After researching all the 4K and 2K resolution portable monitors available on the market, and trying and returning the two cheapest options (the LG Gram +view 16MR70 and ViewSonic VX1655–4K), I’ve finally bitten the bullet on the Espresso 17 Pro for my MacMini.
At $800 USD, it costs 2–3 times that of most portable monitors, yet it’s the still the cheapest and best option if you want something like the MacBook Pro Retina screen outside of a MacBook Pro.
Color accuracy (good enough)
Out of the box, the colors on the Espresso 17 Pro look much more saturated compared to my MacBook Pro and iPad Air, despite all three devices being marketed as using the Display-P3 (DCI-P3) color gamut.
In MacOS settings, I noticed the Espresso 17 Pro’s default color profile was the same as the “sRGB” color profile. When I changed the color profile to “Display P3”, the Espresso 17 Pro became consistent with my MacBook Pro and iPad Air. It’s the same exact thing that I experienced with the LG Gram +view 16MR70 out of the box.
Nonetheless, this monitor can benefit from color calibration. I used the Calibrite Display Pro HL (settings: White LED, 120 nits, 461 colors) and there’s a noticeable difference between the calibrated profile vs the uncalibrated profile. The difference is nowhere near as drastic though as with the ViewSonic VX1655–4K (the worst monitor for color accuracy that I’ve seen out of the box).
After color calibration, I was surprised to learn that the Espresso 17 Pro is not exactly 100% Display-P3 as claimed on their website. But to be fair, neither is my MacBook Pro. 🤷♂️
Also as part of calibration, you’ll learn that the default contrast on the Espresso 17 Pro does need to be lowered a bit, down to where the purple bar fills half of the circle icon. And yeah sorry I can’t give a better description than this. The reason is because someone at Espresso thought it would be a brilliant idea to NOT show the % brightness and % contrast in the settings menu…
Settings Controls (bad)
To change the brightness or contrast, you need need to swipe up with two fingers from the bottom-middle of the display. This is frustrating because it leaves smudges on the screen, and also the gesture itself can sometimes be mis-interpreted by the monitor as trying to scroll on a page. To avoid these kinds of issues, I would have much preferred a physical button for settings like with every other portable monitor (if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!).
But what’s even worse is when you get the settings menu to appear, it doesn’t show any numerical value for the % brightness and % contrast. It just shows a purple bar and you have to estimate the percent by eyeballing it. 🧐
This is an incredibly bad UI/UX decision for a product targeted at creative professionals. Creative professionals tend to calibrate their monitors, and for monitor calibration the exact brightness level matters. For example, for photo editing you’ll most likely calibrate the monitor at 120 nits of brightness (some photographers even go as low as 80 nits). But for watching a movie or browsing the web, you’d want to use a higher level of brightness like 340 or 450 nits.
If you can’t see the exact value of the brightness level, it makes it difficult to come back to the brightness you used during calibration. For example, on the LG Gram +view 16MR70, if I want 120 nits for photo editing I know that I need to set the brightness to 29%. This precision is not possible on the Espresso 17 Pro. 🤦😒
I’ve reached out to the Espresso team about this and unfortunately it’s not something that can be updated. So the Espresso 17 Pro is stuck with this badly designed settings menu until the next model comes out.
Brightness (good)
When powering the Espresso 17 Pro using only your MacBook Pro, MacMini, or any other computer, the brightness is limited to 340 nits. I’ve found this more than bright enough for my home office. It’s also on-par with the LG Gram +view 16MR70 which has a max brightness of 350 nits.
When you connect the Espresso 17 Pro to an external power source (minimum 18W), the brightness can go up to 450 nits which is almost as high as the brightest portable monitors available in 2024 (500 nits). Also for context, the 2018 MacBook Pro has a max brightness of 500 nits and the 2023 MacBook Pro has a max brightness of 600 nits.
Touch Screen (meh)
The refresh rate of the Espresso 17 Pro is just 60 Hz, whereas people I’ve talked to who use touch screens for serious digital art work emphasize the need for a 120 Hz refresh rate in order for the pen to feel the most realistic and not laggy. “Once you go 120 Hz, it’s hard to go back”.
