to keep the news under wraps until one of the big trade shows, especially CES, NAB and IBC. LG is bucking that trend by unveiling new Ultrawide and 4K monitors now, as well as a laptop which may give the Macbook Air a run for its money.

New Ultrawide

We've covered LG Ultrawide monitors before, but for those that may have missed our earlier articles on the subject, LG's Ultrawide series features a unique 21:9 aspect ratio and 3440 x 1440 resolution. The UC98 and UC88 models will display that odd resolution across a curved screen. For those don't like curved displays, LG also debuted the UM88, which has all the features and characteristics of the UC98 on a more traditional flat screen. The new Ultrawide entrants UC98 and UM88 will also feature include Thunderbolt 2 connectivity.

More 4K

LG revealed more 4K offerings, highlighted by the UD88 and UD68 series. The upscale UD88 adds USB-C connectivity which, according to the press release, will "allows users to both charge a laptop and simultaneously transfer data at USB 3.0 speeds with a single, dedicated power cord. The single cable gives users the ability to connect their laptops to an external monitor while also using the monitor as a power source, eliminating the need for more cables, and streamlining their workstations." The UD88 comes in both 27" and 32" varieties, but information about the UD68 series is scant at present.

Weighing the Gram

LG rounded out its announcements with news of a new laptop, the Gram. The LG Gram 15 (15.6" screen) sports a 6th generation Intel Core processor and will run Windows 10, but the big takeaway is its small weight. Coming in a 980 grams (2.16 lbs), the Gram actually weighs less that a 15" Macbook Air (around 3 lbs). Of course, many Mac users are completely locked into Apple products, but the Gram may be a laptop to consider if you're in the need for a very lightweight and presumably capable machine. We'll have to wait until CES to get our hands on the Gram, but when we do, we'll report back with our thoughts on it.

All-in-all, LG's CES display lineup represents incremental improvements over last year's models. But Gram may just be LG's big winner out of the bunch, assuming the laptop lives up to the advance info.