Anker Nebula Solar Portable 1080p projector price & review

What is the Anker Nebula Solar Portable 1080p projector price? Tailor your entertainment to suit you. Choose from more than 5,000 apps, including favorites like YouTube, Hulu, Twitch, and more. You can even mirror content from your smartphone or other devices to Solar 1080p projector. Dolby Digital Plus works together with the 2x3W speaker to produce immersive audio that fills any room. Solar’s sound system is so powerful that it can also double up as a Bluetooth speaker. Get details in Anker Nebula Solar Portable 1080p projector review.

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In the box

OD Charger
USB-C to USB-C cable
Nebular Solar Portable
Remote w/ 2AAA batteries
Quick Start Guide
12-month warranty

Pros & Cons – Anker Nebula Solar Portable 1080p projector

Pros

Great picture quality regardless of size
Keystone adjustments allow for offsetting the projector
Auto-focus is quick and works well
Easy to use Android TV
The speakers are fantastic
Built-in battery is more than enough for a full movie

Cons

More onboard storage would be beneficial
Auto-keystone only adjusts vertically
Remote should have a backlight
Lamp could be brighter

What Specs you are getting at Anker Nebula Solar Portable 1080p projector price?

Size
Length: 192.25 mm / 7.6 in
Width: 192 mm / 7.6 in
Height: 58.65 mm / 2.3 in
Weight: 1.1 kg / 38.8 oz

Hardware
CPU: Quad Core A55 Chipset
GPU: Quad Core Mali G31
RAM: 2GB DDR
ROM: 8GB eMMC
Speaker: 2×3W
Wi-Fi: 802.11a/b/g/n/ac
Dual Frequency 2.4/5GHz
Bluetooth: BT4.2 Dual Mode/A2DP
Fan: <30dB

Display
Display Technology: 0.23DMD in 1080p DLP
Native Resolution: 1920×1080
Brightness: 400 ANSI lumens
LED Life: 30,000 hours
Aspect Ratio: 16: 9
Throw Ratio: 120 in @3.18 m; 100 in @2.66 m; 80 in @2.12 m; 60 in @1.6 m; 40 in @1.06 m
Offset: 100%
Focus Adjustment: 3-second autofocus
Projection Mode: Front / Rear / Front Ceiling / Rear Ceiling
Keystone Correction: Auto (vertical ±40°) Manual (horizontal ±40°, Quadrilateral ±40° )

Control
Physical Buttons: Power
Touch Buttons：Volume± ,Mode Switch (Bluetooth speaker power)
IR/BT Remote: Power / Autofocus / Google Assistant / Up / Down / Left / Right / OK / Back / Home / Setting / Volume±
BT Remote App: Nebula Connect for Android & iOS

Interface
HDMI: HDMI 2.0 up to 4K input
USB-A: For USB flash drives

Software
OS: Android TV 9.0
Google Assistant: Supported
Chromecast: Supported
Working Modes: Projector Mode, Bluetooth Speaker Mode
OTA: Supported
App Store: Google Play
Audio Decode: Dolby supported
Audio Formats: Supports MP3, WMA, RM, FLAC, Ogg
Video Decode: HDR10
Video Formats: Supports *.mkv,*.wmv, *.dat, *.avi, *.mov, *.iso, *.mp4, *.rm formats

Anker Nebula Solar Portable 1080p projector price

With any portable projector, the tradeoffs are obvious. The price for a decent home theater projector starts at about $1,500 and goes up from there.

The Nebula Solar Portable costs $599.99. It was released alongside a sibling model called the Nebula Solar, which does not have a battery and only operates with an adapter. The Solar is about $80 cheaper.

Anker Nebula Solar Portable 1080p projector Review

Design

Coming in the form factor of a small, rounded white square, the Nebula Solar is pretty compact. The front houses the lens and light, while the back has all the relevant ports that you’d need to hook devices up to. It is just over 7 1/2-inches wide and deep and just over 2 1/4-inches in height.

Ports

The Solar’s HDMI input is capable of accepting HDR and 4K, but since the projector is neither, this is a six-line highway connecting two small towns with no cars.

HDMI inputs: 1
PC input: No
USB ports: 2
Audio input and output: No
Digital audio output: No
Wi-Fi: 802.11a, b, g, n, ac
12-volt trigger: No
RS-232 remote port: No
MHL: No
Remote: Not backlit

The USB-C connection is for charging, and included with the Solar is a fast-charger you could use for your phone or tablet when you’re not using or charging the projector. The other USB connection can accept files or charge a streaming stick. The power rating isn’t specified, but I was able to get a streaming stick running on it, so it should be enough.

