TCL’s PlayCube projector is more fun than a Rubik’s Cube

The best all-in-one portable projector is one that makes all the right compromises. It needs to balance picture and sound quality with battery life and responsiveness in a device that’s not too expensive and small enough to take anywhere. TCL’s fun little PlayCube offers the right mix to justify paying $800 for a 1080p projector in 2026.

I tested the TCL PlayCube running Google TV on a two-month road trip, and then again for a few months at home. It’s so small, adaptable and nice that I had no problem setting it up anytime, day or night, wherever I am.

TCL claims that the PlayCube’s 90-degree rotating design was inspired by the Rubik’s Cube. Just give it a twist whenever you need to lift the image over obstacles. Alternatively, you can mount it on a tripod via the threaded connector at the bottom, or flip it on its back for overhead viewing at bedtime. The PlayCube also features all the auto-adjustment modes you’d expect from a modern portable projector, including focus, keystone correction, obstacle avoidance, screen detection, and eye protection.

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

It’s bright enough to watch video during the day when all those lumens are concentrated into a narrow 30-inch rectangle inside my van, or 100 inches when projected against it at night. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have the color-matching technology found on Samsung’s new Freestyle+ (battery-free) projector, so the blue-gray shell affected the palette. Regardless, it was still very watchable.

The sound produced by the PlayCube’s single 5W speaker is decent. There’s no stereo separation, but the sound is loud enough to fill a room. It just lacks scale, warmth and detail. The music of Florence and The Machine and Kendrick Lamar seems strident and thin. The screeching tires, gunshots, and explosions of a 007 chase scene made for a rather confusing soundscape, but it was still enjoyable. The sound is uncomfortably harsh above 60% volume, which is still quite loud. During an outdoor movie night, I felt obliged to set the volume to 20% maximum to avoid disturbing the nearest neighbor, about 50 meters away.

You can also connect headphones or self-powered speakers via the audio jack or via Bluetooth. The projector can also be used as a Bluetooth speaker, which turns off the lamp but, unfortunately, not the fan. This fan produces 27 dB when measured from a distance of one meter, which is pretty quiet for a projector but still noticeable during still moments.

The PlayCube’s 66Wh battery life was inconsistent, but it performed very well in recent testing. 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 on Netflix, a film that lasts 2 hours and 50 minutes. It also works with USB-C power banks if you need even more power. The PlayCube charged from zero to full in 104 minutes from a 65W USB-C charger.

I noticed abrupt changes in battery life during my four months of testing, which I think can be attributed to TCL’s power management in sleep mode. A short press of the power button puts the projector to sleep, allowing it to wake up in less than 30 seconds. When in standby, the fan spins periodically, sapping power – which could be why I’ve seen significant battery drain when van living in warmer climates. The problem disappeared when I returned to the mild temperatures at home. A firmware update could have also helped.

Anyway, you can long press the power button for a complete shutdown to avoid phantom power consumption while in standby mode. The PlayCube then takes around 80 seconds to boot up, but this can be speeded up by disabling some automatic screen adjustment features.

The user interface can also be slow at times, like most battery-powered projectors. Sometimes Google TV needs a frustrating second or two before responding to navigation commands from the remote. The automatic image adjustment features are also rather slow to start. But I’m grateful when they do, even though avoiding obstacles can be hit or miss. Fortunately, everything can still be adjusted manually.

TCL says the PlayCube is “designed specifically for camping projection.” This made me, an avid vanlifer, his primary target, and I came away very impressed. At $799.99, TCL’s PlayCube projector isn’t cheap, but you won’t usually find this blend of brightness, battery life, and portability for less. Xgimi’s Halo+ comes close at the same price, but in a larger body that offers improved stereo sound but shorter battery life… but it’s currently on sale for just $449, which is a pretty good deal.

Photography by Thomas Ricker / The Verge