Back in the dark ages, any monitor that claimed to be portable needed at least two cables, and more often than not, an additional power brick. Not anymore. Espresso Display’s espresso 15” Pro is a monitor that was designed in Australia and leverages USB-C’s *do-it-all* functionality to bring us a truly portable 4K display.
Unboxing the Portable Powerhouse: Design and Stand
Beyond the 15.6″ 4K display, the espresso 15” Pro package is comprised of a monitor stand; a 1m purple USB-C cable; a short *Welcome* instruction booklet and a small microfibre cleaning cloth.
The monitor measures slightly larger than its 15.6″ (diagonal) display size at 360 x 225mm. When viewed in landscape, the piano black bezels are a uniform 7mm along the top and both sides, while the bottom bezel is roughly 24mm. Beyond two USB-C ports on the right hand side (when viewed in landscape) there are no other discernible features on its 9mm thick sides. The back of the monitor features a large espresso logo as well as an invisible magnet for attaching the monitor to its included stand. The espresso 15″ Pro’s form factor is a bit of a cross between a unibody iMac and an Apple silicon one, albeit in piano black. All in all, the design works and we can’t praise espresso enough for *not* including any distracting logos on the front face. Bravo!
The included stand is of an interesting design and folds down to a very portable 120 x 150 x 16mm. Once unfolded, the stand has an odd look but refreshingly, it is an example of function over form. Not only does it take up minimal space in your backpack but it also provides a variety of options for placing your monitor.
When used in landscape mode, the stand looks reasonably conservative but when in portrait mode, the hefty base splits into two, affording the stand with the additional height needed for portrait operation. It’s a very clever design and folds away neatly.
Not included in the box, but available as a free download is espresso’s espressoFlow software, which we will come to a little later.
USB-C Plug-and-Play Excellence and 4K Performance
After unfolding the stand and magnetically placing the espresso 15″ Pro onto it, we plugged in our MacBook Pro via the included USB-C cable and after a few seconds, we had an external monitor. USB-C really is a godsend.
We predominantly tested the 15” Pro on our 2023 MacBook Pro and found the experience to be excellent. With its 4K resolution and wide colour gamut, the picture quality was stunning and unlike many other monitor’s, the espresso 15″ was in no way outclassed by the MacBook Pro’s own superb retina display.
Text was clear and sharp while video played back smoothly. Simply viewing the espresso 15” Pro was a pleasure and from a pure picture standpoint, we had zero complaints. Having a second screen of such high quality was great and being able to use it almost anywhere just elevated the experience. The stand worked well in both landscape and portrait modes with macOS automatically detecting and rotating the screen accordingly. The stand kept the monitor stable and secure and after spending some time with it, I can honestly say that the espresso 15″ was easily the best portable monitor I have ever used – both in terms of picture quality and overall design.
While the espresso 15″ Pro was an excellent second monitor both in portability andf picture quality, the espresso 15″ pro had another trick up its sleeve. By downloading espresso’s espressoFlow software, the 15” Pro was able to be used as a touch screen.. on the Mac! The touch interface was quite responsive, with the espresso recognising taps, drags and two finger taps reliably.
Having used non-touchscreen Macs since forever, we are not sure how useful this feature is, but it worked well enough and I’m sure we could get used to it.
The espresso 15″ Pro has built in speakers which can best be described as perfunctory and are no match for even the MacBook Pro speakers. The sound they produce is clear but very tinny and lacks bass in any real form. I’m sure they are fine for meetings or online training seminars, but music is not something you’re going to want to play through the espresso 15″ if you can help it.
Also worth noting is that pass-through charging works via that magical USB-C port: For example, If you plug a Macbook Pro into the espresso and in turn plug the espresso into a power brick via its other USB-C port, the power will be transferred to the MacBook Pro, charging it as if it were plugged in directly!
Using a touch interface with a mac was a completely new experience and the espresso 15″ worked really well, detecting finger taps and drags and two finger taps for Touch to be viewed in both portrait and landscape orientations. The monitor and stand latch via magnets adding to the cleverly neat design.
While there was a lot to like about the espresso 15″, we have to zonk it for the omission of a carry case. Being that this monitor is marketed as a portable, it really should’ve had (at the very least) a rudimentary carry case/sleeve in the package. And yes, espresso do offer a few options on their online store at an additional cost, but it would’ve been nice to see some protection included, particularly in the Pro package.
Selected Specs
Viewable Area: 15.6″ diagonal
Dimensions: 360 x 225 x 9.0mm (not including stand)
Resolution: 3840 x 2160 (4K)
Colours: 1.07 billion
Ports: 2x USB-C
Weight: 800g
Brightness 550 nits
Viewing Angle: 170 degrees
Stand dimensions: 120 x 150 x 16mm
Stand Weight: 565g
For a full list of technical specifications, please visit espresso Display’s espresso Pro product page.
Verdict: Is the Espresso 15″ Pro Worth the Premium Price?
The elephant in the room is that in 2025 there are a number of portable monitors on the market and they are for the most part, cheaper than the espresso. Of course, you do get what you pay for and most cheaper screens are a quarter of the resolution, don’t come with a very handy stand and generally just don’t look as good – both aesthetically and display wise.
Espresso does offer other less expensive 1080p (non Pro) variants but if you want something that is top flight, the 15” Pro is definitely the way to go. Just be sure to include one of espresso’s cases as while you’re going to want to take this monitor with you, it’s far too nice to just throw in your bag.
Along with a variety of other portable monitors, the espresso Pro 15″ monitor is available directly from espresso display online for $1099AUD.
