The best pico and compact projectors

The Freestyle 2nd Gen’s cylindrical shape and stand allow it to be easily carried to and fro, with the adjustable stand able to be angled from 90 to 180 degrees, along with an image size that can stretch from 30- to 100-inches. That helps to make the Freestyle a versatile, easy to set-up and accommodating projector.

Our reviewer found the chassis felt rather robust, so it could survive a few knocks, and controls are kept simple and accessible with touch sensitive buttons for power, casting and volume, as well as a switch for activating the microphone.

Connectivity here is also kept nice and simple with a Micro HDMI 1.4 port that supports HDR signals and ARC for a soundbar, while the USB-C port is only for connecting the Freestyle’s power adaptor or external battery.

For wireless connections there’s Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth 5.2 and Apple AirPlay 2 that offer a range of ways to connect mobile devices to the Freestyle. Wi-Fi support also allows Samsung’s Tizen smart interface with access to apps such as Netflix and Disney+, plus there is Bixby and Amazon Alexa for voice assistants. Samsung’s Gaming Hub is supported, making it possible to play Xbox Game Pass on this projector.

During testing, we found the picture to be generally very good with a clean and detailed performance and punchy HDR colours with its 550 lumens of brightness it has at its disposal. The SDR/HDR image is accurate and motion handling is excellent. It does suffer from the usual issues that plague DLP projectors with weaker contrast and black levels that are more grey.

We measured input lag for gaming at 40ms, slightly better than the older model but a portable projector such as the BenQ X300G is faster. We also measured noise level at 25dB at a distance of 2ft, making for a quiet enough experience when in operation.

The built-in speakers sound good for such a small projector, the size of the sound is extended beyond the casing for a bigger sound than was initially expected.

Reviewer: Steve Withers
Full Review: Samsung Freestyle 2nd Gen

Housed in a practical yet stylish design, the XGIMI Horizon Ultra is packed full of impressive features including Dolby Vision HDR.

Thanks to dual light technology that combines laser and LED, the Horizon Ultra delivers high-brightness images with a more natural colour palette, with Dolby Vision HDR support allowing brightness and contrast to be adjusted scene-by-scene for the best performance. 

It’s not just picture quality that’s impressive though as the Horizon Ultra includes dual 12W speakers, tuned by Harmon/Kardon which provide excellent audio that easily fills a room. Although we found the speakers to be loud, warm and rich, they lack depth with low frequencies.

The built-in Intelligent Screen Adaption 3 (ISA3) technology offers auto-focus and keystone correction plus obstacle avoidance. ISA3 also adjusts screen brightness to suit ambient light, which works by opening the iris to boost brightness and closing it to up the contrast.

The Horizon Ultra also includes optical zoom which means it can automatically scale to fit a detected screen without the need for digital correction. There’s even a useful motorised shutter at the front which slides up when the projector is turned off to protect its lens, plus a useful tripod mount underneath.

Running on Android TV , you can download the likes of Apple TV+, Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video directly from the Google Play Store. At its rear you’ll find two HDMI inputs, a 3.5mm line out and two USB ports. There’s also an ethernet port for plugging directly into the router.

An alternative includes the Anker Nebula Cosmos 4K SE, which also has Dolby Vision, Google TV and is less expensive but the Horizon Ultra has a brighter and more accomplished picture quality

Reviewer: David Ludlow
Full Review: XGIMI Horizon Ultra

Unsurprisingly portable projectors don’t tend to boast the performance of full-sized projectors but the JMGO N1S Ultimate 4K is one of the few that offers a higher level of performance if you’re willing to spend the cash.

It has the same design as the JGMO N1 with its built in gimbal that makes it easy to point the projector at a surface, although this model doesnt support a tripod mount.

It comes with two HDMI 2.1 inputs, one of which is dedicated eARC to connect a Dolby Atmos soundbar, and the N1S Ultimate 4K swaps Android for Google TV, which means this projector has official support for Netflix.

Its brightness is rated at 3500 lumens, less than the N1 Ultra but still bright enough to use in a dark room, though we’d recommend a darker room to produce an even bigger image. Its triple laser backlight offers 30,000 hours of use, and HDR support includes HDR10, although we’re a little disappointed by the lack of Dolby Vision for the money.

We were impressed by the images the JMGO delivered, the levels of detail and sharpness are good even though this isn’t a native 4K projector. Black levels are greyer than what you’d find on a TV but we found them good enough for a projector. Bright objects really ‘pop’ with this projector, making for a cinematic performance, shadow detail (the amount of detail in the darkest parts of the image) is impressive. The dual 10W speakers that deliver a big, loud sound though in terms of bass we found them lacking. If you want a better sound, consider getting a soundbar.

Reviewer: David Ludlow
Full Review: JMGO N1S Ultimate 4K

BenQ’s X300G is a portable projector designed for gaming, its short-throw design would make sense for those in small rooms.

