Pros
-
Portable design -
Appealing picture quality -
Good sound for its size
Cons
-
Not the most responsive remote -
Flat sense of contrast and black crush -
No built-in battery -
Not the brightest for HDR
Key Features
-
Brightness
450 ISO lumens at its disposal -
Lamp life
25,000 hours of use -
HDR support
HDR10 support with HDR content
Introduction
Founded in 2013, XGIMI has enjoyed a quick ascent to become one of those familiar brands in the projector market, which is no mean feat considering the competition.
Unlike the somewhat serious façade of Epson and Optoma, XGIMI has centred on a fun, youthful aesthetic, trying to draw in an audience that you wouldn’t associate with a hobby where people watch films on big black (or white) boxes in a pitch black room.
Each and every year, there are at least one or two new products. The Mogo 3 Pro isn’t actually its latest in the portable line-up, as it was soon followed up by Mogo 4 and Mogo 4 Laser. This site has held previous XGIMI (that’s ex-jimmy to me and you) projectors in good stock. Is the Mogo 3 Pro another to add to that list?
Well, sort of.
Design
- Portable size and weight
- Tiltable design
The Mogo 3 Pro’s shape is a move away from the Mogo 2 Pro. Where the older model sort of looked like a Sonos One speaker, the Mogo 3 Pro has a slimmer, more conical shape with a handle stand that allows for a 130-degree range of movement tilting up or down.
That tilting mechanism helps in terms of positioning the image or a wall (or screen), convenient if you have awkward spaces or if you want to beam an image up towards the ceiling. It’s easy to carry with one hand too, which aids its portability.
You simply have to lift the main part up, tilt, and the Mogo 3 Pro will power on automatically as long as you’ve got the power adapter connected (the cable is 1m long so there’s so room to have the projector away from the wall socket).
The Mogo 3 Pro can be used as a standalone Bluetooth speaker, with the base of the speaker featuring an Ambient Light mode that dances in step with the music you’re playing, another sign of the fun XGIMI wants to bring.
It’s not an ultra-short throw projector, so it doesn’t need to be placed close to a wall, and it can beam an image from as small as 40-inches to as big as 200, depending on where you place the projector.
There’s a USB-C connection for the power adaptor (you can plug your own as long as it’s a 65W charger), and tucked beneath a flap is another USB port (if you’ve got any sticks to plug in) or a mini HDMI port if you’re planning on connecting another source (alas, no adapter is included).
XGIMI calls the Mogo 3 Pro an outdoor projector, but there’s no mention of an official IP rating to protect from a typical British day. There is an optional case for transport, and the sample I was sent comes with the PowerBase Stand that doubles up as a tripod stand and a battery pack when outside, its 2000mAh battery offering 2.5 hours of juice. It’s an extra £109 on top of the Mogo Pro 3, though…
This is a projector that describes itself as portable, and technically, that’s true. But the lack of a built-in battery pack, and the need for the PowerBase Stand if you’re venturing into the great outdoors makes it less portable than some.
Interface
- Google TV
- Not the most responsive remote
- Missing iPlayer and Channel 4 in the UK
The Mogo 3 Pro comes with Google TV, which solves a long-running issue that Android TV had in that it didn’t support the licensed version of Netflix. Now you get ‘proper’ Netflix, but Google giveth and taketh away with the loss of BBC iPlayer.
For UK owners, that’s not exclusive to XGIMI’s range of projectors. Indeed, other brands that support Google TV have struggled, as have TV brands. Channel 4 is also missing in action.
But you do get a smorgasbord of the big streaming apps to choose from in Disney+, Apple TV, Prime Video and more, plus free options such as Tubi. You can squeeze past the lack of iPlayer and Channel 4 by casting directly from those apps, but I’d prefer a built-in app over casting.
The interface itself is one I like. I find it aesthetically pleasing, less cluttered than other options (I’m looking at you Fire TV), and less corporate synergy (even though it is there). Details such as Rotten Tomatoes scores help find something ‘good’ to watch; while auto sign in to some apps makes diving in quicker.
The focus on personalisation and curation remains hogwash – there’s not much that seems specific to me and personalisation is a case of chucking random titles at you because you watched so-and-so, and in some cases titles you’ve already seen. This goes for pretty much every interface out there as far as I’m concerned.
The responsiveness of Google TV was a little slow, but it’s less the interface itself and more the remote, which was laggy throughout the review period. There’s a noticeable lag if the remote hasn’t been used in a while, so while I find it nice to use (the clickiness of the button and backlit buttons), the speed of those presses makes navigating Google TV a bit of a chore.
