Aurzen Zip Review: A Big Idea, but a Tiny Disappointment

I first see the Aurzen Zip and I immediately said , “ I want one . ” It ’s a projector and it is minuscule enough to fit into your back pocket , let you plow any nearby paries into a 2d screen . No wires or WiFi needed . The ship’s company come it as the “ humankind ’s first tri - fold projector ” . Unfortunately as cool as it looks and much as I applaud what Aurzen was go for with this minuscule projector , I imagine I enjoyed the idea of it more than in reality using it .

The Zip ’s most striking feature is its tri - fold design , which is the only reason you ’d reckon buying it . When folded into a teeny square , it measures 3.3 x 3 x 1 inch ( half the size of an iPhone ) and weighs just over .6 lbs . When opened , it almost resemble a cousin of the Pixar lamp , ready to transmit all your favorite YouTube video to a aerofoil near you . you could always keep it in a bag or cap pocket if you ever need an impromptu screen to watch out YouTube , perhaps at a campsite or inside a planing machine . Not that I camp down , nor would I ever want to rag other passengers by projecting game dawdler onto the flight cabin , butI want to be able to .

Aurzen Zip

An image of the projector open so you can see both of its hinges.

An image of the projector open so you can see both of its hinges.© Adriano Contreras / Gizmodo

The Aurzen Zip has the portability you ’ve always wanted in a mini - projector , however it ’s dim brightness and monetary value make it heavy to recommend .

Pros

Cons

Aurzen Zip Portable Projector

The Zip, when folded, is about half the size of a smartphone. © Adriano Contreras / Gizmodo

It ’s easy to prepare up . Once you connect the machine to your figurer or phone ’s sieve mirroring list , you simply require to follow the onscreen guidance . mirror content from your telephone has little to no latency . I could take in Mets spring training games on the wall near my desk , to the dismay of all the Yankee fans in our government agency . A more relatable usance was having my toddler watch a few Ms. Rachel videos projected onto the ceiling before bedtime , which was a hit until it ran out of shelling .

There was a turn of reaction time when I attempted to use it as a second screen for the iMac and PC . It ’s more noticeable when you see someone speak in a video that you could see that it ’s slightly out of sync by a few milliseconds .

apart from YouTube and Twitch , many stream apps like Max and Netflix do not corroborate screen mirroring on phones and calculator . It ’s not the Zip ’s flaw ; many stream platforms have draconian DRM restrictions regarding specific external show . You ’d have the same problem if you try using Apple AirPlay from your iPhone onto a smart TV . So , if that is a deal breaker , see a mini - projector with built - in Google TV , like theNebula Capsule Air . It wo n’t conform to in your backpack , but it ’s still small enough to travel with .

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The Zip is 100 lumen , which is fantastically dim for a projector , no matter the sizing . So you ’ll need more or less gross wickedness to watch anything well . you may see the difference of opinion in picture quality below when the lights are on and off in our studio . If there is too much light , the image is washed out , and you may hardly see anything .

Two to four feet from the paries is the perfumed spot for this projector . That apply about 30 - 40 inches of screen sizing . At around five or six feet , you could project around 70 inches . The only trouble is the further you get , the more you ’re sacrificing screen lucidity and brightness .

After using it for over a couple of weeks , I still ca n’t believe how loud this thing is for something so small . Almost immediately after you turn it on , the tiny fans inside the Zip get working overtime , tending to overtake the twain of underpowered 1W built - in speakers . Even at its highest book setting , you may always hear the fans .

The battery life is n’t great either ; even at 100 lumens , you ’re getting just around 45 minutes of battery life under Turbo modal value and just over an hour on Eco mode . The only conflict I ’ve view between the two mood is that the Eco mode slur the screen even more to husband barrage . So if you ’re stuck in a amnesia it could theoretically be handy but for anything else its a novelty more than utilitarian .

Really what the Aurzen Zip has proceed for it is that its midget and portable . It is by far the most portable projector I ’ve used . I appreciate the novel conception and its unbelievably wanton exercise . It ’s just that the lackluster barrage fire , misfortunate auditory sensation , and low brightness make it hard to apologise the high request price .

Aurzen Zip