Soundcore Nebula P1 Projector Review (2026): Compact and Portable for Indoor-Outdoor Viewing

Highly portable. Good capable dependable done the 2 wireless speakers. Splash absorption erstwhile you adjacent the lens. Reasonable terms for the all-in-one design.

Only OK 1080p representation quality. Only supports mirroring from your telephone oregon tablet. Picture prime settings had a minimal impact.

A location theater projector is simply a astute upgrade if you person the abstraction for 1 of the often bulky and dense machines. That is, unless you opt for a compact, portable model, similar the Soundcore Nebula P1 from Anker. Weighing conscionable 5.3 pounds and measuring astir 11 inches gangly and 5 inches wide, the P1 is overmuch easier to determination astir than the highly susceptible but little portable Nebula X1 Pro. In fact, the P1 is 1 of the champion portable, indoor-outdoor projectors I’ve tested since 2001 (and I person tested respective twelve indoor and outdoor models). It includes 2 wireless speakers, a ample handle, and adjacent has an IP33 standing for splash resistance. And the $800 terms is tenable compared to high-end models that topple implicit 4 digits (including the X1 Pro).

Over a month, I tested the P1 successful my surviving country and outside. While the just-OK 1080p representation prime and deficiency of precocious features—like media casting and a higher opposition ratio—might springiness you pause, its terms and portability marque it a bully affordable and portable projector.

Getting Started

At astir 11 inches tall, with a canvas strap crossed the top, the Nebula P1 looks similar a funky Bluetooth speaker. For the price, it’s not an impulse acquisition by immoderate means but inactive costs a fewer 1000 little than a home-theater exemplary by Epson, JVC, oregon Sony. That terms interruption corresponds with the P1’s show capability. Indeed, the P1 is designed for adaptability, not professional-grade quality.

Two wireless, battery-powered speakers beryllium connected apical of the P1 and volition complaint arsenic agelong arsenic you support the main portion connected to a powerfulness source. Its two-channel audio isn’t perfect for movies and games; the main vantage present is that you tin spot the speakers astir 20 feet from the projector for much immersive sound. The projector lens rotates 130 degrees up and down, which allows you to task onto a partition oregon the ceiling. You tin besides retract the lens afloat down into the enclosure for safekeeping. When you do, the full portion tin withstand splashes and airy rain, fixed the Nebula’s IP33 rating.

Auto cardinal stoning and autofocus fto the projector enactment instantly. As soon arsenic you powerfulness up the P1, the instrumentality volition punctual you to usage the VisionFit diagnostic connected the NebulaConnect app. This process asks you to constituent your telephone astatine your projector surface oregon partition truthful the P1 tin automatically adjust. It worked perfectly during my testing, though if I accidentally bumped into the P1 aft completing this process, the projector would connection to readjust the picture—at slightest until I disabled that feature.

The P1 runs connected the Google TV operating system, which is ace casual to usage and doesn’t necessitate that you bring on immoderate benignant of further outer devices to watercourse contented oregon play games. I besides loved the P1 remote, which is tiny capable to stash successful your pocket, has intuitively placed buttons, and is backlit to prevention you from fumbling for buttons successful a acheronian room.

Maxing retired its brightness astatine ANSI 650 lumens and offering a 400:1 opposition ratio, this is not a location cinema exemplary that volition vie with your section cineplex. If that prime is what you’re looking for, see that Soundcore besides makes the Nebula X1 ($2,799) and the monolithic Nebula X1 Pro ($4,999) that some task astatine 3,500 lumens and person a crisper 5,000:1 opposition ratio.

To boost the dependable oregon representation prime wrong your house, you tin link the P1 to an AV receiver oregon a soundbar utilizing the 1 HDMI larboard implicit eARC. But adjacent so, the P1 tin lone bash truthful overmuch due to the fact that it doesn't enactment 4K Ultra resolution, HDR10+ colour quality, oregon adjacent Dolby Atmos Audio utilizing the included speakers. Its cardinal diagnostic is portability. (Dolby Atmos did enactment with an AV receiver connected utilizing the 1 HDMI eARC port.)

Inside and Out

Aware of the P1’s specifications and its main intent of portability, I kept my expectations successful cheque arsenic I started testing. I wasn’t looking for exceptional show with the P1, but erstwhile I popped up a Houston Rockets crippled connected YouTube TV successful some my windowless investigating country and successful my household country (on a agleam day, nary less), I was impressed. The sheer size of the projected representation (110 inches) made for an immersive experience.

That said, the crippled didn’t precisely look agleam and had mean opposition for a low-cost projector. Experimenting with the automated representation prime settings didn’t assistance excessively much, but a sports mode mounting added immoderate brightness and clarity.

Shifting implicit to a section quality broadcast, the solution had a somewhat grainy look, adjacent erstwhile I manually adjusted immoderate of the brightness and opposition controls. While streaming Avatar: Fire and Ash implicit the Fandango astatine Home app, I noticed immoderate bully clarity and absorption during conflict scenes, but it didn't look rather cinematic. When I compared it to an Epson LS9000 projector, the aforesaid scenes looked realistically vivid, with a afloat colour gamut.

The P1 projector performed OK connected my different emblematic projector-testing benchmarks for visuals. I ran done dozens of sequences, including 1 with a obstruction successful winter, but the inheritance colors looked excessively brownish erstwhile they should person been green. A sunset country lacked opposition and colour vibrancy, which is unsurprising for the price.

To trial the dependable capableness of the 2 wireless speakers, I played the crippled Senua's Saga: Hellblade II connected an Xbox Series X. An water country with rainfall and thunder sounded convincing enough, but the ghostly voices that usually emanate astir the country sounded dull and lifeless. During a conflict country successful the movie Unbroken connected Netflix, the two-channel premix was likewise dull, but the explosions were thunderous. This discrepancy wasn’t an contented with dialogue-heavy contented without galore audio peculiar effects. When I watched The Smashing Machine, I recovered the communicative casual to follow.

I besides tested the Nebula P1’s music-playing capableness utilizing the Tidal app—the opus Divinize by Rosalía lacked tonal depth, but it did person immoderate oomph.

For my outdoor tests, I positioned the P1 astir halfway down my driveway connected a tiny array and pointed the lens toward my 2 stall store door. On a transportation achromatic nighttime with dense unreality cover, the representation prime was akin to what I experienced successful my windowless trial room.

I did person immoderate occupation with streaming from an iPhone and an iPad some indoors and out. The P1 lone lets you reflector your screen, and erstwhile I tried playing a John Wick movie utilizing some HBO Max and Hulu, a informing connection appeared indicating it would beryllium a integer rights violation. Soundcore reps suggested installing the apps connected the projector instead. That’s a occupation for outdoor movies due to the fact that you mightiness privation to watercourse from a telephone straight and not drawback different streaming device. Outside, you mightiness not person the powerfulness cables oregon privation to hazard harm to instrumentality that’s successful your surviving room.

The bully quality is that movies and shows looked astonishing connected my driveway astatine astir 200 inches diagonally. I watched the movie Relay connected Netflix and the classical North by Northwest, and some looked spectacular astatine the monolithic size.