I first saw the Aurzen Zip and I immediately said, “I want one.” It’s a projector and it is small enough to fit into your back pocket, letting you turn any nearby wall into a second screen. No wires or WiFi needed. The company hails it as the “world’s first tri-fold projector”. Unfortunately as cool as it looks and much as I applaud what Aurzen was going for with this minuscule projector, I think I enjoyed the idea of it more than actually using it.
The Zip’s most striking feature is its tri-fold design, which is the only reason you’d consider buying it. When folded into a teeny square, it measures 3.3 x 3 x 1 inches (half the size of an iPhone) and weighs just over .6 lbs. When opened, it almost resembles a cousin of the Pixar lamp, ready to beam all your favorite YouTube videos to a surface near you. You can always keep it in a bag or jacket pocket if you ever need an impromptu screen to watch YouTube, perhaps at a campsite or inside a plane. Not that I camp, nor would I ever want to annoy other passengers by projecting game trailers onto the flight cabin, but I want to be able to.
Aurzen Zip
The Aurzen Zip has the portability you’ve always wanted in a mini-projector, however it’s dim brightness and cost make it hard to recommend.
Pros
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Great, compact design -
Easy-to-use
Cons
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Low Brightness -
Loud Fans -
Short Battery Life -
$400
It’s easy to set up. Once you connect the device to your computer or phone’s screen mirroring list, you simply need to follow the onscreen directions. Mirroring content from your phone has little to no latency. I could watch Mets spring training games on the wall near my desk, to the dismay of all the Yankee fans in our office. A more relatable use was having my toddler watch a few Ms. Rachel videos projected onto the ceiling before bedtime, which was a hit until it ran out of battery.
There was a bit of latency when I attempted to use it as a second screen for the iMac and PC. It’s more noticeable when you see someone speak in a video that you can see that it’s slightly out of sync by a few milliseconds.
Aside from YouTube and Twitch, many streaming apps like Max and Netflix do not support screen mirroring on phones and computers. It’s not the Zip’s fault; many streaming platforms have draconian DRM restrictions regarding specific external displays. You’d have the same problem if you tried using Apple AirPlay from your iPhone onto a smart TV. So, if that is a deal breaker, consider a mini-projector with built-in Google TV, like the Nebula Capsule Air. It won’t fit in your backpack, but it’s still small enough to travel with.
See at Amazon
The Zip is 100 lumens, which is incredibly dim for a projector, no matter the size. So you’ll need more or less complete darkness to watch anything comfortably. You can see the difference in picture quality below when the lights are on and off in our studio. If there is too much light, the image is washed out, and you can hardly see anything.
Two to four feet from the wall is the sweet spot for this projector. That gives about 30-40 inches of screen size. At around five or six feet, you can project around 70 inches. The only problem is the further you get, the more you’re sacrificing screen clarity and brightness.
After using it for over a couple of weeks, I still can’t believe how loud this thing is for something so small. Almost immediately after you turn it on, the tiny fans inside the Zip start working overtime, tending to overpower the pair of underpowered 1W built-in speakers. Even at its highest volume setting, you can always hear the fans.
The battery life isn’t great either; even at 100 lumens, you’re getting just around 45 minutes of battery life under Turbo mode and just over an hour on Eco mode. The only difference I’ve seen between the two modes is that the Eco mode dims the screen even more to conserve battery. So if you’re stuck in a blackout it could theoretically be handy but for anything else its a novelty more than useful.
Really what the Aurzen Zip has going for it is that its tiny and portable. It is by far the most portable projector I’ve used. I appreciate the novel design and its incredibly easy use. It’s just that the lackluster battery, poor sound, and low brightness make it hard to justify the high asking price.
See at Amazon
The Aurzen Zip will launch in April for $400, but you can pre-order it now for $250.
