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I Tried 6 Mini Projectors That Connect to My Phone and These Actually Work
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items You want to watch movies on a big screen without dropping a thousand bucks on a TV. Maybe your apartment is too small, maybe you move too often, or maybe you just want a backyard movie setup without the hassle. I burned through six months of testing ...
Sections
6
Mini Projectors That Actually Pair With Your Phone Fast
Phone Stands and Mounts for Projector Streaming
Portable Screens for When You Don't Have a White Wall
Speakers That Fix Tiny Projector Audio
Cables and Adapters When WiFi Lets You Down
Accessories That Complete the Backyard Movie Setup
Mini Projectors That Actually Pair With Your Phone Fast
Half the projectors I tried took 20 minutes of fiddling before they'd connect to anything. These linked up in under a minute, every single time. No dongles, no rage-quitting.
Grab this if you've rage-quit trying to connect cheap projectors to your iPhone. Paired in about 40 seconds the first time I tried, and the picture was sharp enough to read subtitles from across the room.
Customer reviews for YABER Mini Projector with 5G WiFi
Use this when you need something brain-dead simple. My mom set it up by herself during Thanksgiving and she still calls WiFi ‘the internet box.’ That tells you everything.
DBPOWER WiFi Mini Projector, 8000L HD Video
Keep this one in your backpack for spontaneous movie nights. It's roughly the size of a thick paperback and I've tossed it in my bag for three camping trips without worrying about breaking it.
TMY Native 1080P Mini Portable Projector
Pair it with your phone for a 200-inch picture that doesn't look like a blurry mess. My roommate thought I bought a new TV when I projected onto our living room wall for the first time.
Vamvo Mini Portable 1080p Full HD Projector
Try this if your apartment has zero wall space for a TV. Projected onto a white bedsheet taped to the wall and honestly it looked better than my old 42-inch flat screen.
Groview 1080P Mini Projector with 5G WiFi and Bluetooth
Switch to this from those $40 projectors that overheat after an hour. Ran a full Lord of the Rings extended edition without it getting warm. Not exaggerating.
Customer reviews for FANGOR WiFi Bluetooth Projector
Snag this for dorm rooms where you can't mount a TV. Weighs almost nothing, fits in a desk drawer, and the built-in speaker is loud enough for a small room without needing external speakers.
APEMAN LC450 Mini Portable Projector ,LCD Home
Phone Stands and Mounts for Projector Streaming
Nobody talks about how annoying it is to hold your phone while it's casting. Learned that the hard way when my arm went numb during a two-hour movie.
Get this so you stop propping your phone against a water bottle while it streams. Holds any phone angle steady and it doesn't slide around on the table like my old plastic one did.
Lamicall Cell Phone Stand for Desk
Use this clamped to your nightstand when you're projecting onto the ceiling from bed. Yes, ceiling projection is a thing. Yes, it changed my entire bedtime routine.
Tryone Gooseneck Flexible Phone Holder Stand
Toss your phone on this while it mirrors to the projector. Heavy enough that it won't tip over when you get a notification and instinctively grab for it.
LISEN Cell Phone Stand Phone Holder for Desk
Pair this with a mini projector on your desk for a makeshift home theater that takes up less space than a toaster. Folds flat when you're done, which is great for tiny apartments.
Nulaxy A4 Cell Phone Stand, Fully Foldable
Grab one for the friend who always holds their phone at weird angles. Adjustable enough to go from nearly flat to almost vertical, so your streaming angle is always right.
UGREEN Phone Stand for Desk
Bring this to outdoor movie nights because it folds into basically nothing. Threw it in my pocket at a backyard party and forgot it was there until someone needed it.
Moko 2 Pack Cell Phone Stand for Desk
Try this if you've got a newer iPhone. Keeps your phone charged while it's casting so you don't hit 10% battery right when the movie gets good. Learned that lesson the painful way.
Customer reviews for Anker 622 Magnetic Battery (MagGo)
Portable Screens for When You Don't Have a White Wall
My first apartment had dark green walls and the projected image looked like swamp footage. If your walls aren't white, you need one of these.
Use this if your walls are any color other than white. Hung it with command hooks and the difference was night and day. Literally went from unwatchable to actually sharp.
P-JING Portable Projector Screen, 120 in, Indoor & Outdoor
Get the version with the tripod stand if you're doing backyard screenings. Set it up in about three minutes and it didn't blow over in the wind like the cheap one I tried before.
TOWOND Projector Screen and Stand, 100 inch Projection
Snag this for smaller rooms where 120 inches would be ridiculous. My bedroom is 10x12 and this size fills the wall perfectly without the image spilling onto the ceiling.
GJX 80 Inch Portable Projector Screen 16:9
Toss this in your car for tailgating. Watched the entire playoff game in a parking lot and three strangers pulled up chairs. Worth every penny for that moment alone.
WEWATCH 15000 Lumens Outdoor Movie Projector
Try this if you've got a big backyard and want the full outdoor cinema experience. Wrinkle-resistant too, so you don't spend 30 minutes ironing a screen like I did with a cheaper one.
Mdbebbron 150 inch Projection Screen 16:9 Foldable
Keep this rolled up in your closet for movie nights. Unrolls smooth every time without those annoying creases that make everyone's face look wrinkled on screen.
