The 3 Best Portable Projectors - Spring 2024 Reviews

The best portable projector we've tested is the XGIMI Halo+. It's a very small unit and weighs only 3.7 pounds, so you can easily throw it into a backpack. Plus, it has an integrated battery promising up to 2.5 hours of uninterrupted playback, long enough to watch most movies. It has many image correction features: full auto keystone, autofocus, intelligent screen alignment, and obstacle avoidance, so it's truly a projector that you can easily take on the go as it corrects its image automatically as you move it. It has the Android TV smart interface, Chromecast and AirScreen support, and Wi-Fi 5 and Bluetooth 5.0 capabilities. This makes it very easy to use on the go, as you can connect a Bluetooth speaker to the projector to seamlessly stream music or movies through your phone's wireless hotspot.

Like most portable models, it's slightly dim but significantly brighter than other battery-powered ultra-portables, and it projects a pleasant 1080p image as long as all the lights are off. Fortunately, it does have great contrast, emphasizing its dark room, or dark night, capabilities. It also has a wide color gamut and HDR support but isn't bright enough to truly take advantage of them. It has one HDMI port, which also doubles as an eARC port, and a USB port through which you can play video files directly to the projector.

If you don't need an integrated battery, you can save money by going for the Epson EpiqVision Mini EF12, one of the best mini projectors we've tested. Its cubic shape is small and compact, weighing only 4.7 pounds. While it doesn't have an integrated battery, meaning you still need to plug it into an outlet, it has full auto keystone correction and autofocus, making it easy to set up or move around. It also has built-in Android TV with full Chromecast integration, so you don't need to worry about getting an external streaming dongle. Like the top two picks, this model projects a sharp 1080p image.

The projector supports HDR10/HLG, but it's too dim to take advantage of. It's a tad brighter than the XGIMI Halo+, but the XGIMI's brightness is more uniform, and this model has better contrast than the Epson. Where the Mini EF12 truly shines, however, is in its color accuracy; it's impressively accurate out-of-the-box and can be improved even more by simply adjusting its color temperature. This makes it a much more viable option for those who care about accurate colors than the top pick, so colors look as they should when you're using this projector in your friend's basement. You can connect a computer to the unit through its mini USB port, and the projector comes with full Wi-Fi and Bluetooth support, so you can quickly connect it to a wireless network when moving it around.

If you're looking for a cheap projector that still offers acceptable image quality, check out the XGIMI MoGo 2, the best small projector that won't cost you an arm and a leg. It's a very small projector that weighs only 2.4 pounds, so you can easily throw it into a backpack. While it doesn't have an internal battery, it supports external charging via power banks through its USB-C port. It has many image correction features: full auto keystone, autofocus, intelligent screen alignment, and obstacle avoidance. It has the Android TV 11 smart interface, Chromecast and AirScreen support, and Wi-Fi 5 and Bluetooth 5.0 capabilities to round up the package.

Unfortunately, the projector is very dim. You need to turn off all the lights to get a pleasant image, and even then, it's not exactly the most vibrant viewing experience possible. Its contrast is mediocre but good enough to provide a passable dark room viewing experience. It also has a wide color gamut and HDR support but isn't bright enough to take advantage of them. Unlike the other picks, this unit only projects a 720p image, so it doesn't look as sharp. Ultimately, you get this projector because of its price, not its image quality. If cheap and portable is what you're after, it's hard to beat the MoGo 2.