is a deputy editor and Verge co-founder with a passion for human-centric cities, e-bikes, and life as a digital nomad. He’s been a tech journalist for 20 years.
I seldom sleep in the same place for more than a couple of weeks at a time, so I’m a big fan of portable all-in-one projectors. They’re small and set up quickly, making them ideal for vanlife, gaming parties, outdoor movie nights, or an evening in on the couch — but they usually sacrifice quality for convenience. Anker’s new Nebula X1 projector promises to produce an incredibly bright and color-accurate 4K image with excellent sound while remaining portable and quiet.
Typically, if portability is at the top of your wish list, then sound and picture quality will suffer. Prioritize a cinematic experience and you’re looking at an expensive, hulking, noisy device that requires permanent placement inside a home theater. Over a month of testing across endless firmware updates and a variety of viewing conditions, the Nebula X1 did a superb job of striking the right balance with very few tradeoffs, delivering on Anker’s promise.
But with a price starting at $2,999, or $3,998 for a kit that includes the highly recommended satellite speakers, it’s not exactly cheap. And at close to 25 pounds (11.3kg) for the entire bundle — the Nebula X1 is more luggable than portable.
The Nebula X1 is a 3500 ANSI lumen triple-laser 4K projector with integrated four-speaker sound system. It runs Google TV so you get built-in Chromecast, Google Assistant, and an official Netflix app (unlike many all-in-one projectors) that streams media over Wi-Fi 6. It includes a pair of USB and HDMI 2.1 ports (one supporting eARC) to attach your favorite game console or media drive. A satisfying, recessed handle pops up with a push to make the 13.7 pound (6.2kg) projection unit portable.
There’s a long list of features that make the X1 unique for a portable projector:
An all-glass 14-element lens that won’t yellow over time, mounted onto a 25-degree motorized mechanical swivel that avoids inferior digital tricks while increasing placement options.
Liquid cooling that all but eliminates noise.
Optical zoom coupled with a 0.9:1 to 1.5:1 throw ratio gives you giant images, up to 300 inches diagonally, when placed closer to the screen than typical projectors.
Class-leading 200W of sound when adding Anker’s highly recommended 80W battery-powered, water-resistant, Wi-Fi-connected speakers.
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