Over the past few years, small portable projectors have been vastly improving. Some of the latest, like the XGIMI MoGo Pro, offer FHD displays, decent sound, and support for apps.
Estimated reading time: 10 minutes
Our XGIMI MoGo Pro review looks at a 1080p FHD projector that runs on Android TV and has some of the best audio I’ve heard from a portable projector. Read on for our full review!
Table of contents
Specifications
The XGIMI MoGo Pro we reviewed has the following features and specifications:
| Display | DLP |
| Luminance | 300 ANSI Lumens |
| Display chip | 0.23″ DMD |
| Standard resolution | 1920 x 1080 (1080p) |
| Compatible resolution | 2K/4K |
| Projection ratio | 1.2:1 (76-inch @ 2m) |
| Keystone correction | ±40° vertical, ±40° horizontal |
| Off-axis | 100% |
| Projection method | Forward, backward, ceiling |
| CPU | AMILOGIC T950X2 |
| GPU | MALI-G31 |
| RAM | 2GB |
| Storage | 16GB |
| Operating system | Android 9.0 w/ Android TV |
| Mirroring display | Chromecast |
| Audio | 2x 3W Harman/Kardon speakers |
| Input ports | DC, HDMI, USB 2.0 |
| Output port | 3.5mm headphone |
| Wi-Fi | Dual-band 2.4/5GHz, 802.11a/b/g/n |
| Bluetooth | 4.2/5.0 |
| Noise | < 30DB |
| Power dissipation | 55W |
| Power | AC 100-240V 50/60Hz |
| Dimensions | 146 x 105.5 x 94.5mm (5.74 x 4.15 x 3.72″) |
| Weight | 0.9kg (1.98 lbs) |
What’s in the box
- XGIMI MoGo Pro Portable Projector
- Power Cable
- Power Adapter
- Remote Control
- User Manual
- Warranty Card
Design
Portable projectors come in all shapes and sizes, from cylindrical to flatter like their larger counterparts. The XGIMI MoGo Pro is a rectangular prism, taller than it is deep and wide. It is about 5 3/4-inches in height, 3 3/4-inches wide, and 4 1/4-inches deep. The vertical edges are rounded, and a silver grill hard mesh screen covers the front and the left/right sides. Centred in a black strip across the top of the front are the projection lens and auto-focus camera.
The back of the projector has a power button, 3.5mm audio port, HDMI port, USB-A port, and power port — all vertically oriented. To the left of these ports is the ventilation fan grilles. Across the top, printed in light grey, are the words “Sound by Harman/Kardon.” The top of the projector has the XGIMI logo printed across the center, an LED indicator light, and +/- markings to allow you to control the volume right from the projector itself. Finally, the bottom of the projector has a tripod mount as well as a rubber-like ring for stability and grip when set on a table or desk.
With the projector comes a remote. It is slim and compact and roughly 1 3/8″ wide, 6″ long, and about 3/4″ thick. On the front, towards the top, are buttons for power, menu, and Google Assistant. Below these are two more buttons for source and settings. A direction pad with an OK button sits just above the center of the remote. Previous and home menu buttons sit below this with an angled volume up/down button rounding out the functionality. The XGIMI logo is printed near the bottom of the remote.
The bottom of the remote has a toggle switch. When set to the left, the +/- buttons adjust the volume. When switched to the right, it triggers the auto-focus mode and the +/- buttons can be used to manually adjust the focus if need be. Finally, a grey cover can be removed on the back to access the double AAA battery compartment.
The MoGo Pro is a pretty compact projector and is easy to carry and move around as it comes in at just under two pounds in weight.
Display
The display output on the XGIMI MoGo Pro is a DLP chip with FHD (1080p) resolution and 300 ANSI Lumens of brightness. Like most other projectors of this size and price, you’ll need to either have the projector close to the wall or in a darkened room to be able to see the image. The projector also accepts 2K and 4K sources via HDMI, resulting in a slightly crisper 1080p image when downscaled.
Of course, the closer you are to a wall, the smaller and brighter the picture. XGIMI does state the projector is capable of 30- to over 100-inches of the projected image. In a darkened room, like my basement, the projector was adequate when projected on a 106″ screen, albeit a bit on the dark side. The colours were decent, however, as was the crispness of the image on the screen. There are several settings you can adjust to suit your environment to try and get a better picture. These include Bright, Standard, Soft, Office, and Game presets. You can also access the Custom setting and manually adjust brightness, contrast, saturation, sharpness, noise reduction, and colour temperature.
The MoGo Pro also has auto-focus and auto vertical keystone correction capabilities. Both work well, and I didn’t have to focus the projector at all during use manually. When the projector is moved while on, it detects it has been and refocuses the image once it is set back down in place. In addition, you can manually adjust vertical and horizontal keystones if your projector is set up at a bit of an angle.
