The Best Pico and Portable Projectors in Canada

The AAXA KP-750-01 P7 Mini Projector combines strong image quality in a very small enclosure. There were plenty of things that users had to say about this projector, and the overwhelming majority of these things were positive.

Measuring at 4.7″ X 4.4″ X 2.7″ and weighting 1.48 lbs, the AAXA KP-750-01 P7 is quite the compact projector – with the performance of one much bigger than itself.  The KP-750-01 P7 has full high-definition image of 1920 x 1080 pixels. This resolution, in combination with a brilliant 600 Lumen brightness, produces impressively crisp picture quality, up to sizes of 120 inches across! Even with such a bright bulb, the KP-750-P7 is designed to project for up to 30,000 hours before replacing.

While great visuals can be marred by dull sound and the built-in 2W speaker is quiet but acceptable, there are multiple ways to connect to headphones, speakers, soundbars and more via Bluetooth and wired connections.  Whatever use you may need this projector for, you can definitely find one or more audio solution suitable for the use.

The KP-750-01 P7 features an onboard media player powered by Android, in addition to multiple source inputs, providing many ways of viewing tv, movies, and even video games on this projector, including ports for USB, TF, HDMI, mini-VGA and AV.

The 38W lithium-Ion battery provides enough battery life for 90 minutes of continual runtime, which is just shy of the average movie length. Fortunately, you can run this unit on DC power, so you can finish a movie or two without stopping to charge. If portability is a must, some users also mentioned utilizing a power bank for some additional view time.

Overall, users had a lot of positives to say with this projector. It has impressively strong picture quality and brightness for a projector so compact that it competes with Pico projectors. That being said, there’s a few things that we are not totally enamoured with: It runs hot, and the fan is noisy. The included tripod is not stable enough to be used with this projector, and while you can set up the unit on its side, its smaller footprint robs itself some stability. Overall, this is a strong unit. It is also expensive. At this price point, this projector is well priced for what it is, and outperforms way more expensive projectors. But projectors at a price way cheaper are going to not hold a candle to this projector.

If you are looking for an excellent viewing experience of sizes that you can only get with a projector, the Xgimi MoGo Pro is an excellent choice.

With dimensions of 4.15” x 3.72” x 5.74” (L x H x W) and 1.8 lbs, the Mogo Pro is a supremely versatile and portable projector unit. The XGIMI MoGo Pro features strong HD resolution of 1920 x 1080p and brightness with 300 Ansi Lumens, for projections that are crisp, clear, and packed with detail. The XGIMI MoGo can project screens up to 100 inches (measured diagonally), for cinematic viewing experiences. Since the Xgimi MoGo Pro is bright enough for viewing experiences: you can watch an 80” projection in dark environments as well as a 40” view during daylight with both having crisp visual clarity. This Xgimi MoGo includes features that improve viewing, like autofocus and manual keystone correction.

With two built-in 3W Harman Kardon speakers, the sound of this projector is strong in enclosed spaces, but they unfortunately do not have the power to really excel if you wanted to project a movie in your backyard, for example.

Like many of the high-end projectors, the Xgimi MoGo Pro features both an onboard media player as well as a multitude of inputs. This projector fits into Google’s ecosystem of the Internet of Things, featuring Chromecast and Google Assistant built in, complete with voice control. With built-in Android TV, you can download your favourite apps for viewing, including Amazon Prime Video, YouTube, and Disney+. Additionally, you can connect via hardware interfaces such as HDMI and USB 2.0 as well as wireless connections like Bluetooth 5 and Wi-Fi 802.11 ac/b/g/n. In addition to the 3.5mm aux port, these options allow you to combine this projector with all kinds of speaker options or play visual content from all sorts of devices.

The MoGo Pro features a built-in battery, which is estimated to have a lifespan of around 2-hours, as well as a DC power cord to run the projector as well.

Overall, users seem to really like this projector. Users were very happy that the images were incredibly strong and visible, the sound quality was listenable, and installation was easy. There were a few drawbacks users mentioned, however none of them were too worrying: The battery drains less than the average movie if played entirely off the battery, the Netflix app is difficult to install properly onto the built-in media player, and some users were turned off the media player entirely. We are not too sure why this is true of the latter, and since there are so many connection options, we did not put too much stock into these complaints.

