The small yet mighty Xgimi Mogo 4 changed my thoughts on portable projectors

Introduction

Blink and you’ll have missed it, but the tech world has suddenly gone gaga for portable projectors. You can’t move for the things at trade shows now, yet most seem to have ignored the ‘portable’ bit – instead relying on mains power to get their shine on. Not Xgimi, though: the new Mogo 4 finally fixes the biggest barrier to portable projector perfection by adding a built-in battery, letting you turn anything into an impromptu movie theatre – no plug sockets required.

The successor to the Mogo 3 Pro has also been given a styling upgrade, more convenient connectivity, slicker controls, and a fun set of filters that let it double as an ambient light show. There’s even a more potent version with brighter laser projection if you can’t wait until darkness falls to press play. That’s quite the feature set for something barely bigger than a pint glass. Its closest rival, the Anker Nebula Capsule 3, is much bigger yet isn’t nearly as bright.

Arriving at $499/£509 (or $799/£679 for the laser version) the Mogo 4 sees a small price hike over the previous generation. Is that justified by being able to fully cut the cord? After a few weeks of testing, I’m convinced it most certainly is.

Design & build: a cup above the rest

The Mogo series continues to shrink with each new iteration. This latest one is about as big as a venti coffee cup (to use the Starbucks barista lingo), with Xgimi having moved the integrated speakers into the main unit, rather than bolting them on the base like the outgoing Mogo 3 Pro.

It’s a little shorter as a result, which is impressive given the firm has also found room inside for a battery pack. The built-in stand is slimmer, too – plus it rotates the full 360 degrees now. There’s still a tripod thread underneath if you need extra elevation, or plan on picking up Xgimi’s optional PowerBase stand.

All in, this projector is roughly a third of the size of the Yaber T2 I’d been using previously. It’s significantly lighter, and the bundled power brick is fairly compact too. It just about squeezes into a backpack’s bottle holder, so you really can lug it just about anywhere.

The mix of metal effect silver and grey plastics look pretty luxurious from a distance, while the orange trim accents provide a neat contrast. The stand being see-through – and the base glowing with colour-changing LEDs – adds more of a sci-fi vibe.

You get a full-size HDMI port at the side now, which makes hooking up a games console, laptop or other gadget far easier than the Mogo 3 (which used the lesser-spotted micro HDMI, and didn’t come with an adapter in the box). A USB-A port is on board for playback from external storage, if you’re still refusing to enter the streaming age.

Features & battery life: light the way

Pop the projector up from its base and it powers on automatically, whether you’ve got the power cable connected or not. The built-in battery is rated for around two and half hours of video playback in Eco mode, and six hours of music playback. I regularly nudged over two hours, and it was only three hour epic movies that made me reach for the power cable before the credits rolled.

Press the power button while the projector is stashed and it’ll boot into Bluetooth mode, letting you stream songs from another device while the LEDs flash to the beat. You can turn ’em off if you’re allergic to fun.

With its newfound freedom from mains power, I used the Mogo 4 outside almost as much as I did indoors. It helped that Xgimi sent an Outdoor Screen to test it with; the  $99/£89 lightweight set includes a wrinkle-free screen large enough for a 70in image, and a rust-resistant aluminium alloy frame to clip it into. Ground stakes keep it pegged in place, and I could put the whole thing together in a matter of minutes. Placed on the ground a few feet from the patio table where I’d perched the Mogo 4, it turned my garden into an al fresco cinema – though it was best enjoyed after the sun had set.

The Mogo 4 ‘s other party trick is a set of creative filters, which magnetically clip onto the front of the lens and turns the projector into an ambient art installation. A sunset filter is included in the box, but I wasn’t thrilled by it; pop it on and an orange glowing orb gets projected while soft relaxing music plays in the background.

It’s the optional Ripple and Dreamscape filters that are worth the price of admission. The funky effects and colour-changing patterns remind me of Philips Hue ambient light setups, except here you can pop it anywhere you like. Waving your hand in front of the lens switches between the different filters, so you don’t have to scrabble for a remote. Remove the filter and the projector instantly returns to the Google TV homescreen, which is a nice touch. I do wonder what prolonged use will mean for the LED-lit DLP optical system’s lifespan, which is rated at around 25,000 hours.

