The espresso 17 Pro answers the demand for a high-end portable monitor for MacBooks. It sports a 17.3-inch display at a 4K resolution, but it comes in a sleek package ready for on-the-go use.
Beyond increasing the user’s workspace, the display includes a touchscreen for digital artists looking to add this capability to their Mac.
espresso 17 Pro targets the professional market
espresso Displays launched its first add-on touchscreens in 2020. These came in 13.3 inches and 15.5 inches. (Read the Cult of Mac review.) The Australian company is now bringing out a new version with even more screen space.
“espresso 17 Pro is meticulously crafted to support professionals and creatives who need to perform at their best, wherever their work takes them and whatever platforms they use,” says Will Scuderi, cofounder and CEO at espresso Displays.
Those first models were 1080p, but the new 17.3-inch one makes the jump to 4K (3840 by 2160 pixels). The display offers 1 billion colors and 450 nits of brightness. The contrast ratio is 1000:1.
The touchscreen can be used with fingertips, and espresso Displays also offers an optional pen ($89) plus a Jot application for note-taking and drawing that’s compatible with hundreds of desktop and web-based applications.
Ready for the office or the road
Despite the cutting-edge feature set, the display is designed for portability. It’s 15.6 inches by 9.6 inches by a slim 0.35 inches, and it weighs 2.4 pounds. That makes the chassis slightly wider than a 16-inch MacBook Pro, but not as tall. And it weighs about half as much. It more than doubles the notebook’s screen area, of course.
As one would expect from a high-end device, the exterior is aluminum, not plastic.
The display with touchscreen connects to the macOS or Windows PC via a single USB-C cable, and the accessory also supports HDMI for use with DVD players or game consoles.
“espresso 17 Pro has been developed based on thousands of hours of interviews, focus groups, and listening to the needs of professionals who perform in various sectors, including animators, artists, illustrators, content creators and producers, and business executives,” says the company.
Launches in November
Photo: espresso Displays
All this functionality doesn’t come cheaply. In the U.S., the espresso 17 Pro is $999. Preorders start today, and shipping is scheduled to begin in November.
Get it from: espresso
There’s also a range of optional accessories.
espresso Stand Pro ($99) is a portable and adjustable stand that secures magnetically to the rear of the display. Or there’s Case 17 ($69), a folio-style protector and kickstand that attaches via magnets.
And there’s espresso Charge ($199), a 27,000mAh battery pack that sits below Stand Pro and keeps the display going all day.
