Of course, compactness and miniaturization are among the main trends in the development of consumer electronics, and projectors are no exception.
Unfortunately, traditional lamp projectors were bulky. This is due to the need to cool the lamp, which requires a powerful fan and a fairly large internal volume to dissipate heat.
But as a result of the success of the semiconductor industry, developers received relatively cheap LEDs with high performance, which became the basis for LED and laser light engines. For reference, a laser diode is a diode with a resonator, the radiation power of which is much higher due to its coherence. LEDs practically do not heat up, which created the prerequisites for the rapid development of mini projectors without any special problems with cooling.
Consumers enthusiastically embraced the concept of a ‘pocket TV’ and within a few years the market was filled with miniature models with the prefixes ‘pico’ or ‘pocket’. But as usual, the classification was slightly distorted by marketing considerations. In particular, some companies began to position regular mini models as ‘pocket’, creating a little confusion. Perhaps some pockets on work jackets can accommodate a projector weighing several kilos, but most consumers interpret this classification literally.
Today the market offers a huge number of superb compact models weighing several kilos, but the list of truly pocket-sized models weighing several hundred grams is much shorter.
Phohe-projectors
Of course, smartphone manufacturers did not stand aside. Over the few years, they have introduced several quite competitive models, including Blackview MAX 1, Moviphone, Qantum V and Movi. But their success was short-lived. The rapid progress of pico LED projectors has changed the price-quality ratio in their favor. In particular, the built-in projector increased the price of a smartphone by $ 300-$ 400, the price of which with similar specs did not exceed $ 200 when purchased separately.
For several years, pico projectors lost their formidable competitors. But in 2023, the concept of a hybrid phone-projector was successfully revived in the rugged Unihertz 8849 Tank 2. The Tank 3 Pro (2024) and Oukitel WP100 Titan (2025) became its continuation. The idea of implementing a hybrid concept in rugged smartphones has proven to be very successful. These models are developed for camping. They use monstrous batteries with a fantastic capacity (Tank – 23,800mAh, Tinan – 33,000 mAh) and can work in power bank mode. Of course, the charge consumption for the projector function is not critical for them.
Therefore, today pico projectors are doomed to compete with hybrid phone-projectors.
The list of previous popular pocket-sized models included:
– Wemax Go (2022 – discontinued Mar 2025) – $ 400, Laser Phosphor, 300 ANSI Lumens, (960 x 640) resolution, 500:1 contrast, (2 x 15 x 8 cm)@300grams;
– Yaber Pico T1 (2022 – discontinued Mar 2025) – is unavailable, LED, 110 ANSI Lumens, (960 x 540) resolution, 350:1 contrast, (1 x 7 x 15 cm)@100grams.
– Formovie P1 (Discontinued Jul 2024) – $ 400, Laser Phosphor, 250 ISO Lumens, (960 x 540) resolution, 600:1 contrast, (2 x 15 x 8 cm)@300grams.
New pocket projectors
The fans of ultra-compact projectors have received several new models, including the TMY Ultra Mini, Unihertz 8849 Mars Mini and Aurzen Zip.
The specs of all models are typical for ultra-compact projectors. Their brightness reaches 100 Lumens. TMY indicates only 45 Lumens. Aurzen ZIP uses LEDs, Mars have laser light sourse, TMY do not specify this aspect. With the exception of the Mars Mini, the models have internal speakers.
The projectors have a native resolution of HD or 720p (1,280 x 720 pixels). The specs of TMY Ultra Mini indicate compatibility with Full HD (1,920 x 1,080) content, but this is a bit marketing. In fact, this model can accept and process Full HD content. But later the projector reduces the resolution to its own and displays the image in 720p resolution. Thus, Full HD compatibility only expands the range of available content, which, however, is also convenient.
Of course, design, stand, battery, size and weight are very important in this segment. All projectors use the parallelepiped form factor.
The projector stand of tri-fold Aurzen ZIP is most impressive.
But to be fair, the much simpler and cheaper magnetic stand of 8849 Mars provides the same functionality.
TMY Ultra comes without stand.
Aurzen ZIP and TMY Ultra have built-in batteries, the capacity of which is 5,000 mAh, providing 1.5 and 3.5 hours viewing time, respectively. 8849 Mars can only use external power supply.
The price, dimensions and weight of the models are $400 / (8.4 x 7.8 x 2.6cm)@280g for Aurzen ZIP, $180 / (7.6 x 7.6 x 1.8cm)@180g for Mars Mini and $140 / (9.7 x 8.7 x 3.4cm)@240g for TMY Ultra.
Conclusion
Camping fans have received several inexpensive pocket projectors that can brighten up a pleasant evening by the fire. Unlike rugged smartphones with a built-in projector, the weight of which varies around 1 kg, they are very light and easily fit into a regular pocket.
But to avoid disappointment, consumers should better understand the meaning of their specs. Pico projectors are absolutely not intended for Home Teather due to their low image quality. In particular, low native resolution can provide acceptable image clarity up to about 50 inches diagonally. Its further increase will be accompanied by visualization of the boundaries between pixels. In addition, low brightness also limits the projection size and viewing conditions. Of course, the projector optics can form an image, for example, up to 100 inches. But it will be faded and dim. Moreover, acceptable quality is achievable only in darkness. Therefore, the slogan ‘a small TV in your pocket’ is more correct for pico projectors.
The choice between projectors is controversial. The stylish Aurzen ZIP has a built-in speaker and battery, but costs $ 400. The TMY Ultra with the same options is less bright and does not have a stand, but costs only $ 140. The laser 8849 Mars Mini costs $ 180 and comes with a folding magnetic stand, but does not have a battery and speaker. But overall, their price – qwality ratio is about the same. Therefore, the choice depends on their availability in the region and, of course, discounts.
Video demonstrates the world’s first tri-fold Aurzen ZIP projector.