Features
- HDR10 support
- Full HD resolution
- 450 ISO lumens of brightness
There’s HDR10 support but not HLG. Given there’s currently no native iPlayer app, the lack of HLG isn’t a big miss. Dolby Vision isn’t present here, but you’ll be able to find it on XGIMI’s more expensive home cinema projectors.
Resolution is Full HD (1920 x 1080p), which, given its portable roots, is acceptable. 4K resolution would be a welcome but unexpected surprise at this price. 450 ISO lumens of brightness makes it slightly brighter than the Mogo 2 Pro, brighter than the Nebula Mars 3 Air and almost twice as bright as the Samsung FreeStyle 2nd Gen, which is from 2023.
That level of brightness wouldn’t get you a spectacular image with lots of ambient light out, so this is a projector to close the curtains and turn down the lights if you want an image you can actually see.
The 10W Harman Kardon speaker built into the speaker offers 360-degree sound with support for Dolby Audio (including Dolby Digital+ – basically Dolby Atmos) but no DTS audio.
Connectivity extends to the aforementioned USB 2.0 and micro-HDMI inputs, plus the USB-C for power, along with Google Cast and DLNA streaming over Wi-Fi. Bluetooth 5.1 offers another way of firing audio at the Mogo 3 Pro given its Bluetooth speaker ambitions.
I should add that HDR10 isn’t supported over the micro HDMI input, so if you are thinking of connecting a 4K player, you’re likely stuck with SDR, not HDR playback.
The expected lamp life is 25000 hours. I’m not going to do the maths on that, but suffice to say that it’s a long time.
To make set-up much easier, there’s Auto Keystone (for that perfect square shape) and Auto Focus for the clearest, sharpest image. If you want to partake in some manual keystoning, you can, but that almost always results in a slightly deformed image.
In any case, the Intelligent Obstacle Avoidance means the Mogo 3 Pro will refit the image to avoid objects blocking the image; while Intelligent Screen Fit will figure out if the XGIMI is beaming onto a projector screen and make sure the image fits. If something blocks the lens, the Mogo 3 Pro will automatically dim the brightness with the Auto Eye Protection feature for those with pets that enjoy being a nuisance.
What else? There’s XGIMI’s Creative Optical Filter that you can lock onto the lens and it’ll add some atmosphere to the projection. It’s nice to have and adds to the spirit of fun XGIMI’s after, but it isn’t necessary if you’re just interested in watching films and TVs. It’s more of a fun addition.
In terms of fan noise, XGIMI quotes 32dB of noise – I clocked 37dB with the Sound Meter dB app (not the most accurate), so that checks out well enough. Its back end can spit out a fair amount of heat during operation, more so than the Mogo 4.
Picture
- Warm, rich colours
- Little to no contrast
- Can’t really do HDR
Let’s get the obvious out of the way. The XGIMI Mogo 3 Pro isn’t bright enough for HDR titles, but it’s also not the most subtle or nuanced of pictures with HDR content. Don’t think of that as an outright condemnation, but like with even the best cheap TVs, it’s more a case of keeping expectations in check.
450 ISO lumens isn’t bright enough to feed into the highlights (the brightest part of the image), which do look bright but not enough to stand out. Watching Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein on Netflix and the XGIMI misses out on most of the dark details within the image, shrouding the face of the officers in the opening scene in darkness.
It might add to the moodiness of the opening scene set in the arctic but it also means you’re missing out on the performances that they’re giving.
The most noticeable problem is the colours. To my eyes, they are not quite as accurate as they should be. The blue uniforms of the officers from the ship don’t strike the right tone; navy blue is more green blue, skintones have a slightly warm and reddish hue, lighter blues are close to aquamarine blue or even teal. There’s something a little off with the image the Mogo 3 Pro beams onto a wall.
Black levels can be more grey than black, which I’d expect for any projector at this price. There are times when the XGIMI can push out pretty good black levels, such as in the Prime Video TV series adaptation of Fallout, but there’s a lack of detail with black levels, and a lack of brightness with highlights that end up reducing any sense of contrast within the image.
It’s not the sharpest looking image but I’ve commented on that before with other projectors (it could be the texture of my wall).
While I mentioned that colours don’t look the most accurate, there are times when I’m willing to let that criticism go. The XGIMI Mogo 3 Pro produces a very rich and warm image. There are some very nice green tones and rich orange colours that stand out in the first episode of Fallout, with varied skintones too.
