{"id":245993,"date":"2025-10-23T11:59:12","date_gmt":"2025-10-23T11:59:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/245993\/"},"modified":"2025-10-23T11:59:12","modified_gmt":"2025-10-23T11:59:12","slug":"the-espresso-pro-portable-monitor-is-a-revolution-for-remote-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/245993\/","title":{"rendered":"The Espresso Pro portable monitor is a revolution for remote work"},"content":{"rendered":"

Most gadgets are iterative in the value they bring to our lives. The 15.6-inch Espresso Pro portable monitor<\/a> is different, having utterly transformed the way I work remotely over the last month of testing.<\/p>\n

See, I spend a lot of time working from my van, which makes me miss my dual-monitor setup at home \u2014 it\u2019s hard to adapt to a single 14-inch laptop display after regularly working on a pair of 27-inch monitors. Espresso lets me approximate that setup in tight spaces with a display that\u2019s thinner and much lighter than the Mac or Windows laptop it enhances<\/a>. And it connects over a single USB-C cable.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m writing this from my van\u2019s \u201coffice,\u201d where Espresso\u2019s 4K (3840 x 2160) LCD touchscreen with 1.07 billion colors (100 percent Adobe RGB) hovers above my MacBook Pro perched on a small table \u2014 photos processing on one display as I type these words on another. At night, I can swap the MacBook for my iPhone 15 Pro (or Android phone) to create a relatively big, shareable screen for watching films in bed.<\/p>\n

At $699 \/ \u20ac799<\/a> it ain\u2019t cheap, but after my laptop and Starlink Mini internet connection<\/a>, the Espresso Pro is the gadget I find myself relying upon most to work remotely.<\/p>\n

But then again, I don\u2019t own an iPad.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

$699<\/p>\n

The GoodBright 4K display with decent colorThin and lightweightWorks with Mac, PC, Android, and iPhonePassthrough charging when neededThe BadCosts as much as an iPadNo portrait mode when connected to phonesTouchscreen not very useful with macOS Tahoe<\/p>\n

The Espresso Pro 15<\/a> is surprisingly lightweight for its size. It measures 360 x 225 x 9mm and weighs 800g. (It\u2019s also available in a larger 17-inch model for $799<\/a>.) The aluminum-wrapped display feels somewhat hollow, flexing as you squeeze it between the fingers, as if it could still shed a few millimeters. Nevertheless, it has survived weeks of abuse that include tipping over onto the screen, being dropped onto a carpeted floor, and hours of jostling in its case from driving on gravel roads.<\/p>\n

As a companion device, it draws 13 watts at its maximum brightness of 550 nits, or around 9 watts when dimmed to 300 nits. That\u2019s nothing compared to a traditional monitor, but enough to cut my laptop\u2019s battery life roughly in half. Fortunately, the Espresso Pro has two USB-C ports that support pass-through charging, so running a second USB-C cable from Apple\u2019s wall charger to the monitor also charges my MacBook\u2019s battery.<\/p>\n

The Espresso Pro comes with a solid little Stand+ mount that\u2019s tall enough to lift the monitor above an open laptop, yet folds up super small. The versatile little stand nearly justifies the price premium you pay for Espresso monitors. It attaches to the Espresso Pro magnetically and fairly securely. It\u2019s fine for most desks, but with two people and a dog moving about the inside of my van, I needed a solution that can\u2019t be knocked off a table by accident. So, I had to get creative.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Using the Espresso display in portrait mode in the \u201coffice.\u201d It\u2019s mounted on the Kuxiu iPad stand I hacked together.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

It\u2019ll work in landscape with my iPhone, but I have to supply power to the display\u2019s second USB-C port (using a power bank, in this example).<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The included Stand+ mount is tall enough to lift the portable monitor above my 14-inch MacBook Pro.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Here you can see the Stand+. Reflections are similar to Apple\u2019s own display.<\/p>\n

I bought this magnetic table mount for iPads from Kuxiu<\/a>. But since its magnets were misaligned for the Espresso Pro, I ended up gluing Espresso\u2019s $49 VESA adapter<\/a> to the iPad mounting plate. It\u2019s a little inelegant, but it lets me securely mount and view the display from a variety of angles inside and outside my van. It\u2019s also stable enough to leave attached to the table when driving.<\/p>\n

I also installed the EspressoFlow app on my Mac to make the setup a little easier. It helps with window snapping and arrangement on Mac and Windows, but isn\u2019t required.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t find Espresso Pro\u2019s touchscreen capabilities particularly useful with macOS. In fact, the touchscreen proved more annoying than helpful when handling the display. Then again, I didn\u2019t test it with Espresso\u2019s Pen accessory<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Using the Espresso Pro with my iPhone was great for watching Netflix, Plex, and YouTube videos on a bigger display, but it has some limitations.<\/p>\n

First, my iPhone 15 Pro isn\u2019t powerful enough to drive the Espresso Pro Display without a second USB-C cable attached for power. Espresso also doesn\u2019t support rotating the display vertically with my phone, so it\u2019s not great for viewing social videos on TikTok or Instagram. I also wish the two downward-firing speakers in the Espresso Pro were louder to make shared viewing more enjoyable, and I found apps like DAZN \u2014 which is generally buggy, anyway \u2014 refuse to stream NFL games when connected. The on-screen controls for brightness, contrast, and volume are finicky, requiring multiple frustrating swipes to activate.<\/p>\n

Overall, I\u2019m super impressed by the 15.6-inch Espresso Pro\u2019s ability to augment my laptop\u2019s puny display. Having a second screen that I can set up literally anywhere is a game-changer for my type of remote work.<\/p>\n

1\/12The Espresso display is so portable it can be taken anywhere you take your laptop.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the rub: Why should anyone buy the 15.6-inch Espresso Pro when, for $100 more, you could own a new $799 13-inch iPad Air \u2013 a price that drops to about $639 if you\u2019re willing to live with an Apple refurbished model? You give up a little screen but get a far more capable device that can be used as a second monitor with Apple Sidecar, or Duet Display or Luna Display for Windows PCs and older Macs.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, it\u2019s nice to have a purpose-built device that does one thing well, without any distractions. I can read e-books on my iPhone, for example, but it\u2019s a much nicer experience on a Kindle. Espresso sells a 15.6-inch display for just $299<\/a> if you can live with a dimmer 1080p monitor. Regardless, $699 is a lot to ask when similarly specced 4K displays can be had for $250 or less<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Using the Espresso monitor inside my tiny rolling office for the last three weeks has been transformative, improving not only my own workflow but also my wife\u2019s. Each morning, we present our case for who needs to use it most, leaving one of us sad and one clear winner: the Espresso Pro 15<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Photography by Thomas Ricker \/ The Verge<\/p>\n

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