Like much of its competition, the MoGo 4 Laser is designed around a native 960-by-540-pixel DLP chip; that chip leverages TI’s XPR fast-switch pixel shifting to boost the on-screen resolution to 1,920 by 1,080. It also offers two key differences from the MoGo 3 Pro. It adds a built-in battery, and, instead of LEDs, it uses a tri-color laser light source, which increases the color gamut to boost image quality. Xgimi rates the gamut at 110% of BT.2020 (a.k.a. REC.2020), the standard for 4K UHD projectors and TVs, and it rates the laser life at 20,000 hours.
Physically, the projector has the same overall shape as a shorter-than-typical insulated water bottle, measuring 8.2 inches high and 3.8 inches in diameter. The projector itself sits on a base, while a vertical arm along the side connects the two, adding about half an inch to the diameter over the span of about an inch. The connecting arm lets you aim the projector at any angle up or down over 360 degrees, while the 2.9-pound weight makes it easy to adjust on the horizontal axis and move closer to or farther from whatever you’re using as a screen to adjust image size.
(Credit: M. David Stone)
As shipped, the projector comes with a mini remote attached to the side, with a few critical control buttons, letting it serve as a semi-attached control panel. You can also remove it and use it as a second remote along with the separate full-size version.
When the lens is facing straight down, the projector can move up or down on the arm by about a half inch. The highest position lets the bottom edge just clear the base when the projector is rotated. In the lowest position, the base serves as a lens cover, while the arm covers the one HDMI port and the USB Type-A port. The only other connector is a USB Type-C port—used for power only—180 degrees around the circumference, just above the power button. For streaming, Xgimi includes fully integrated Google TV, with Wi-Fi as the only option for connecting to your network. In addition, you get support for mirroring using DLNA or Google Cast, from sources also connected to the network.
(Credit: M. David Stone)
One option you may want to consider with this projector is the $129 PowerBase Stand, which is similar to the one we strongly suggested for the MoGo 3 Pro. Unlike the MoGo 3 Pro, the MoGo 4 Laser has its own built-in battery, so rather than the stand adding the ability to use the projector without a handy AC outlet nearby, it merely extends how long a session you can run on a charge.
Xgimi rates the built-in battery at 2.5 hours in Eco mode, which the projector switches to automatically when using battery power. You can manually increase the brightness, if you like, but the battery won’t last as long. (Xgimi doesn’t offer a battery-life rating for higher brightness levels.) The stand weighs 1.8 pounds, doubles the battery life to 5 hours, and breaks into two pieces that are easy to assemble and disassemble, with the longest measuring 17 inches. Keep in mind that the stand also makes it easy to position the projector without having to move furniture around to support it.
(Credit: M. David Stone)
The onboard stereo audio system is built around a pair of 6-watt Harman/Kardon speakers and supports Dolby Audio, Dolby Digital, and Dolby Digital Plus. The combination translates here to punchy-enough sound quality for the projector’s size, plus high enough volume to fill a small-to-midsize family room. For better quality and higher volume, you can use Bluetooth or the HDMI port’s ARC support to connect an external sound system. You can also use the projector as a Bluetooth speaker for other audio sources.
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The MoGo 4 Laser builds on two unusual touches we first saw in the MoGo 3 Pro: Ambient light Mode, and what Xgimi calls Creative filters. Ambient Light Mode offers low-level mood lighting, with your choice of color. The four optical filters attach magnetically to the lens—which means they can be quickly and easily snapped on—to add various visual effects to the image. They’re designed to be used with the Xgimi Creative Optical Filter app, which you can download from the Google Play store.
