Like many portable projectors, the JMGO Picoflix is clad in a cylindrical shape about the size of a travel bottle, making it easy to slip into the elastic side pockets of most backpacks. Unlike them, it’s not meant to be used upright, eliminating the hassle of tipping over, which frequently happens when using a portable projector in makeshift setups.
Instead of standing upright like many similar devices, this portable projector is meant to be laid down on its side, with a small foot on the side keeping it from rolling over. If you’ve ever had your movie ruined by a projector tipping over after somebody knocked the table accidentally during a jumpscare scene, this thing eliminates that hitch entirely.
The JMGO Picoflix actually splits the cylindrical body into two parts. The larger section holds the actual projector hardware, while the smaller one, which has the small foot to stabilize it on a surface, houses a gimbal. According to the outfit, the gimbal section can be turned 127 degrees to let you raise or lower the projected image at your desired viewing height, while the integrated gimbal stabilizes the image with real-time auto-correction, making it possible to adjust the viewing angle on the fly without having to stop or pause whatever’s playing.
The projector itself can beam 1080p visuals at sizes of up to 150 inches, although it requires a distance of roughly 13 feet away from your projection surface to properly show images that big. It has a maximum brightness of 450 ANSI lumens, a 400:1 contrast ratio, and support for 124 percent of the Rec. 709 color gamut, as well as HDR 10 support. Aside from the gimbal-based image correction, it also has instant auto keystone correction, instant auto focus, and lossless zooming (we’re not sure how you can zoom without losing anything, but they’re going with that). It also has an eye protection feature that lowers the beam’s intensity when a person crosses its path.
The JMGO Picoflix has an integrated 10W speaker, so you can play audio directly from the device, although it also has Bluetooth onboard for streaming the sound to better-sounding external speakers. It runs on a 10,000 mAh rechargeable battery that can provide up to 4.5 hours of viewing time in power save mode, which means it will do a lot less if you turn up the quality. Simply put, it won’t hold much power in that battery for a projector, so best make sure you’ve got a power bank on hand to keep it running for longer.
There’s built-in Wi-Fi, so you can connect it to your router at home or to a mobile hotspot on your phone when you’re out and about, as well as Google TV onboard, so you get easy access to a whole bunch of preloaded streaming apps, including Netflix, Prime Video, and YouTube, along with thousands more via the Play Store. Alternatively, it has an HDMI slot if you’d rather hook it up to a different media player and three USB ports for watching saved content on external storage drives.
The JMGO Picoflix is available now.