Not every projector available is suited for movie sessions, but the Anker Nebula Capsule 2 is fantastic for backyard or bedsheet cinema. If you want a projector for movies, this one should be heavily considered.

The Anker Nebula Capsule is tube-shaped and stands on its end, with dimensions of 3.14” x 5.9” (base x height). This shape is unique among the projectors we researched, however since this projector can be mounted both on a tripod and on the ceiling, this makes more sense than standing this relatively unbalanced tube.

The Nebula Capsule 2 produces solid quality images, with a resolution of 1280 x 720 p and 200 ANSI Lumens. Being on the dimmer side as projectors go, this projector works better the darker it is. The range of size of image is quite large: you can view a 40” screen (as close as 3.74 ft away) or as big as a 100” screen (at distances of 9.42ft). Unfortunately, distance defines the size of the image – there’s no controls that lets you adjust the size of the projection. At least the auto-focus works well. Additionally, we think the sound is solid as projectors go, thanks to the built-in 8w speaker.

The Anker Nebula Capsule features Android TV 9.0, with over 3,600 apps available including Netflix, Amazon Prime, YouTube, Twitch and more! The Nebula Capsule 2 features Google Assistant, providing useful hands-free controls, as well as fitting into Google’s Internet of Things ecosystem. With physical connections including HDMI and USB and the ability to connect wirelessly over Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Chromecast, there are many ways that you can project images or play audio with this projector.

With an extended battery life, the Capsule II can project for two and a half hours in HD. You can also power or charge this projector with a power bank for extended viewing.

Overall, users enjoy the Anker Nebula Capsule for watching movies and TV shows in ways they could not typically with a television. The projections this unit generates are widely referred to by users as “crisp and clear”. Users also like that all the streaming apps and services they could potentially want are easily downloadable. Unfortunately, having no display size settings in this unit is a corner we wish that Anker did not cut. All-in-all, this projector offers a fantastic visual experience in a unit around the size of a can of pop.

The more niche and expensive a product tends to be, the less likely that a strong budget version of the product exists. While the Artlii Enjoy 3 still has a considerable price tag, at a much more inexpensive price than many projectors on this list, the Artlii Enjoy is a strong portable projector designed to watch media in a strong resolution.

With the dimensions of 9” x 7.5” x 3.7” and the Artlii is one of the biggest projectors on this list. While Artlii claims that this is “the smallest native 1080p projector on the market,” this a bold face lie – our top pick the AAXA P7 is considerably smaller yet features native 1080p. Considering that this product is definitely marketed as being more capable than it really is, we still think that there is a place for the Artlii Enjoy 3 on this list.

With native 1080p resolution and 200 ANSI lumens of brightness, the Artlii Enjoy 3 features strong image quality, albeit relatively dim compared to other dedicated projectors. Artlii states that the projection screen size ranges from 45 to 300 inches across, which seems exaggerated: while you can project onto a screen this size if you position and zoom, we recommend the maximum you project is screens up to 80 inches. Anymore and the image will likely fade and blur somewhat.  There are some other features that are worth mentioning regarding image quality: the Artlii Enjoy 3 has up to 15 degrees of manual Keystone correction in case your projection is not quite perpendicular and completely rectangular, as well as a zoom feature that can zoom up to 75% of the original image.

The Artlii Enjoy 3 has a wide range of supported formats and connections to play media on this projector.  With hardware ports including HDMI, USB, VGA, AV, SD card and a 3.5mm audio output jack, there is a wide range of options to physically connect media streamers or other devices to this projector.  Both 5G and 2.4G Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.0 are supported by this projector. These connections allow for a wide range of wireless streaming on devices with operating systems including IOS, Android and Windows 10.

We were a little conflicted with this projector making this list, as it includes no battery and is only powered by DC power. We decided that while batteries definitely aid in portability, batteries are not truly essential for a projector. However, this makes this projector less usable in certain spaces where a power outlet is not accessible.

Overall, users seemed to like this projector, especially at its price range. The image you get at this price range make the value of the Artlii Enjoy 3 worthwhile, however as one user said, “it is marketed as being more capable and adjustable than it actually is”.  The Keystone correction is limited and drastically impacts picture quality. Image adjustments cannot be made while watching the projector and can only be made in the menu before selecting the input. One user even said that in the user image profile, the controls did not seem to impact image quality, even when adjusted to extremes, calling it a “placebo menu”. However, for a decent looking, decent performing projector at a decent price,  this is a good pick.