Set Up/Ease of Use
Setting up the XGIMI MoGo Pro isn’t overly difficult. In fact, the projector walks you through most of it.
- Press and hold the power button on the projector for 2 seconds
- When prompted, hold the remote 10cm from the projector and press the back and home buttons until you see a successful pairing message to pair with projector
- Select your language
- Use Quick Setup to transfer your Wi-Fi and Google account settings from your Android device to the projector
- Open Google app on your phone, say “OK Google, set up my device”
- Tap Next on your phone; it should detect the MoGo Pro and display a code
- If the code matches the one on your screen from the projector, tap next
- Choose your Wi-Fi network on your smartphone
- Choose to copy your Google Account(s) to the projector
- Choose which Google Account if you have multiple
- Confirm your password on your smartphone
- Complete set up on the MoGo Pro
- Accept Google’s Terms of Service
- Allow (or disallow) Google from accessing your location
- Help (or choose no) to improve Android
- Set up Google Assistant voice control
- Enable/disable personal results
- Choose which additional apps to install like Netflix, Disney+, Spotify, Plex, etc.
- AndroidTV interface launches, install MoGo Pro system update (if applicable)
- You will get a warning saying that this device isn’t optimized for Netflix (more on that later)
Once you’ve done the above, you should be good to go! After that, the projector is pretty easy to use as I’ll discuss in the next section.
Software
Android TV
The XGIMI MoGo Pro ships with Android 9.0 and uses the Android TV interface. Recently, it was updated to the newer interface which looks a lot like the new Google TV interface. When powered up, the Home page displays new content from your installed streaming services. Across the top are options for Search, Home, Discover, and Apps. On the upper right are icons for Source, Battery, Settings, and the current Time.
The settings section lets you configure your network, account, apps, projector settings, device settings, and pair remotes and other accessories like an external Bluetooth speaker.
As for apps, you can install almost any app that’s available in the Google Play Store. Almost. While Disney+, Plex, Prime Video, Spotify, and most others work just fine, the native Netflix app does not work as the device is unsupported. There is a workaround, however, which I’ll discuss below.
At the time this review was posted, the device was updated to the May 2021 Android security patch as well, which was nice to see as these types of devices usually lag behind on that front.
Chromecast
The XGIMI MoGo Pro does have built-in Chromecast and it worked great for casting images, and other supported apps to the projector from my smartphone. However, when trying to cast Netflix, the projector throws an error, stating that the device is not compatible with the Netflix app.
XTV Manager (Netflix)
The projector does come with an XTV Manager app and its own version of Netflix. Once installed, you can access your Netflix account through the XTV Manager. Unfortunately, it’s not the native app and navigating requires a bit of patience as it appears to be a web version. This means that a cursor appears on screen and you have to use the direction pad to move it around and select what you want to watch. That being said, once the movie or show started to load, I didn’t have any issues with watching Netflix in this way. You can also install other apps like Aptoid TV as well, giving you access to even more Android apps.
Performance
On the performance side of things, the XGIMI MoGo Pro boots up relatively quickly, auto-focuses in a timely fashion, and offers generally decent performance. The interface is responsive, and the included remote works well. I really didn’t have any issues with the overall performance of this 1080p portable projector. Not only that, but the MoGo Pro worked well for gaming as well when connected to a Bluetooth controller.
Sound Quality
The XGIMI MoGo Pro has two 3W Harman/Kardon speakers on board. I wasn’t expecting much with them being only 3W each, but the projector does get pretty loud. In addition, there’s an acceptable amount of bass, and the audio is pretty balanced. When played at full volume, it doesn’t sound tinny like some other projectors, nor does it distort.
If you want even better sound, you can pair a Bluetooth speaker to the projector and output your music or video audio through that. There was no noticeable lag between the video and the sound coming out of a paired external speaker during testing.
Battery Life
While XGIMI doesn’t mention battery size, the company states that the MoGo Pro will last between 2 and 4 hours while watching a video or up to 8 hours of music listening as a speaker. During testing, we hit about 3 hours consistently using the default settings when watching streaming video. As for music, the speaker lasted just over 7 hours at about 50% volume.
Price/Value
With an MSRP of US$549.99, the XGIMI MoGo Pro may not seem as cheap as other options. However, in this category, you have to be careful as many projectors claim 1080p output but are actually only 720p. It is easy to use, has a nice compact shape, decent audio, and a comparable picture to other similar projectors. The Amazon price is slightly higher ($579.99), but (as of the posting of this review) you can save $65 when you purchase it from there, bringing it down to $514.99. Either way, it is more affordable and more portable than a standard full-size projector that typically sells twice the price.
Photo Gallery
Wrap-up
If you’re looking for a decent portable projector, the XGIMI MoGo Pro is a pretty decent option — especially considering the audio quality. As with other devices in this category, don’t expect to be using it outdoors or in brighter rooms.
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Last Updated on December 9, 2022.