But skintones can vary in a not-so-good way. In a scene from the vault, the skintone of Ella Purnell’s Lucy looks as if she’s been caked in make-up. White tones are more yellow, there’s black crush as the vaulters walk through a tunnel to meet other vault dwellers. It’s here where the XGIMI and most projectors, lack the subtlety and nuance in terms of detail and tone that you’d get from a TV.
There are a few brightness modes to choose from but you’re better off sticking with Standard (which itself is more like a Cinema mode). There’s Eco, which doesn’t seem altogether that different, and Performance mode which is anything but that, making the image look green and oddly desaturated. Avoid.
Watching some football and the NFL, there was some slight stutter casting from BBC iPlayer, but that could be down to the Wi-Fi network. With NFL, there were no motion artefacts that I noticed, the action of throwing the ball and camera panning were smooth in their description.
With SDR content, the XGIMI still pumps out a rich image (and again, colours look a little overstated rather than accurate) but it is a pleasing-looking image. Greens, blues and reds stand out, and overall it’s an attractive looking image. I question how accurate it actually is in terms of colours, but most people shopping for a projector at this price won’t be too concerned by image accuracy, I’d imagine.
Sound Quality
- Clear with dialogue
- Bigger sound than you might expect
The audio is clearly from the projector, but the sound is much better than I had any reason to expect.
That’s not to say a soundbar or even a Bluetooth speaker wouldn’t be better but the Harman Karon 10W sound system that’s built-in does a pretty good job.
It sounds decent in terms of clarity and detail. It’s not particularly dynamic – it ranges from loud to slightly less loud but with Alien: Romulus on Disney+ the soundstage doesn’t sound cramped or bunched up.
The sound system lacks heft and power, which is not to say it doesn’t have any – gunshots in a scene from Fallout on a bridge sound alright – but bass sounds flat and lacking much punch but the midrange has solid clarity and for dialogue that’s a must, while the highs come across with some sharpness but not too much that they’d sound harsh. The audio system achieves a good balance
With sports there’s again a good balance between the commentary and crowd noise, you get the clarity of the commentators speaking but also the buzz of the crowd responding to what’s happening. It’s a satisfactory performance. It’d be cumbersome to try and add a sound system to this projector – I’d be happy enough to enjoy the sound as is.
Should you buy it?
If you want a portable projector
The image is appealing, the size is compact and portable enough that it won’t get in the way and that you can take it with you around the home.
You want a truly portable projector
Without a built-in battery, you can’t really take this projector outside or into the great outdoors unless you spend on the PowerBank accessory. You might as well get the Mogo 4 instead.
Final Thoughts
The XGIMI Mogo Pro 3 is, by all accounts, an enjoyable portable projector, but I don’t think it quite lives up to XGIMI’s claims.
The image it offers is one with rich and warm colours but doesn’t look the most accurate and suffers from similar failings as other projectors in terms of black levels and brightness. This is a projector you’ll want to close the curtains to get the best performance.
Google TV is missing iPlayer and Channel 4 in the UK but all the other main streaming apps are accounted for. The design is compact and portable, though the fact that there’s no built-in battery is a mark against it. It’s not truly portable, especially if you want to use it outside, unless you want to spend £100 / $100 more on the Powerbank. You might as well just get the XGIMI Mogo 4.
Before the Mogo 4 launched, this could have received a recommended score, but the Mogo 4 out (and featuring a built-in battery); that model is the better buy. For more options, check out our best portable projector list.
Trusted Score
How We Test
The XGIMI Mogo 3 Pro was tested over several months with HDR and SDR content.
Fan noise was measured with the SPL meter app.
- Tested for two months
- Tested with real world use
- Fan noise measured
FAQs
There’s no built-in battery with this model. It runs of the mains power.
Test Data
| XGIMI Mogo 3 Pro | |
|---|---|
| Fan volume | 37 dB |
Full Specs
| XGIMI Mogo 3 Pro Review | |
|---|---|
| UK RRP | £419 |
| Manufacturer | XGIMI |
| Size (Dimensions) | x x INCHES |
| Weight | 1.1 KG |
| ASIN | B0D8HRH431 |
| Release Date | 2024 |
| Resolution | 1920 x 1080 |
| Projector Type | Portable short-throw |
| Brightness Lumens | 450 |
| Lamp Life | 25000 |
| Max Image Size | 200 inches |
| HDR | Yes |
| Types of HDR | HDR10 |
| Ports | USB 2.0, micro HDMI |
| Audio (Power output) | 10 W |
| Colours | Grey |
| Projector Display Technology | Single-chip DLP |
| Throw Ratio | 1.2:1 |
Trusted Score
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