First look: Espresso 17 Pro portable smart display

Bigger, brighter and smarter: that’s the recipe behind the new Espresso 17 Pro portable touchscreen monitor, revealed today ahead of a mid-November release.

This third generation of Espresso’s innovative go-anywhere displays – the original was launched four years ago, in October 2019 – is geared more than ever to ‘professional creatives’ such as animators, artists, illustrators, content creators and producers.

At 17.3 inches on the diagonal, the 17 Pro’s display is seriously upsized from its 13.3” and 15.6” siblings, making it an ideal solution for high-end multi-screen productivity on the move.

The $1499 Espresso 17 Pro enjoys the same seamless Windows and Mac integration as the other Espresso displays.

Setup is pure plug-and-play simplicity via a single USB-C connection which carries both power and video to replicate your extended workspace anywhere: in an airport lounge or your hotel room, in a co-working space or a client’s office.

The Espresso 17 Pro goes beyond a 'second screen' to become a portable powerhouse for creatives.

Thankfully the Espresso 17 Pro isn’t wildly larger than the 15.6” model, thanks in part to a reduced ‘chin’ in the aerospace-grade aluminium chassis, so you get about 25% more screen real estate in a form factor which still slips into your carry-on bag.

(Interestingly, it even feels lighter than the 15.6” variant, despite adding another 235g in weight to nudge the scales at 1.1kg – we put that down to the weight distribution across the 17 Pro’s expanded footprint.)

The Espresso 17 Pro display runs at 4K UHD (up from 1080p on the smaller screens) and clocks a vivid 450nits of brightness, delivering the vivid visuals which creatives expect.

As a benchmark, Apple’s latest MacBook Pro 14 runs to 500nits of brightness in standard HD mode, so the Espresso 17 Pro isn’t far behind – and when coupled to the new $199 Espresso Charge power bank, the 17 Pro isn’t shackled by the reduced brightness levels forced upon external displays by a laptop’s limited 10-15W USB-C output.

The beefy Espresso Charge power bank is designed to fit snugly under the display stand.

That’s a side-trick of this chunky 60W 27Ah battery booster, which magnetically attaches to the also-optional $129 Espresso Stand Pro and has enough juice to power your ‘portable workstation’ setup of the Espresso+laptop for a solid day and then some.

Also fresh to the Espresso mix is that the beyond raising the 17 Pro to various angles and heights, including portrait and landscape modes, the Stand Pro accessory also contains a clever little kickstand that elevates the 17 Pro to an 18º angle that’s ideal for sketching and note-taking, especially during videocalls on your main computer display.

The Stand Pro lets your Espresso display rest at a stylus-friendly 18º incline.

On top of all this, new software transforms what’s been predominately a display-oriented second screen into a highly-capable input device which calls forth native Mac and Windows features with smooth tap and swipe gestures.

There’s also an innovative Jot ‘digital sketch pad’ app for quickly taking notes and making drawings and inserting sketches into presentations, documents and the like across hundreds of desktop and Web-based programs.

Jot and the new Espresso Flow touch software will be available as free download for the Espresso  13, 15 and 17 devices from November.

Ahead of deliveries from the middle of November, the Espresso 17 Pro is available in two pre-sale bundles.

The Essentials Bundle includes the Stand Pro for the same $1499 retail price as the 17 Pro.

The beefy $1,925 Studio Bundle is a complete setup of the 17 Pro, Stand Pro, Charge battery, Pen stylus, folio-style protective Case and a Creator screen protector for paper-like inking.