Espresso Shows makes a few of our favourite transportable displays, however up till now, it felt like there was a gap in its portfolio. That is as a result of other than its flagship mannequin — the $800 Espresso 17 Professional — the opposite family members are barely extra reasonably priced fare just like the $469 Espresso Contact 13 and $499 Contact 15. At present, the corporate is plugging that hole with the Espresso 15 Professional, which packs every little thing I like about its larger sibling in a extra transportable package deal for $699 (with a stand included).
Engadget
Whereas it’s kind of dear, the Espresso 15 Professional has just about every little thing you can need in a travel-friendly 15-inch show.
- Nice brightness
- Slick design
- Single-cord connectivity
- Can add contact help to Macs
- A number of equipment
- It is dear
- Stand+ is form of heavy
- Refresh charge is restricted to 60Hz
Design and show
One of many issues I admire about Espresso is that it would not attempt to do an excessive amount of. The 15 Professional options an extremely minimalist design comprised of easy sheets of matte black aluminum together with shiny glass in entrance (in case you want matte shows, you’ll be able to at all times add one of many firm’s textured display protectors). Granted, the monitor does have a little bit of a chin, however other than two USB-C ports stashed within the nook, that is actually the 15 Professional’s solely defining exterior function, so I am not that bothered. All informed, the show weighs 1 pound and 11 ounces, which sounds loads heavier than it feels.
As for its specs, the Espresso 15 Professional’s 4K LCD panel delivers almost every little thing you need after which some. Brightness tops out at 550 nits (it was truly 556 nits in accordance with my mild meter), which is increased than the 450 nits on the 17-inch mannequin. It additionally covers 100% of the Adobe RGB spectrum with 10-bit colour (8-bit + 2-bit body charge management). The one factor I want Espresso included was a 120Hz refresh charge as a substitute of being capped at 60Hz. That mentioned, until you are gaming or modifying movies, that limitation might not be an enormous issue.
Setup and particular options
Getting the 15 Professional up and operating could not be simpler. Every USB-C port has sufficient bandwidth to hold energy and knowledge over a single cable, so that you simply have to plug within the included twine, and off you go. The one exception is for laptops that may’t ship out a lot energy by way of USB-C, however I examined the monitor with 4 totally different laptops (each Mac and PC) and none of them had points. The show even mechanically downloaded the EspressoFlow software program, which provides contact help to your Apple notebooks. You additionally get the brand new Glide function that mechanically positions the monitor in the best place relying on how you could have it organized subsequent to your laptop computer. And by some black magic, the 15 Professional nailed it when it appropriately laid out the monitor to the left of my pocket book’s built-in display.
As somebody who has just lately been compelled to make use of a Mac for work, the flexibility to shortly and simply add contact help to Apple’s laptop computer is tremendous good. And whereas I am removed from a digital Degas, you’ll be able to even use the show for drawing and sketching because the monitor additionally works with the corporate’s elective stylus. This makes the 15 Professional a really perfect journey companion for each individuals who need extra display actual property or a conveyable manner of making artwork on the go.
Equipment
Along with display protectors and pens, there are additionally a few vital stand equipment for the 15 Professional. The primary is the $49 Espresso Case, which is extra of a magnetic folding cowl that protects the display whereas in transit that may additionally flip round again to develop into a kickstand if you’re working. Just like the show itself, it is a pretty easy affair that does precisely what you count on it to.
Nevertheless, for individuals who need one thing extra substantial, the 15 Professional additionally works with Espresso’s $69 Stand+. It is extra like what you’d see on a standard desktop monitor, besides that it might probably fold up for improved portability whereas additionally packing a very sturdy magnet that lets you mount the monitor in quite a lot of positions. This factor is likely to be too dear for some, however I’ve shortly grown to understand how simple it makes placing the 15 Professional within the good place. It is extra well-built than lots of the desktop monitor stands I’ve. The plain disadvantage is that at 1 pound and 4 ounces, the Stand+ weighs nearly as a lot because the show itself, which is quite hefty.
Wrap-up
The Espresso 15 Professional has almost every little thing I search for in a premium transportable monitor. It options nicely above common brightness, a modern however sturdy design and tremendous easy setup. It additionally comes with a number of particular options like Glide and added contact help for Macs that aid you get extra out of the gadgets you already personal. And due to a wealth of equipment, it might probably adapt to nearly any use case.
Whereas I would like a better refresh charge, not having it’s removed from a deal-breaker. That might nearly definitely improve its worth, and contemplating that the 15 Professional is already considerably pricey, beginning at $699 for the monitor and the Stand+, I am undecided the added expense could be value it. Regardless, if you would like a very transportable monitor that is additionally greater than adequate to make use of at dwelling, there aren’t many different shows that may match the Espresso 15 Professional.
