Small, light portable projectors were all the rage a few years ago, but the quality of these smaller projectors meant that they weren’t the best option for watching content, especially if you have a smartphone.
Now Samsung has announced the launch of its new projector, The Freestyle. This projector is designed for Gen Z and millennials according to Samsung although we’re sure anybody with a need for a portable projector is welcome to part ways with their money.
The specs on this projector make it rather tempting. The Freestyle boasts a 1920 x 1080 native resolution as well as support for HDR10. The light comes from an LED and the expected lift of the LED is 20 000 hours. The maximum screen size listed by Samsung is 100 inches from a distance of 2.6m although at that size the FullHD resolution is likely going to look rather blocky.
The projector also houses a 5W speaker and has support not only for WiFi5 but Wireless Dex as well. This essentially means that armed with a Samsung smartphone, you can connect wirelessly to this projector and watch content. In fact, you don’t even need a Samsung smartphone.
“The Freestyle offers Smart TV features available on Samsung Smart TVs, with built-in streaming services and mirroring and casting features compatible with both Android and iOS mobile devices,” Samsung said in a press release.
As for power, the mains are your best bet but an external power source that supports USB power delivery with a 50W/20V output can be used as well. This means that The Freestyle is a decent solution for content consumption during loadshedding.
The Freestyle will be available toward the end of April and will retail for R14 999. That is rather dear considering you can pick up a FullHD projector for R4 299, but The Freestyle is rather feature rich and is more of a portable entertainment system than just a projector.
As we mentioned, portable projectors were very lacklustre in the past but on paper The Freestyle looks rather good, perhaps Samsung leads the charge in a mini projector revival. We’re certainly excited for that.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lnY8oqVh3A&t=3s