Interface: just Google it

Power on the Mogo 4 and it performs an automatic keystone adjustment as it boots into the Google TV homescreen. There’s Wi-Fi 5 on board to get connected during the initial setup – not the quickest, but more than enough to stream at the projector’s native 1080p.

Google TV is so much slicker than the old Android TV interface Xgimi used on its older models, with native app support for all the major streaming service players. TV catchup will vary depending on where you are in the world; as a UK resident I got ITVX and Channel 5, but BBC iPlayer and Channel 4 were both MIA.

Navigation can be by either of the two bundled remote controls; the main one is closer to a TV remote, with LED backlit keys for the more critical functions and a handful of shortcuts to Netflix, Prime Video and YouTube. You can even customise a fourth shortcut to jump straight to any app downloaded from the Google Play Store. There’s even a built-in microphone and Google Assistant button for voice commands. About the only thing I can ding it for is using AAA batteries instead of being USB rechargeable – but that’s a minor quibble.

The mini remote usually hangs out on the projector itself, but can be detached from its lanyard to handle the basics. Sure, you could just use your phone as a remote – but this cutesy alternative is far simpler, and means you can leave the main remote at home when you take the Mogo 4 on the move.

Performance: shining star

Given its size and 450 lumen brightness rating, I was readying myself to draw the curtains and switch off all the lights to get a viewable picture from the Mogo 4. I needn’t have worried; as long as you don’t have overhead lights shining directly on your projection surface, this small shiner delivers an impressively clear image.

That of course varies based on how big a picture you’re trying to project; the light source can only do so much, and loses some impact the closer to get to the 120in Xgimi reckons the Mogo 4 is good for. With a 50in picture I could watch streaming shows with the blinds open; doubling the size made me close them for a less washed-out presentation. Even in the darkest conditions there’s a greyness to the deepest shadows, but not enough to distract from the content. This is a portable projector, after all, so comparing it to a home cinema-grade shiner costing several times as much would miss the point.

The 1080p image looked wonderfully crisp no matter how big or small I went, and the Mogo 4 coped well with faster motion. There wasn’t much at all in the way of judder, so streamed football matches are as fair game as Netflix dramas. I’m also particularly susceptible to the rainbow effect created by DLP projection, but barely noticed it at all here.

Colours in general were wonderfully vibrant and varied, with some of the best range I’ve seen from any portable projector. There’s real subtlety to skin tones, though, so it clearly knows when to reign things in for a more realistic presentation. I wouldn’t swap the OLED TV in my lounge for one – but can’t really fault the picture given its compact dimensions and sensible price.

The Mogo 4’s built-in speakers, don’t punch quite so far above their weight, but neither do they let the side down. The two 6W drivers can get surprisingly loud when you want them to, without any distracting distortion for the most part. The mid-range is particularly clear, which helps vocals cut through the rest of the mix. Bass is unsurprisingly modest, but there’s more low-end than I was expecting; movie explosions aren’t going to rattle your garden furniture, but they won’t sound entirely hollow either. If you plan on piping sound through a Bluetooth speaker, it’ll need to be a decent one to show a significant improvement over what you get here.

Just don’t expect your content to sound like it’s coming from the screen; even with a 360-degree driver arrangement, audio unmistakably feels like it’s coming from the projector itself. I also wish Xgimi would add Auracast, to make the movie night equivalent of a silent disco that bit easier to set up.

Xgimi Mogo 4 verdict

Xgimi already had the compact crown with the last-gen Mogo 3 Pro; its successor is now properly portable, thanks to that built-in battery and mini remote. You really can take the Mogo 4 just about anywhere, with the fully rotating stand and simple auto-keystone able to cope with pretty much any placement.

While it doesn’t shine so brightly you’ll be wanting to ditch your TV for one – or turn your driveway into a drive-in movie theatre during daylight hours – it doesn’t demand you sit in the dark to watch. The Google TV interface is undeniably slick, and the creative filters are a fun addition that add ambience even when you’re not breaking out the popcorn.

There might be cheaper rivals, but none are as feature-complete as the Mogo 4. For on-the-go entertainment, it’s simply fantastic.

Xgimi Mogo 4 technical specifications