In the realm of portable projectors, the ideal choice is one that strikes a perfect balance among image quality, sound, battery life, and responsiveness, all wrapped up in a cost-effective and compact package. TCL’s PlayCube manages to tick these boxes, making it a worthwhile investment at $800 for a 1080p projector as we move into 2026.

During an extensive two-month road trip, followed by several months of home use, I had the opportunity to put the TCL PlayCube, equipped with Google TV, through its paces. Its compact size and versatility made it incredibly convenient to set up, whether it was day or night, indoors or outdoors.

One standout feature of the PlayCube is its brightness. With 750 ISO lumens, it may not rival home theater projectors, but for a portable device that fits comfortably in your hand, it’s impressively bright. Measuring at 149.8 x 96.6 x 96.6mm (5.90 x 3.80 x 3.80 inches) and weighing 1.3kg (2.7 pounds), it’s easy to transport and use. Its brightness is sufficient for daytime viewing within a compact 30-inch rectangle, or expanded to a 100-inch display against a van at night, although the absence of Samsung’s color-adaptation technology means it can be slightly affected by the surface color, such as a blue-gray van hull. Nevertheless, the picture quality remains highly watchable.

The other notable thing about the PlayCube is its brightness. 750 ISO lumens isn’t bright for a home theater projector, but it’s very bright for a portable that easily fits into the palm of your hand, measuring 149.8 x 96.6 x 96.6mm (5.90 x 3.80 x 3.80 inches) and 1.3kg (2.7 pounds).

It’s bright enough to watch videos during the day when all those lumens are focused into a tight 30-inch rectangle inside my van, or at 100-inches when projected against it at night. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have that color-adaptation tech found on Samsung’s new (battery-less) Freestyle+ projector, so the blue-gray hull affected the palette. Regardless, it was still very watchable.

The audio produced by the PlayCube’s lone 5W speaker is fine. There’s no stereo separation, but it’s loud enough to fill a room. It just lacks fullness, warmth, and detail. Music from Florence and The Machine and Kendrick Lamar sounds shrill and thin. The screeching tires, gunshots, and explosions from a 007 chase scene produced a rather muddled soundscape, but it was still enjoyable. The sound is uncomfortably harsh above 60 percent volume, which is still plenty loud. During one outdoor movie night, I felt compelled to set the volume no higher than 20 percent to avoid bothering the closest neighbor some 50 meters away.

Alternatively, you can connect headphones or self-powered speakers through the audio jack or over Bluetooth. The projector can also be used as a Bluetooth speaker, which turns off the lamp but, annoyingly, not the fan. That fan produces 27dB when measured at a distance of one meter, which is fairly quiet for a projector but still noticeable during still moments.

The runtime from the PlayCube’s 66Wh battery was inconsistent, but it performed very well in recent tests. TCL claims up to three hours – I measured exactly three hours and one minute after a full charge in the projector’s brightest mode, while streaming The Aviator over Netflix, a film that runs for 2 hours and 50 minutes. It also works with USB-C power banks if you need even more time. The PlayCube recharged from zero to full in 104 minutes from a 65W USB-C charger.

I experienced wild shifts in battery life over my four months of testing, which I think can be attributed to TCL’s power management in standby mode. A short press on the power button puts the projector to sleep, allowing it to wake in up to 30 seconds. In standby, the fan spins up periodically, sapping energy — which could be the reason I saw severe battery drain when vanlifing in warmer climates. The issue disappeared when I returned to the mild temperatures at home. A firmware update might have also helped.

Regardless, you can long-press the power button for a full shutdown to avoid any phantom power drain suffered in standby. The PlayCube then takes about 80 seconds to boot up, but that can be accelerated by turning off some of the automatic screen adjustment features.

The user interface can also be sluggish at times, like most battery-powered projectors. Sometimes Google TV needs a frustrating second or two before it’ll respond to navigation commands from the remote control. The automatic image adjust features are also rather slow to kick in. But I’m grateful when they do, even if obstacle avoidance can be hit or miss. Fortunately, everything can still be fine-tuned manually.

TCL says the PlayCube is “designed specifically for camping projection.” That makes me — an avid vanlifer — its primary target, and I’ve come away very impressed. At $799.99, TCL’s PlayCube projector isn’t cheap, but you won’t typically find this mix of brightness, battery life, and portability for less. Xgimi’s Halo+ comes close for the same price, only in a bigger package that offers improved stereo sound but shorter battery life… but it’s currently on sale for just $449, which is a very good deal.

Photography by Thomas Ricker / The Verge