I don’t need the touch screen for my work so I’m not the best person to give a review on this part. I‘ve used the touch functionality once to write my signature with my finger, and another time to highlight something in a picture. The most useful thing about the touch screen for me is that it makes the monitor more tough and durable when traveling, and easier to clean. But I’d also be completely fine without it and would have even preferred a less expensive non-touch version if they made it available.
I’ve reached out to the Espresso team about a non-touch version of the Espresso 17 Pro, and here’s what they said:
We hear you on the touch screen, and it’s a constant healthy debate at the office. In the end, it’s a big aspect of what makes our display unique.
Ironically, the touch functionality is what makes the Espresso NOT unique. Every single 4K display with Display-P3 support comes with a touch screen, and this is extremely frustrating as a photographer and video editor who needs 4K and Display-P3 but has no need for touch functionality. This is a significant gap in the market right now and it would be amazing if a manufacturer could fill it.
Screen Glare (bad)
The Espresso 17 Pro has the most glossy screen I’ve ever seen. When it’s turned off, it looks almost like a mirror (see photos below). It’s not as bad when the screen is turned on, but you’ll need to be much more conscious of the lighting around you than if you had a matte anti-glare display.
Espresso does sell a matte anti-glare screen protector, but it comes textured to make the Espresso pen feel like writing on paper. I have two concerns with this: 1) the texture might make the screen harder to clean? and 2) the texture might reduce image sharpness on the display? (you can see this issue on the Huion Kamvas Pro 19, which has textured glass built-in).
If you own the Espresso screen protector, please share your experience in the comments. 🙏 The glare of the 17 Pro hasn’t been problematic enough for me in my home office to justify buying the screen protector yet. But maybe once I start to travel with the 17 Pro and work in different environments, I’ll see a greater need for a matte layer.
Mounts (good)
Instead of a 1/4"-20 thread, the Espresso 17 Pro has a very strong and large magnet in the middle of its back. It can be used to connect the monitor to the magnetic Espresso Stand Pro (included) or the magnetic Espresso VESA Mount (sold separately).
While the magnetic connection can wiggle a bit side-to-side if pushed (as is normal with all magnetic connections), there is no way the monitor is going to fall off on its own. And the magnet is so strong that you’ll need to be careful with it when packing the monitor for travel.
The Stand Pro is the best designed stand I’ve seen for any portable monitor. It’s height and angle is adjustable, it can hold the monitor horizontally or vertically (i.e. coder-friendly), and it’s portable and travel-friendly. It also has a special mode for digital artists who need the monitor laying on the table with a slight incline.
My only complaint is that on the website, Espresso will not let you buy the 17 Pro without the Stand Pro. But for my home setup, the VESA Mount works better. If you reach out to the customer support team, they can make a custom order switching the Stand Pro for the VESA Mount, but this will take a few days for them to do. The choice between the two should have been an option on the website itself.
And as awesome as the stand and mount are, people should also have a choice to buy the monitor without any of them. For example, people who bought the older Espresso 13 or 15 and already have a compatible magnetic stand are still forced to buy another stand with the 17 Pro. My best guess for why Espresso does this is because accessories like the stand contribute the most to profit margins; electronic hardware alone is not that profitable.
Speakers (why?)
The Espresso 17 Pro comes with two speakers for some reason, but it doesn’t work if you’re powering the monitor via a MacBook Pro, Mac Mini, or any other computer. It only works if the Espresso 17 Pro is connected to an external power source (with a minimum of 18W).
I can’t imagine when I’d ever use these speakers and so did not bother to test them.
Support (good)
It’s been refreshing to deal with the Espresso team after getting ignored by all the other major brands when trying to get clarification about tech specs.
The Espresso support team does occasionally reply with annoying marketing speak, like when I confronted them about why the stand is forcefully bundled with the monitor and how I already have monitor clamps and stands that could fit the Espresso 17 Pro:
“we can’t seperate the existing stand from our bundle, as it’s a core part of the espresso experience.”
But at least they promptly reply which is more than can be said about any other monitor brand. I couldn’t even get a response from LG when pointing out that their 16MR70 monitor is missing as an option on the warranty registration form.
Accessories ($$$)
The Espresso 17 Pro just comes with the Stand Pro, a 3ft purple USB-C cable, and a microfiber cleaning cloth.
