76 PCWorld DECEMBER 2020REVIEWS LG ULTRA PC 17
KEYBOARD AND TRACKPAD
LG still doesn’t make the greatest laptop
keyboards. There’s not a lot of travel on the
Ultra PC 17’s keys, and they mush down a bit
when you press them against the base of the
laptop. Thankfully, LG has also made some
layout improvements over its Gram 17 from- The typing area is wider overall, and
certain keys have been stretched out so they
feel less cramped, including Backspace, left
Ctrl, and the arrow keys. The result is a
typing experience that’s decent, but
decidedly less luxurious than that of other
high-end laptops.
The trackpad sizing is generous as well,
and it’s covered in smooth glass that never
makes your fingers skip across the surface,
even after prolonged use. It uses Microsoft’s
Precision Touchpad drivers, which provide
great palm rejection and support gestures
such as pinch-to-zoom and three-finger
swipes for app switching. Like a lot of other
Windows laptops, the trackpad on this one
still feels pretty stiff, though.AUDIO, SECURITY, AND
WEBCAM
If there’s one area where LG clearly skimped,
it’s on the security front. Unlike practically
every $1,000-and-up laptop we’ve reviewed
lately, the Ultra PC 17 has neither a
fingerprint reader nor an iris scanner, so
you’ll have to log in with a PIN.
LG has also ignored the hot new trend of
privacy shutters for
laptop webcams.
(Like the blinking
light on the
laptop’s side, it’s
another problem
that might have to
be solved with
electrical tape.)
There’s no
hardware mute
key for the
microphone,
either.
Audio is a bit
of a letdown as
LG made good use of the Ultra PC 17’s extra-large surface with this keyboard. well, with just two