Projector Screen Outdoor
Swap out that bedsheet you've been using. Seriously. The difference between a $20 screen and a literal bedsheet is embarrassing once you see them side by side.
Stand Projector Screens for Office Use
Speakers That Fix Tiny Projector Audio
Built-in projector speakers sound like someone whispering through a tin can. Found out during a horror movie when the jump scare sounded like a polite suggestion.
Clip this to the projector stand and suddenly your $80 projector sounds like a real setup. Connected via Bluetooth in five seconds and the bass actually exists, unlike the built-in speaker.
JBL, Clip 5 Portable Waterproof Bluetooth Speaker, Black
Grab this if you want decent sound without spending JBL money. Took it to three outdoor movie nights and it filled a backyard without anyone asking me to turn it up.
Customer reviews for OontZ Angle 3 Bluetooth Speaker
Use this when the built-in projector speaker makes dialogue sound like it's underwater. Night and day difference. Could finally hear what people were actually saying in Tenet.
JBL Flip 6 Portable Waterproof Speaker Black
Get this if you want 24 hours of battery life so it outlasts any movie marathon. Went through the entire Star Wars saga on a single charge. The speaker lasted longer than I did.
Anker soundcore 2 Portable Bluetooth Speaker with Stereo
Try this tiny thing if you want bass that doesn't sound like a phone vibrating on a table. Small enough to fit in your palm but loud enough to annoy the neighbors.
Sony SRS-XB13 Extra BASS Portable Bluetooth Speaker
Strap this to your bike, your backpack, or the projector itself. The rubber strap attaches to basically anything and it survived a rainstorm I didn't plan for.
Tribit StormBox Micro Bluetooth Speaker
Pair this with any mini projector and people will think you spent way more on your setup than you did. The sound quality gap between this and a built-in speaker is almost unfair.
Bose SoundLink Flex II Wireless Waterproof Portable
Cables and Adapters When WiFi Lets You Down
WiFi casting works great until it doesn't. Halfway through a movie the stream buffered for five straight minutes and I wanted to throw the projector out the window. Cables fixed everything.
Keep this in your projector bag if you have an iPhone. When WiFi decides to buffer during the climax of a movie, just plug in directly. Zero lag, zero buffering, zero frustration.
Apple Lightning to Digital AV Adapter won't work on iPhone
Use this with any Android phone that has USB-C. Plugged my Samsung directly into the projector and the image was noticeably sharper than wireless mirroring. No app needed.
uni USB C to HDMI Cable for Home Office 6ft (4K@60Hz)
Snag this tiny adapter if you don't want a long cable dangling everywhere. Small enough to live permanently in your projector case and it works with laptops too.
Anker USB C to HDMI Adapter (8K@60Hz or 4K@144Hz)
Get the 10-foot version so you're not stuck placing the projector right next to the screen. Learned this after my first setup where everything had to be uncomfortably close together.
Amazon Basics High-Speed 4K HDMI Cable
Try this if the uni cable is sold out. Basically identical performance and it worked with every phone and laptop I tested without installing any drivers.
Cable Matters USB C to HDMI Cable 6 Feet
Grab this if your projector has a mini HDMI port and you don't want to buy a whole new cable. Tiny little adapter that saved me from returning a projector I otherwise loved.
Belkin Mini DisplayPort to HDMI Adapter. 4k Compatible
Swap your old crusty HDMI cable for this one. My previous cable was from 2015 and I didn't realize it was the reason my 1080p projector looked like 480p. Fresh cable fixed it instantly.
SyncWire HDMI 2.0 Cable With HDCP 2.2 4K 50/60Hz CL3
Accessories That Complete the Backyard Movie Setup
Once you get the projector working you realize you need a few more things to make it actually comfortable. Sitting on wet grass watching a movie is not the vibe.
Bring four of these for outdoor movie night and you've got instant stadium seating. The cup holder fits a wine glass, which I tested extensively for research purposes.
Coleman® Big-N-Tall Adult Quad Camping Chair, Blue
Toss a few of these in a basket next to the chairs because someone always gets cold twenty minutes in. Soft, cheap enough to buy multiples, and machine washable for popcorn butter accidents.
Bedsure Light Fluffy Fleece Throw Blanket for Couch, Grey
Wear this during summer outdoor screenings so mosquitoes leave your face alone. The airflow actually keeps bugs away and you don't overheat sitting outside in July.
JISULIFE, Portable Neck Fan, White, 16H Battery, 5 Speeds
Drape these around your backyard screening area and suddenly it looks like a real outdoor cinema. My neighbors started asking when the next movie night was after they saw the setup.
100FT Solar String Lights Outdoor Waterproof
Get a real popcorn maker because microwave popcorn at an outdoor movie night feels wrong. The smell alone gets everyone hyped before the movie even starts.
Cuisinart EasyPop CPM-100MRFR Popcorn Maker
Use this for drinks during outdoor screenings so you're not dealing with bugs flying into open cups. Keeps drinks cold for hours and has a lid that actually seals.
RTIC 20 oz Ceramic Lined Insulated Tumbler
Keep one of these near the projector setup so people can find their way to the bathroom without tripping over extension cords. Saved someone from a face-plant at my last movie night.
Energizer LED Rechargeable Flashlight