The Lite 15 measures 14.34 x 8.58 x 0.37 inches and weighs 1.55 pounds (compared to 14.09 x 10.07 x 0.2 inches and 1.68 pounds for the Display 15).
The Lite 15 features a 15.6-inch IPS panel, 1920 x 1080 resolution, and a 60 Hz refresh rate. Espresso says that the Lite 15 has a 1,000:1 contrast ratio and maximum brightness of 400 nits (which we’ll get to in a moment). Those specs put it smack dab in the middle of the mainstream portable monitor market. In fact, you’ll find a bevy of monitors in the sub-$100 segment that feature similar specs.
Like Espresso’s other monitors, the Lite 15 features a glossy finish rather than an antireflective coating. While this slightly improves contrast and makes colors “pop,” it also makes the surface highly reflective. As long as you have a primarily white background (i.e., when viewing most webpages and typing in my word processor), reflections weren’t a problem. However, when using Pixelmator Pro in dark mode, reflections were quite prevalent, although my brain eventually managed to “reject” them.
Our instrumented tests showed that the Lite 15 performed similarly, if not slightly better than, the Display 15 and the Arzopa Z3FC. The Lite 15 achieved 85.4 percent coverage of DCI-P3 and 120.5 percent coverage of sRGB in our colorimeter tests. Our light meter showed just 237 nits with the default picture profile, ranking it last among its peers. However, the light output was more than sufficient during my testing. If you need more light output, the “Create” picture profile boosted it to 291.4 nits with no trade-offs in color performance.
Placing the Display 15 and the Lite 15 side-by-side under the same lighting conditions at maximum brightness, I couldn't detect much, if any, difference in color or off-axis light falloff. While the Z3FC puts up similar numbers, I preferred the glossy finish of the Lite 15, especially when watching YouTube content and movies.
Although the Lite 15 doesn’t feature a traditional OSD, you can control picture settings using the EspressoFlow app.
At a time when the vast sea of portable monitors seems to blur together in terms of size, specs, and price, the Lite 15 stands out from the crowd. When purchasing a portable monitor, you don’t get much choice on exterior color options – you get what the manufacturers think will appeal to the most people, and you accept it. However, Espresso offers users multiple bright colors to choose from that match their style.
The question is whether folks will pony up the cash just to have some flashy colors. The Arzopa Z3FC is $10 less, offering a slightly larger 16.1-inch display with QHD resolution and a 180 Hz refresh rate. I’m all for adding some more color to portable monitors, but the additional resolution and faster refresh rate for less money are much more appealing overall.
Brandon Hill is a senior editor at Tom's Hardware. He has written about PC and Mac tech since the late 1990s with bylines at AnandTech, DailyTech, and Hot Hardware. When he is not consuming copious amounts of tech news, he can be found enjoying the NC mountains or the beach with his wife and two sons. ","collapsible":{"enabled":true,"maxHeight":250,"readMoreText":"Read more","readLessText":"Read less"}}), "https://slice.vanilla.futurecdn.net/13-4-20/js/authorBio.js"); } else { console.error('%c FTE ','background: #9306F9; color: #ffffff','no lazy slice hydration function available'); } Brandon Hill Social Links Navigation Brandon Hill is a senior editor at Tom's Hardware. He has written about PC and Mac tech since the late 1990s with bylines at AnandTech, DailyTech, and Hot Hardware. When he is not consuming copious amounts of tech news, he can be found enjoying the NC mountains or the beach with his wife and two sons.
GeorgeLY Hm, price seems to be very high for what is offered: I got InnoView 14inch OLED 3840×2400 monitor for $199, and it works incredibly well. So I got OLED with better contrast, more than 4x the resolution for $50 less. Though it is 1inch smaller. Reply
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Reference reading
- https://www.tomshardware.com/monitors/portable-monitors/SPONSORED_LINK_URL
- https://www.tomshardware.com/monitors/portable-monitors/espresso-lite-15-review#main
- https://www.tomshardware.com
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