TCL’s PlayCube projector is extra enjoyable than a Rubik’s Dice

The very best all-in-one moveable projector is the one which makes all the proper compromises. It must stability picture and sound high quality with battery life and responsiveness in a tool that’s not too costly and sufficiently small to take anyplace. TCL’s fun little PlayCube delivers the right combination to justify paying $800 for a 1080p projector in 2026.

I examined the TCL PlayCube working Google TV throughout a two-month street journey, after which once more for just a few months at residence. It’s so small, adaptable, and pleasing that I’ve had no downside setting it up at a second’s discover, day or evening, anyplace I’ve been.

TCL says the PlayCube’s 90-degree rotating design was impressed by the Rubik’s Dice. Simply give it a twist at any time when you have to carry the picture over obstacles. In any other case, you may mount it on a tripod by way of the threaded connector on the backside, or flip it over onto its bottom for some bedtime ceiling viewing. The PlayCube additionally options all the automated adjustment modes you’d anticipate in a contemporary moveable projector, together with focus, keystone correction, impediment avoidance, display screen detection, and eye safety.

The opposite notable factor in regards to the PlayCube is its brightness. 750 ISO lumens isn’t shiny for a house theater projector, but it surely’s very shiny for a conveyable that simply suits into the palm of your hand, measuring 149.8 x 96.6 x 96.6mm (5.90 x 3.80 x 3.80 inches) and 1.3kg (2.7 kilos).

It’s shiny sufficient to observe movies through the day when all these lumens are centered into a good 30-inch rectangle inside my van, or at 100-inches when projected towards it at evening. Sadly, it doesn’t have that color-adaptation tech discovered on Samsung’s new (battery-less) Freestyle+ projector, so the blue-gray hull affected the palette. Regardless, it was nonetheless very watchable.

The audio produced by the PlayCube’s lone 5W speaker is okay. There’s no stereo separation, but it surely’s loud sufficient to fill a room. It simply lacks fullness, heat, and element. Music from Florence and The Machine and Kendrick Lamar sounds shrill and skinny. The screeching tires, gunshots, and explosions from a 007 chase scene produced a reasonably muddled soundscape, but it surely was nonetheless pleasing. The sound is uncomfortably harsh above 60 % quantity, which remains to be lots loud. Throughout one out of doors film evening, I felt compelled to set the quantity no larger than 20 % to keep away from bothering the closest neighbor some 50 meters away.

Alternatively, you may join headphones or self-powered audio system via the audio jack or over Bluetooth. The projector will also be used as a Bluetooth speaker, which turns off the lamp however, annoyingly, not the fan. That fan produces 27dB when measured at a distance of 1 meter, which is pretty quiet for a projector however nonetheless noticeable throughout nonetheless moments.

The runtime from the PlayCube’s 66Wh battery was inconsistent, but it surely carried out very effectively in current exams. TCL claims as much as three hours – I measured precisely three hours and one minute after a full cost within the projector’s brightest mode, whereas streaming The Aviator over Netflix, a movie that runs for two hours and 50 minutes. It additionally works with USB-C energy banks when you want much more time. The PlayCube recharged from zero to full in 104 minutes from a 65W USB-C charger.

I skilled wild shifts in battery life over my 4 months of testing, which I feel will be attributed to TCL’s energy administration in standby mode. A brief press on the facility button places the projector to sleep, permitting it to wake in as much as 30 seconds. In standby, the fan spins up periodically, sapping power — which could possibly be the explanation I noticed extreme battery drain when vanlifing in hotter climates. The difficulty disappeared once I returned to the delicate temperatures at residence. A firmware replace might need additionally helped.

Regardless, you may long-press the facility button for a full shutdown to keep away from any phantom energy drain suffered in standby. The PlayCube then takes about 80 seconds besides up, however that may be accelerated by turning off among the automated display screen adjustment options.

The consumer interface will also be sluggish at instances, like most battery-powered projectors. Typically Google TV wants a irritating second or two earlier than it’ll reply to navigation instructions from the distant management. The automated picture alter options are additionally reasonably gradual to kick in. However I’m grateful once they do, even when impediment avoidance will be hit and miss. Happily, all the things can nonetheless be fine-tuned manually.

TCL says the PlayCube is “designed specifically for camping projection.” That makes me — an avid vanlifer — its main goal, and I’ve come away very impressed. At $799.99, TCL’s PlayCube projector isn’t low cost, however you received’t usually discover this mixture of brightness, battery life, and portability for much less. Xgimi’s Halo+ comes shut for a similar value, solely in an even bigger package deal that gives improved stereo sound however shorter battery life… but it surely’s at the moment on sale for just $449, which is an excellent deal.

Images by Thomas Ricker / The Verge