Xgimi Mogo 3 Pro Review: A Terrific Portable Projector With A Few Hidden Tricks

Xgimi is quickly becoming a popular name in the projector space — even if it is not straightforward on how to pronounce it. For the record, it's "Ex-Jimmy" which actually makes a lot of sense. Xgimi has been making projectors for quite some time now, and it has some really cool software enhancements on top of Google TV that make it an easy favorite. Now it's launching a series of projectors that cover a wide variety of budgets, including the subject of our review today — the Xgimi Mogo 3 Pro.

Living up to the "go" in its name, the Mogo 3 Pro projector is a small, portable projector that packs in a few additional neat features. It's roughly the size of a 40oz jar of peanut butter and comes with a built-in tether — specifically engineered to be portable.

It also comes at an attractive price point, all of which add up to a nice addition to your living room, media room, or even outdoor space. I've been using a Mogo 3 Pro projector review sample provided by Xgimi for just over a week, and this is my full review.

This year's Mogo 3 Pro projector is a definite departure from past projector designs. Last year's Mogo 2 Pro projector was a bit shorter, but also a lot larger in diameter, so Xgimi is really emphasizing portability with this release. This year's projector also has a few hardware accessories you can use to add to the experience which we'll discuss later.

The projector looks like a round cylinder, about 3 3/4" in diameter. A bar that runs down one side of the projector allows the projector to unlock from its base and swivel up into position. That position can be anywhere up to 130 degrees. When you're not using the projector, the lens slots into the base for protection. It's compact, but not "fit in the drink holder of your backpack" compact.

When open, it projects at 1080p with 450 ANSI lumens of brightness, which for its price point is not bad. Xgimi continues its partnership with Harmon Kardon for the 360-degree speaker in the base of the projector.

The projector accepts input from USB Type-A or Micro HDMI. Both of those ports are hidden under a flap that I could not make sit flush with the rest of the projector and gave the whole thing a quality control issue vibe.

This is an LED projector, as you can probably tell from the price. That's perfectly fine and acceptable for what it is. The 450 ANSI lumens that the projector puts out is pretty good for the space. It's not uncommon to see lumen figures in the 200 range at this price. 450 ANSI lumens is good for indoor use and outdoor at night use, and preferably after you get the city to turn off streetlights.

When you're inside, you can definitely see what's happening on the screen, but you're going to lose some detail unless you have full blackout curtains. My living room does not, so as it was, I was able to enjoy my movies and TV shows, but it definitely got better when the sun went down. The projector also has person detection which turns the lamp off when a person is detected walking in front of the projector, lest they get blinded by the projection.

The projector ships with Google TV which is arguably my favorite smart TV interface. Setting up apps is easy and often automatic when you restore your Google account. If not, the app store is in easy reach. Also in easy reach here, on this projector, at last: Netflix!

Xgimi has been working with Netflix for a long time, but up until this generation of projectors, Netflix was not certified to run on them. Xgimi provided a relatively low-effort, but still annoying workaround that involved downloading an app and visiting a website and downloading an apk (Android app file) of Netflix. Now, it runs natively (available in the Google Play app store for easy download) which is long overdue, but still a welcome change.

Also present is Xgimi's automatic keystone adjustment, auto focus, and obstacle avoidance software which just feels like magic when it works properly. Xgimi still has issues running this process when the surface you're projecting on is very far away or sits at an awkward angle. The space where I used to test projectors now has a TV in it, so it took me a while to find a wall where the projector could do its thing (and not be in the middle of the floor). If there's any way Xgimi can fix this in future versions of the projector, I would love it even more.

When I reviewed the Mogo 2 Pro projector, I noted that the projector didn't come with an internal battery. The Mogo 3 Pro does not either. That allows the Mogo to be more compact and portable. But last year's Mogo 2 Pro projector was able to run off a battery pack, as long as that battery pack could output 65 W of power. That does not seem to be the case any longer.

Xgimi sells a separate projector stand/tripod that you can buy. The projector mounts on the top of the stand and can run off the stand's 20,000 mAh battery. But I tried my own Anker 737 24,000 mAh battery pack which was able to power last year's Mogo 2 Pro, but it didn't work here. Aside from the battery stand (which by the way didn't survive a brief conflict my dogs had with each other) the only power source I could find that would power the projector was the included plug, which is pretty massive by the way.

That's a bummer because you shouldn't have to buy a power base stand for an extra $99.99, or require a DC to AC converter or power pack in order for this projector to work on a campout. This is definitely a backward step, and I hate to see those from generation to generation.

One step forward that the projector has going for it is its use as a party speaker. If you aim the projector straight down, but keep it unlocked from its base, you can pair it with your phone via Bluetooth. When you play music, the projector pulses light on the base to the music to make it a sort of party light/speaker.

I wish the speaker sounded better though. It's not bad, and it gets decently loud, but the sound quality isn't really there. There's no bass to speak of, and the mid-range frequencies are overemphasized. Which is certainly not ideal. The 360-degree speaker is nice though — you can drop the projector in the middle of a room and have a neat little light show in the base that syncs to the music. It's a bit of a novelty, for sure, but it gives the projector a use case for when it's not being used for its primary purpose.

The Xgimi Mogo 3 projector is available now on Xgimi's website for $449. If you want to enhance the experience, you can also buy the battery stand, the Creative Optical Filter which allows the projector to cast a wider picture, and nice leather coated carrying case which holds the projector, but not the power cable.

Overall, this is a bit of a "two steps forward, one step back" for this projector. It's smaller and more portable than its predecessor, but it lacks the same battery powered versatility. It's a little bit brighter than its predecessor as well and it's easier to aim. By the way, Xgimi also knocked $50 off the starting price of its predecessor (which is always welcome).

That's what makes the Xgimi Mogo 3 Pro so compelling. It undercuts most of its competition on price while still upgrading features from the generation before it. What more could you ask for?