There’s an extensive range of gaming features with multiple low input modes, 1080p/120Hz support, and an FPS Crosshair feature to give you the advantage in games such as Call of Duty. BenQ’s SettingXchange allows you to import custom gaming modes and colour parameters created by experts and professional gamers.

Our reviewer measured input lag at a low 16ms, and at 1080p/240Hz the performance falls to 4ms which is as good as some of the best TVs.

If you decide to watch movies on the X300G, we found it offered a solid performance with reasonable levels of colour accuracy. The 2000 lumens of brightness isn’t really enough to ward against ambient light, so we’d recommend drawing the curtains when using the X300G. As with other single chip DLP projectors, black levels are more gray and contrast isn’t as good as what BenQ claims out of the box.

Colours only cover 84% of DCI-P3 range, which means you’re not viewing all the colours possible, but its HDR tone mapping works successfully to produce a colourful image and the motion handling is excelent.

The Bongiovi sound system (designed by Jon Bon Jovi’s cousin) is decent for casual viewing but doesn’t have the scale or power to really complement its big screen images. It’s worth considering a soundbar to go with this projector.

Reviewer: Steve Withers
Full Review: BenQ X300G

Compare the XGIMI Halo+ to the original Halo and the brightness has been upped to 900 lumens from 800, making it a brighter alternative to the Samsung Freestyle. While the boost in brightness is not massive, it does help when using it in darker rooms.

Image size can go as far as 200-inches, though we found half that size to be more than adequate. The XGIMI supports resolutions up to Full HD, and we found it produced bright images with vibrant and rich colours, especially when dealing with brighter content. Contrast is generally good, although blacks do veer to grey and it can be difficult to get a sense of detail in darker scenes – the addition of HDR10+ helps by revealing more detail.

Boasting dual 5W Harman Kardon speakers, we found the audio quality was decent with good volume and clarity. The lack of bass puts a spanner in offering a true cinematic experience but for casual viewers it’s a solid performance. Battery life we found to be around two hours when unplugged from the mains, which means average length films should be fine but the Halo+ will likely struggle with epic runtimes. The XGIMI’s LED lamp is claimed to last up to 30,000 hours, which is around ten years of use if the XGIMI were used for eight hours a day.

For a portable projector, there’s convenience in the form of an automatic procedure that optimises the picture when the Halo+ is moved, meaning you won’t have to worry about fiddling with the image each time. Android TV is supported with its convenient and intuitive layout, and although there’s access to Google Play Store library we found that Netflix wasn’t supported for this projector an apps such as NOW aren’t available. consider adding a Fire TV Stick or have a look at Freestyle, which has more supported apps.

In terms of its size the Halo+ can fit into a bag or suitcase, but is pushing at the threshold of portability considering it lacks a handle like the Anker Nebula Capsule Max. There is a room for positioning the projector, as it can be placed on a flat surface, used with its integrated kickstand to angle the projector up, or propped on a tripod mount.

Reviewer: David Ludlow
Full Review: XGIMI Halo+

By the standards of portable projectors, the Anker Nebula Capsule Max is tiny. At 15cm tall, with a diameter of 80mm, it’s smaller than a good proportion of Bluetooth speakers. Its weight of 737g means it’s lighter than most portable projectors, making it easy to carry around or stash in a bag.

Control are kept simple on the device itself with buttons for volume, cursor keys, select and back that are handy for quickly pausing or changing something but both the remote control and Nebula Connect app offer more extensive means of operation. Around the back of the unit is a port for power, 3.5mm audio output, a USB port for connecting external storage and an HDMI port. The Anker runs on Android 8.1 which allows access to a good set of apps, with the likes of Netflix and Prime Video, although at the time of review there was no Disney+.

The Capsule Max can automatically adjust its focus and keystone to make optimising the image much simpler and convenient for those who a desire a no-fuss experience. While we didn’t measure the fan noise, it was noticeable even when we weren’t watching anything. There’s a built-in battery for portable use, able to run for 90 minutes on full brightness or 4 hours when brightness is reduced.

Sticking with the theme of brightness, the quoted 200 lumens is okay for general viewing and we found we could only go the 100-inch screen size when it was dark to get the best from its picture performance. Contrast is fine, though like the Halo+, blacks erred towards grey. Colours proved to be reasonably accurate with decent vibrancy, and sharpness and resolution (720p) was a step up on the original Nebula Capsule for a more detailed image.

With an 8W speaker, the Anker provided good volume and surprisingly meaty bass. Provided the room you’re watching is quiet, it’s a decent performance, but the 3.5mm audio jack there’s the option of adding an external sound system for a better, louder experience.

Reviewer: David Ludlow
Full Review: Anker Nebula Capsule Max