The costs of the Espresso 17 Pro quickly start going up if you want it to match the functionality of other portable monitors, because unlike it’s competitors…
…the Espresso 17 Pro does NOT come with a case. The case is sold separately for $50 USD. I ended up buying a generic 15.6" laptop sleeve on Amazon for a fraction of the price and it provides far better protection for the monitor than the official case. And yes, some 15.6" inch laptop sleeves are a perfect fit for this 17.3" monitor. Just make sure the internal dimensions are at least 16" x 10".
…the Espresso 17 Pro does NOT have a matte or textured screen. A matte and textured screen protector is sold separately for $60 USD.
… the Espresso 17 Pro does NOT come with a stylus pen — despite the Espresso team calling the touch functionality a “core” and “unique” feature (when it’s actually neither). The pen is sold separately for $90 USD.
In contrast, two pens are included in the Xencelabs Pen Display 16 Essentials package as well as with the Huion Kamvas Pro 19.
So the accessories for the Espresso 17 Pro seem to be where the company makes much of its profits, and for people who need these accessories it can make the Espresso 17 Pro more expensive than the competitors.
One cool and unique accessory that the Espresso 17 Pro has is the battery ($200 USD) that fits under the Stand Pro. It makes the Stand Pro higher, allows you to use the max brightness (450 nits) and speakers, and it helps keep your laptop running longer if it’s on charge.
Competitors
Here are the closest competitors to the Espresso 17 Pro (17.3" IPS, touch screen, $800 USD):
- ViewSonic VX1655–4K (15.6" OLED, no touch, $500 USD)
- ASUS ProArt PA169CDV (15.6" IPS, touch screen, $900 USD)
- Wacom Cintiq Pro 17 (17.3" IPS, touch screen, $2500 USD)
- Huion Kamvas Pro 19 (18.4" IPS, touch screen, $1100 USD)
- Xencelabs Pen Display 16 (15.6" OLED, touch screen, $1000 USD)
I didn’t get the ViewSonic VX1655–4K-OLED because it has a smaller screen, lacks burn-in protection, and excludes burn-in from warranty. 🚩🚩
I didn’t get the ASUS ProArt PA169CDV because it has a smaller screen and only 91% coverage of Display P3. They seem to be so embarrassed by this percentage that it’s not even included in the tech specs. You have to reach out to customer support to find it out.
I didn’t get the Wacom Cintiq Pro 17 because it is insanely expensive, bulky, and overkill for my needs. Also it’s getting out-competed by Huion and Xencelabs lately.
I didn’t get the Huion Kamvas Pro 19 because it is pricier and bulkier than the Espresso, and it sacrifices image sharpness in favor of textured glass for pen users.
I didn’t get the Xencelabs Pen Display 16 because it has a smaller screen and is pricier than the Espresso. But I might buy it as a secondary monitor thanks to its OLED display (with burn-in protection included!) and ability to toggle between Display P3 (98%), Adobe RGB (98%), and sRGB (99%).
Promo Codes (nice)
When I bought my Espresso 17 Pro, two promo codes were available for 10% off. They were basically affiliate codes from two YouTubers:
Conclusion (good)
I’ve been using my Espresso 17 Pro for a couple of months now and I’m very happy with it. While I wish it were cheaper, didn’t have the unnecessary touch screen, and had a better settings menu, it is nonetheless the best option on the market right now for a portable Apple Retina-like experience — especially if you plan to use it with a MacOS device!
- It has one of the biggest screen sizes possible for a portable monitor.
- It supports the Display-P3 color space (same as Apple devices) and is capable of 1 billion colors (other competitors are at 16.77 million).
- It has more Pixels Per Inch (PPI) than even the latest MacBook Pro.
- It has touch controls tailored to MacOS and recognizes MacOS gestures (all other 4K touch displays focus on Windows support first).
- It has a tool (espressoFlow) to scale MacOS apps that struggle at 4K.
- It is made by an Australian startup that is responsive to customers and a pleasure to interact with. 💜
I hope this guide was helpful! 🙏 I’m new to writing on Medium so please share your feedback in the comments, don’t be shy to ask any questions, and let me know your experience with any portable monitors you’ve tried.
