Aurzen Zip Cyber ​​​​Foldable Portable Projector: Not Flashy, Bad Connections, but Lots of Fun

I’m trying to imagine what a twisted Aurzen Zip Cyber ​​looks like the most. Perhaps the new most foldable phone. Or a small robot snake. Maybe a Zat gun from Stargate. That doesn’t look like a a gaming machine. Well, except for the light that explodes in front of it. With its cyberpunk-inspired decorations, Aurzen looks futuristic.

With its 720p resolution and 100-lumen brightness, its performance matches its diminutive size. Then again, it’s one of the few projectors I’ve seen that can literally fit in your pocket. With a 5,000-mAh battery, it can give you a TV-sized screen almost anywhere. Anywhere it’s too dark.

The biggest problem with the Zip is its lack of an HDMI input. Other devices can connect to Zip wirelessly, but are limited to non-copyrighted content (so no Netflix, etc). For that, you’ll also need to get CastPlay Pro or CastPlay HDMI wireless dongles. For a pocket-sized PJ, the Aurzen Zip Cyber ​​is still neat.

Details and more

• Resolution: 720p
• Lumens specification: 100 (required)
• Zoom in: No
• Changing the lens: No (although you can tilt the sections)
• Battery: 5,000 mAh, 1.5h claimed play time
• Type of light source and life: Not listed, probably LED

Cyberpunk is one of my favorite sci-fi genres, and I recently reread Gibson’s. The Sprawl trilogy for the 4th or 5th time, played about 250 hours of Cyberpunk 2077, and enjoying a lot of other media, I’m sure, let’s say “predisposed,” to love beauty. The appearance of the Zip Cyber ​​​​is preem, choom, although it is actually beautiful with a really nice sticker and a power button with a different color compared to the usual Zip by Aurzen. The suggested retail price is $30 more for Cyber, or 7.5%. Personally, I’d pay extra for the look, but that being said, I’m into it.

Stickers aside, a different kind of Zip. This is a small squat box that expands with two hinges that can rotate about 90 degrees each. Fully upright, the projector forms a “Z” or “S” shape with a right angle depending on your perspective. Fixing the two non-primary segments is how you angle the projector, as well automatic keystone adjustment tries to keep a rectangular image. This feature can be turned off in the menu.

There are control buttons at the top, which can also be activated in the Aurzen app (which annoyingly requires you to create an account). Next to the power button on one side are the volume controls, and on the other is the brightness mode switch. The latter kicks the fans into overdrive, making them visible, but results in about a 40% increase in brightness. This sounds like a lot, but in isolation it stands out a bit.

As you’d expect, given the size and price, that light isn’t going to set any records. I measured about 88 lumens, which, given the difference in measurement techniques, is pretty close to their claims. Also, I couldn’t do my normal measurement suite because of the main feature of Zip, which is…

Communication

• HDMI input: 0
• USB port: 1 USB-C
• Sound output: 2 speakers, 1-watt value
• Internet: None
• Broadcast interface: None
• Distance: N/A

There is no HDMI input, only one USB-C connection, which is also how you charge the battery. You can stream wirelessly to Zip, or at least some devices can. Certain devices cannot. For those devices, Aurzen also sells the CastPlay Pro, a USB-C dongle that plugs into a source like your phone or tablet and streams its screen to Zip. This is also the only way to stream DRM (copy-protected) enabled content like Netflix, Disney+, HBO and more. Most USB-C iPhones and iPads should work; some Switch tablets work, as do most laptops. If you know that your device supports video output from the USB-C connection, it it should work. My Pixel 9 Pro, for example, wouldn’t stream to Zip directly, but it worked fine with a dongle. My TCL tablet wouldn’t work with the dongle, but streamed directly, albeit without DRM content.

Aurzen also has a CastPlay Wireless HDMI Dongle, which connects to an HDMI source to stream to the Zip, but this was not available at the time of my review, and as of this writing is sold in many places.