Now, moving on from the more capable portable projectors, we are looking at some of the best Pico projectors available. These small, supremely portable projectors make some sacrifices across the board, with lesser resolution, brightness, battery life, and media input or player options. This means Pico projectors are less than ideal for big movie viewing experiences. However, for other projection uses – like boardroom presentations to cookie decoration – these projectors are much better suited than the bulkier “portable projector” we just finished covering.

The AAXA KP-101-01 is a very capable and portable Pico projector, making it great for on-the-go presentations or detailed art and craft uses.

This AAXA technologies LED Pico projector has truly compact size of 4.25” x 2.36” x 0.7”. Featuring a surprisingly strong 720p resolution, the AAXA Technologies Pico projector looks good in low light conditions, however, with only 25 Lumens of brightness, the AAXA is limited to these low light conditions. Even if the brightness is low, the light source is very long lasting with 15,000-hour LEDs.

The AAXA technologies projector is a much simpler projector than some of the other projectors we’ve covered, but that does not mean the company has cut corners. For example, this Pico projector does have an onboard media player – that supports a limited number of file formats, including AVI, MP4 and JPG. There is a decent range of input options, including mini-HDMI, a composite A/V connection, USB readers, Micro SD connectivity, and a 3.5mm auxiliary audio out port. You can connect your smart phone with the right adapter (sold separately) and instantly project images from your phone – making this great for showing pictures at family gatherings or important documents at work meetings.

The AAXA technologies projector does include built-in speakers, which are unfortunately on the “very quiet” side of things. You can connect to speakers via Bluetooth or aux, however for quiet viewing, the speakers should suffice since the fan is almost dead silent.

This projector comes built-in with a Lithium-ion battery with an estimated lifespan of 80 minutes.  This battery can be charged with microUSB cables, as well as powered for continual use.  One negative we feel as if we should mention is that there is no battery indicator – no warning you that you will need to charge the unit when the battery runs low. This inherently makes running this projector on batteries only less than ideal, especially since the estimated lifespan can be inconsistent.

This projector includes a small tripod, which helps users position projections easily.

Overall, user enjoyment of this unit depends on their intended use. For users who want to use projections for art, or to present slide shows, users were big fans of this unit. Some users really enjoyed projecting TV or movies onto walls in a dark room, however if you are looking for a large viewing experience, this will likely not suffice.

Pico projectors are limited in their visual qualities, and this Magnasonic Pico projector is no different. However, for an inexpensive, and extremely compact Pico projector for certain uses, the Magnasonic might provide more than enough.

Coming in at a size of 3.0” x 3.0” x 0.5”, the Magnasonic is super compact, small enough to fit into your pocket. However, with the compact size of the Magnasonic Pico projector, you can expect less in terms of projector power. With a resolution of the 640 x 360p, and a brightness of 25 lumens, this projector is at the bottom rung in terms of visual performance on this list.

Magnasonic states that this projector can create images up to 60”, but some users have mentioned that they have luck projecting images up to 100”. However, have our doubts how clear these sizes would work with such a low resolution and brightness. This tiny projector even has a speaker built-in, although in situations you need audio, we highly recommend using the 3.5 mm aux input to connect to a speaker or headphones.

The Magnasonic Pico projector here features a 2100 mAH rechargeable battery with a lifespan of approximately 2 hours. In terms of portability, this battery life is a strong feature. Additionally, you can project images while charging, making the threat of dead batteries less annoying.

The Magnasonic has a few different input options, although not as many as it’s competitors on this list. With both Micro HDMI and HDMI input, with an included HDMI cable and micro-HDMI adapter, as well as MHL cables and a Samsung Galaxy adapter, most of the input options are fully supported out of the box. Additionally, a short USB charging cable is included.

Another inclusion worth talking about is the tripod, which users claimed to like for how easily adjustable it made finding the best viewing experience with this projector.

Overall, users have seemed to be impressed with this inexpensive Pico projector. In dark enough settings, users have been happy watching cartoons or movies (if they do not mind some blurriness) as well as other needs like cookie decorating and woodwork. While it is cheap and portable, if viewing shows or movies is your main goal, likely you will need to find a projector better suited for these uses.