I’ve used a lot of portable monitors over the last 3-4 years, but none feel anywhere near as polished and complete as the Australian designed Espresso, and they’ve absolutely taken it to the next level with the new Espresso 17 Pro which builds on what the company set out to do many years ago with its slimline portable monitors that just work.
Just in case you haven’t heard of Espresso before, they were one of the first portable monitors to the market, and with its Espresso 13 claimed to be the thinnest portable monitor on the market, also bringing touch controls to the display for Mac users which was huge at the time. The portable monitor was extremely popular as it was easy to use with its kickstand that folded out and connection over USB-C.
The Espresso Display 17 builds on these same principles, but is more aimed at hardcore users whether it be hardcore gamers or those that not only want a larger display but also want a 4K resolution, and it really delivers. Obviously coming in a 17-inch formfactor, the 17 is larger at 9mm thin and weighing over 1.1kg, but it’s still portable enough to take with you for the day ahead. The monitor comes in a new black design and looks a lot more premium than the previous version.
As far as connectivity goes, it has two USB-C ports, one that will ideally be used to connect to your laptop or other device and provide both power and video, and a secondary one that will be used to charge your monitor if you require 100% brightness or use of the speakers. I found this to be a little bit at odds with itself for reasons that I’ll go into later, but for most people this will be a plug and play situation that just works, and works really well.
The biggest testament that I can give to the Espresso 17 (or any of their products) is that we had someone (not a techy person at all) house sitting for a few days, and I felt bad pulling them away from their home office setup, so I left them setup on the kitchen table with the Espresso 17, and didn’t leave them any instructions, but once I returned they were raving about how good it was and easy to use and had already sent photos of the setup to family and friends to recommend it, which is a testament to how good this is.
The monitor does 10-bit colour, has a 60hz refresh rate and can reach 450 nits of peak brightness It’s an absolute joy to use, with it being super vibrant and colours matching that of my MacBook Pro display, which is the highest compliment that I can give any display. For those that have always wanted touch controls on a Mac, you’re able to utilise that on the Espresso Display 17 and it feels more responsive than ever. You can use touch to scroll and perform familiar Mac gestures with ease.
Whilst the monitor is fantastic, the beauty of Espresso are in the products that go with it, starting with the new and improved stand that attaches magnetically to the back of the monitor and allows you to use it in portrait and landscape with the change going into effect automatically if you’re using the EspressoFlow software. It then folds down into a little square tablet when not in use and goes into your bag nice and easily. I did still have a little bit of an issue where the monitor would need to be placed directly on or slide off, but it was never too much trouble. Similarly, there’s also a flip cover that can also act as a stand if you prefer to travel a little more lightly.
The thing that had me excited most is the introduction of Espresso Charge which not only helps to give the Stand an extra boost, but acts as a power bank to charge either your monitor or laptop. It’s perfectly sized so that it magnetically snaps onto the stand, and it does work really well with a quick knock on the Charge showing you how much charge is left, but you can also cleverly use the Espresso software to see exactly how long is left on the battery as well as how much juice is left for the wattage that your device is using.
As much as I love the Charge and have been using it almost daily along with the 17 display, I did find there to be a few weird design choices. Firstly, it’s a 32,000mAh battery which is great for size, given the size, you’ll need go through a few small, easy hoops, such as get a 12 month approval from Qantas to fly with it. But more importantly, the advice is to connect it directly to your device (for example my MacBook Pro) and then connect the Espresso Display to my laptop as well using the other port, so that you can take advantage of the previously mentioned software, but the issue with this is that you then lose out on the ability to go above 80% brightness or use your speakers, at least to my testing, so it did feel a bit at odds with itself.
When it comes to gaming, if you’re using the Switch or a portable like the ASUS ROG Ally, you can just plug it straight in over USB-C and it’ll work but if you’re wanting to connect to a HDMI source like your PS5, Espresso also make a HDMI splitter which has a HDMI and USB-A cord on one end and a USB-C on the other which will
As mentioned, not only does the Espresso 17 have a touch-screen, but it also has a compatible pen that you can purchase which goes greatly with a new piece of software that the company has released called Espresso Jot. This basically quickly allows you to screenshot utilising the pen and a scroll wheel and start taking notes directly on whatever it is you want to mark up, whether it be a website or something in Photoshop.
It overlays perfectly with whatever you’re looking at on your screen and really adds to productivity. If you’re somebody that really thinks you’ll be using your display for a lot of drawing and notetaking, there’s a matte screen protector that you can get to make it feel like you’re writing on paper.
EDITOR’S NOTE: An earlier version of this review said that you wouldn’t be able to fly with the Espresso Charge, but most airlines will allow you to get a 12 month exception that is super easy to apply for.