So Zip is weird to review because, depending on your devices and what accessories you add, you will have a very different experience. I made a chart:

Basically, most modern iOS and non-Google devices should work with Zip itself, although you won’t be able to watch DRM-protected, copyrighted content (like what you find on major streaming services). YouTube, Instagram, TikTok and the like will work just fine, though. For connecting other phones and devices, as long as they can output video via USB-C, the CastPlay Pro dongle will let you watch Netflix and other DRM-enabled streaming services (basically anything that isn’t user-created). If you want to connect to a gaming console like PlayStation or a streaming device like Roku, you’ll want CastPlay HDMI. I think a lot of this confusion would have been solved by adding a Micro HDMI input somewhere, but I’m sure that would have added cost.

Image quality

Due to the compatibility challenges mentioned above, I was unable to do my full measurements with Zip. I’m sure these results are close, though, especially since they’re very similar to other inexpensive DLP portable projectors I’ve tested, such as Anker’s Nebula Capsule Air.

While the light output, in high brightness mode, was around 88 lumens, it was around 63 in very quiet, low brightness mode. This is within a few lumens of the Capsule and Capsule Air, close enough that you won’t notice any difference in light output. These are all small, dim, mid-dim projectors I’ve tested. That’s fine, as it’s an understandable consequence of size and value. As long as you keep the projected image the same size as the TV, it’s bright enough to enjoy in a dark room.

Contrast is also very low, but within the same range as the competition. I measured an average contrast of about 401:1, which is about the same as the Capsules and other larger, more expensive laptops like Mars 3 Air (405:1). This is just below standouts such as TCL PlayCube (492:1) and full-size projectors such as Epson Flex Plus (468:1). So while the image isn’t as crisp as on higher end, and larger/more expensive projectors, it’s still distinct enough that it doesn’t look overly washed out. Again, size and price are the main attributes of the Zip, so it’s good to see that it also looks decent, placed in the curve category with other small portables.

Color is a mixed bag, though. The overall color temperature is a little on the cool/blue side, but not enough to be distracting. Some colors, like blue and cyan, look good. Green is quite accurate as well, which is amazing. Many projector companies sacrifice original green to emit more light. Anything that includes red is off, however, red itself is a bit saturated, magentas are somewhat blue, and yellows are green. The most noticeable result is that most skin tones look a little pasty, and anything that should have a strong red looks more pastel.

Perhaps the most useful feature in Zip speaks to how Aurzen expects people to use it. If you place the Zip on its side, it will rotate the image 90 degrees. This means that if you’re primarily viewing 9×16 content like TikTok, it will fill up the DLP chip, and you can take advantage of the full 720p resolution. This makes viewing specific content more satisfying compared to a text boxed image that takes up the middle of the featured image. Pushing it to the sides makes it difficult to position it correctly, as there is no rotation on the hinges in that area, but oh well. It’s easy enough to just up the ante with whatever is available.

The unit’s two small speakers aren’t loud, and they don’t have much bass, no surprise there, but as long as you’re sitting close, they get the job done.

A running blade

For the most part, I really like Aurzen Zip Cyber. A smart design that looks futuristic even without the cyberpunk clothes. It’s one of the smallest projectors I’ve ever tested, and it performs just as well as its slightly more portable competitors. The colors produced aren’t great, but they are better than most small, inexpensive projectors I checked, like various AAXA models.

My doubts are related to communication. I think I have a worse idea of ​​this than most people as I have a Pixel phone and a tablet that doesn’t have DisplayPort Alt Mode, so nothing is completely compatible with Zip. Depending on your gear, you’ll have different luck. The lack of an HDMI input also means that in order to watch content from major providers other than YouTube, you have to get one of the dongles, adding $100 to the total price.

That said, if you expect to watch an endless stream of TikTok or YouTube videos, and you have a device that will stream without a dongle, the Zip is a great-looking gadget that can fit in a pocket and give you a TV-sized picture in rooms, vans or anywhere it’s dark.