Hands-on with portable projectors: XGIMI and LG show their new mini projectors

"One 'projector to go', please", is the current slogan at the IFA in Berlin. At least that's what you might think. I can't remember ever seeing so many portable projectors and projectors on display at Europe's largest technology trade fair. Apparently they seem to be gaining in popularity; manufacturers are responding to this.

In short: portable projectors do everything their big brothers do, but a little less well. But they are much smaller, handier, sometimes even battery-powered and can therefore be taken anywhere - even outdoors. So say the manufacturers. XGIMI and LG have presented two such projectors for the first time in Europe. I went to have a look at them.

XGIMI MoGo 3 Pro - As big as a Starbucks Venti coffee cup

Small does not mean small sounds. On the contrary. With the MoGo 3 Pro, XGIMI wants to "change the mobile outdoor cinema experience". But hello!

By the way, last year I called XGIMI (pronounced "X-chimi") the TCL of the projector industry, because both companies come from China, research, develop and produce all hardware in their own factories - and have quite successfully rolled up the market from behind. [/dootTotTranslate

But what makes the MoGo 3 Pro so special? Firstly its design. When closed, it looks like a Starbucks cup. In fact, it is even similar in size to a Venti coffee cup, i.e. around 20 centimetres high and nine centimetres in diameter. However, it is heavier: the little one weighs 1.1 kilograms. That almost seems a bit cheap to me. But XGIMI prefers to call it light and compact.

Brightness: It achieves up to 450 ISO lumens. That's pretty decent for a portable projector. Samsung's the second-generation Freestyle, also portable, shines with 550 ISO lumens - but costs around 100 euros more.

The MoGo 3 Pro has a resolution of up to FullHD - which Samsung's Freestyle also has -, even supports HDR10 and, depending on the distance, can display a projection surface of 40 to 200 inches in sharp focus. The material shown there, such as a colourful trailer for the upcoming Dreamworks animated film "The Wild Robot", looked fantastic.

A quick note on the sound: The base of the projector is fitted with two 5-watt speakers from Harman/Kardon, which support Dolby Digital Plus. That's okay. The MoGo 3 Pro accepts micro HDMI (ARC), USB 2.0 and, of course, content that you stream via WiFi and Google TV from all popular streaming services - this year finally also with licensed Netflix. You can also play content directly from your smartphone via a built-in Chromecast.

And: The MoGo 3 Pro features Auto Keystone Correction, Intelligent Screen Alignment and Obstacle Avoidance. This makes it incredibly easy to set up and install anywhere.

Price point for the projector: 499 euros (RRP). Unfortunately, it is not yet clear when and for how much the MoGo 3 Pro will be available in our shop. However, similar to last year with the new products, I expect sales to start at the end of September.

One more thing: the MoGo 3 Pro doesn't have a built-in battery. I think that's a shame, especially considering the price; nothing works without a cable and socket. At least there is a USB-C port. So you can power the projector on the go via a power bank. Or you can get the separate stand for 129 euros. It's so expensive because it has an integrated power bank that supplies the MoGo 3 Pro with power for up to 2.5 hours.

LG's CineBeam Q can even do 4K

According to LG, the CineBeam Q will celebrate its "European premiere" at the IFA tech fair in Berlin. However, we've had it in our shop for a long time. Either way, this is the first time I've finally been able to get my hands on the one-and-a-half-kilo CineBeam Q myself. Or as LG calls it: their smallest 4K projector. The cost, as of today, is a whopping 927 francs.

Shaped like a mini desktop PC with a handle. Dimensions: 13.5 × 13.5 × 8 centimetres. In terms of design, this doesn't look quite as attractive as XGIMI's MoGo 3 Pro. But the handle can be rotated 360 degrees in a circle. This means that the handle either serves as a stand or is not in the way if you want to tilt the projector and project it onto the ceiling.

The CineBeam Q also has a lot going for it. Or in the box. Namely an RGB laser system that emits up to 500 ISO lumens and can display a sharp image of 50 to 120 inches. That's significantly less than XGIMI, but in 4K. However, it is somewhat surprising that LG has not achieved HDR certification with the CineBeam Q. It not only shines brighter than its Chinese competitors, but also covers 154% of the DCI-P3 colour space commonly used for HDR content, according to a local representative. So in terms of hardware, there is more than enough power in the box.

The CineBeam Q has real-time auto keystone correction. In other words, if you move it and the projected image on the wall is distorted, the image corrects itself in less than a second. So almost in real time. It then looks something like this:

Cool, isn't it?

What's less cool is the lack of a built-in battery. However, like XGIMI's MoGo 3 Pro, the projector can also be powered via a power bank away from sockets thanks to the USB-C connection. The demo material shown looked - unsurprisingly - fantastic and razor-sharp. Thanks to HDMI or LG's in-house operating system webOS, you can also stream content from Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, YouTube and Apple TV.

While the LG representative patiently lets me take photos at the end of the hands-on, I'm already thinking about a three-way test report in which I compare LG's CineBeam Q, XGIMI's MoGo 3 Pro and Samsung's second-generation Freestyle. What do you think, would you want to read something like that?