Lens

There’s no lens shift or zoom on the Solar, but neither is expected in this price range. There’s autofocus, however, which works pretty well. A pivoting foot on the bottom tilts the front of the projector upward for a bit more flexibility in placement.

Lumens

Speaking of brightness, Anker claims 400 lumens. I measured about half that. The Mars II Pro had a claimed 500, and I measured over 300. No projector in this size and price range is very bright, but side by side the Mars II Pro’s picture looks significantly brighter, which allows it to look better on bigger screens.

Hardware

The hardware specs on Solar include a Quad Core A55 Chipset for a CPU and 2GB of RAM. The Wi-Fi is 802.11ac, so you can use a 2.4GHz or 5GHz band if you have a decent WiFi router that’s optimal for gaming. The internal storage is just over 4 GB, so you can download a few Android games from Google Play Store such as Beach Buggy Racing.

HDR10

The Solar accepts HDR10, but is not HDR. It accepts 4K, but is not a 4K projector. Since this projector is incapable of actually displaying these higher-resolution and high-dynamic-range signals, their inclusion seems more like something to beef up a features list on a website than anything else.

Remote

The buttons on the remote, from top to bottom, allow you to power the projector on and off, toggle autofocus, invoke Google Assistant, move up/down/left/right and OK for navigation, go back, go home, launch the settings menu, and adjust the volume up and down. One thing about the remote is that the rear battery compartment lid is extremely tight and difficult to get off.

Battery life

There’s a claimed three hours of life from the 20,000-mAh battery. This is a bit odd since the brighter Mars II Pro has a smaller battery and yet the same amount of play time.

Audio

There are two 3W speakers that support Dolby audio. The sound is satisfactory, but it lacks the depth and pop of the 8W speaker on the Nebula Capsule II.

The Solar has Bluetooth connectivity for both input and output. So I connected a Bose SoundLink Color II for a fuller audio experience.

Once the speaker is connected, it automatically powered on and connected again the next time I turned on the projector.

Nebula Manager app

install the Nebula Manager app, which then allows you to download the mobile version of the Netflix app. To watch Netflix after you install it, you need to go to the Manager app and then Netflix. Which, even after all those steps, looks exceptionally soft. Because it’s the mobile version, it also means it’s not designed to work with a traditional remote, so you need to use the Nebula Connect app on your phone to navigate.

Setup – Anker Nebula Solar Portable 1080p projector

The Anker Nebula Solar was incredibly easy to set up. In its current form, my apartment is hardly optimized for accommodating a 120-inch picture from a projector. But once I decided on a wall to project onto and a couch arm for my projector to rest upon (pro-level stuff, I know) I had the Nebula Solar up and running in under 10 minutes.

This is all thanks to the Nebula Solar’s auto-keystone and autofocus features. These are becoming increasingly common in projectors (especially portable projectors), but it works so well on the Nebula Solar that it’s worth mentioning. Within a few seconds of pointing the projector’s picture at a wall, a test pattern will show up and from there, the Nebula Solar will adjust the picture for height and angle.

More often than not, you will get a perfectly aligned image. You may need to adjust for height or rotate the projector to make sure it’s pointed squarely at the wall (so that the image isn’t crooked). But other than that, I had to make few adjustments using its built-in kickstand.

Anker Nebula Solar Portable 1080p projector price Performance review

The Solar Portable is a strong performer with streaming Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Hulu, HBO Max and a number of other apps thanks to its Android TV software. Netflix requires an added step for streaming, but it’s an improvement over the Capsule II’s workaround.

The gaming chops on Solar Portable are remarkable, too. Instead of just Android games out of the Google Play Store, the Solar Portable has the Steam Link app, which allows you to play any PC game running within your home network. Under the remote and accessory settings, I paired a Bluetooth gamepad to play Steam games.

Google Chromecast is built-in to the projector. You can use this for streaming apps on your phone or tablet. Or you can use it to cast your personal photos and videos.

Aside from a couple of extra clicks on my remote, I had no problem navigating Netflix, and the picture quality looked the same as other apps that I’ve used on the projector. I haven’t found a mini or portable projector yet that has a native Netflix app.

Alternate of Anker Nebula Solar Portable 1080p projector at this price

If gaming is more of what you’re looking for, then the BenQ TH685i may be the direction to go — although it’s great aside from gaming. The 120hz refresh rate means that there’ll be no dropped frames, and you’ll be able to see it in more lighting conditions thanks to the 3500 lumens. The 1080p projector can even support 4K HDR content from either apps on Android TV or your favorite gaming console.

However, if you want portability, this likely isn’t the option for you. There’s no built-in battery, and it’s not exactly small. It is a full-sized projector and weighs in at 9.3 lbs. The BenQ TH685i is meant to be set up and left where it is, rather than something you’ll use in multiple locations.