I\u2019ve been testing the $799 (currently on sale for $639) Nebula P1<\/a> as I travel around the European countryside in my van. It\u2019s not my favorite portable projector, but I\u2019ve grown quite fond of the P1 \u2013 just like cameras, sometimes the best projector is the one you have with you.<\/p>\n $639<\/p>\n The GoodDetachable speakers produce great sound for a portableDoubles as a decent Bluetooth speakerTilting stand for easier placementGoogle TV built-in with official Netflix supportThe BadNo built-in batteryPoor screen detection and obstacle avoidanceTilt mechanism adds lots of bulk<\/p>\n Anker\u2019s been on a tear with innovative portable projectors that focus on superior sound, first with the $3,000 Nebula X1<\/a> and then with the absurdly massive X1 Pro<\/a>. The Nebula P1 trims all that excess down from 72 pounds to 5.3 pounds to create a truly portable (and much less expensive and less capable) projector suited to vanlife or impromptu movie nights anywhere there\u2019s a wall, sheet, or screen\u2026 and a power outlet or big USB-C battery.<\/p>\n In dark rooms, the P1 produces an enjoyable 1080p image which is still the standard for portable projectors in this class. Its LED light source, rated at a 650 ANSI Lumens, isn\u2019t enough to defeat rooms filled with too much ambient light, but it still looks good inside my van during the day when tightly focused onto a nearby surface. But it\u2019s the sound that makes the P1 really shine.<\/p>\n There\u2019s something special about outdoor movie nights in the middle of nowhere. But needing a giant battery to power the projector kind of stinks.<\/p>\n The detachable 10W speakers combine to produce a wide and pleasant soundscape. I\u2019ve grown quite fond of the little speaker pair in my few weeks of testing. As a bonus, they magnetically attach to my van on either side of my projection screen for a clean outdoor movie setup. Putting the speakers up by the display really does help create a more immersive experience. Usually, you\u2019re seated right next to the speakers integrated into portable projectors, which means the audio sounds like it\u2019s coming from the side or your knees instead of where the action is taking place.<\/p>\n Overall the sound is decent, and about what you\u2019d expect from speakers the size of soda cans. I also like that I can shut off the projector\u2019s LED lamp and use the P1 as a Bluetooth speaker. The volume is loud enough to easily fill an RV or living room.<\/p>\n Madeleine Peyroux\u2019s rendition of La Vie En Rose sounded fantastic, with individual string plucks of the violin coming out the left speaker, a strumming guitar from the right, and her dulcet vocals wrapped in a squeezebox oozing out the center. Bass-heavy tracks like Kendrick Lamar\u2019s Not like Us sounded thin, however. Unlike Anker\u2019s much larger Nebula X1 and X1 Pro projectors, there\u2019s no subwoofer built into the base of the Nebula P1.<\/p>\n Anker\u2019s 400W, 3500 ANSI lumen Nebula X1 Pro (left) vs. the 20W, 650 ANSI Lumen Nebula P1 (right) during the day.<\/p>\n The tiny, battery-powered TCL PlayCube (left) vs. the Nebula P1 plugged into a power station (right) at dusk.<\/p>\n The Nebula P1 is still watchable during the day inside my van.<\/p>\n Like most portables, the P1 looks best without any ambient light.<\/p>\n As a projector, the Nebula P1 is very quiet, measuring just 26dB from one meter away \u2014 barely noticeable above the din of my snoring dog. But I did all the testing on cool days so the fans never had a reason to really spin up. The speakers feature an IP54 resistance to dust and rain splashing onto them from all directions, while the projector\u2019s more limited IP33 rating should protect it from light rain.<\/p>\n Anker says the P1\u2019s speakers will last 20 hours before needing a recharge, which seems accurate based upon my testing so far. They snap together with magnets then mechanically dock to the top of the projector where they\u2019ll charge when the Nebula P1 is plugged into a wall jack or a battery capable of 100W over USB-C. The speakers can also be charged directly over USB-C while in use, which is convenient when they flash a low-battery warning mid film.<\/p>\n The Nebula P1 boots into Google TV in about 50 seconds from a cold start, or about 5 seconds from sleep, where it consumes a near-constant 6W. The projector ate through 51Wh of battery capacity in one hour of Netflix streaming at maximum brightness. That means a typical 99Wh power bank won\u2019t last long enough to view a two-and-a-half hour film like Pulp Fiction without taking a charging break.<\/p>\n It\u2019s dumb and cumbersome and I hate it. <\/p>\n Anker says that the Nebula P1 features Intelligent Environment Adaptation (IEA) 4.0, which means automatic focus, keystone correction, obstacle avoidance, and screen fitting. In my testing, however, it did a horrible job at detecting obstacles and my projector screen, though my screen lacks black borders which likely complicates matters. If I wanted to \u201cautomate\u201d detection I had to resort to Anker\u2019s clunky \u201cVisionFit\u201d tech. You launch the Nebula Connect app and take a photo of the surface where you\u2019d like to project the image, and the P1 will use that input to avoid obstacles and find the screen. It\u2019s dumb and cumbersome and I hate it.<\/p>\n Fortunately, the autofocus and intelligent keystone correction worked fine, with manual overrides so you can brute force the image into place when needed. Having the projector on a swivel also gives you more placement options without having to resort to a stack of books. You can also save settings into presets if you repeatedly use the projector from the same location.<\/p>\n 1\/13The projector swivels down to protect the lens. The speakers attach together magnetically then dock mechanically to the top.<\/p>\n In general, I don\u2019t like portable projectors that lack a built-in battery because you have to plug a snaggy cable into a wall jack or carry an extra battery around. That\u2019s very much the case with the Nebula P1<\/a>.<\/p>\n While I enjoyed my time with it, I\u2019d choose TCL\u2019s $799.99 (on sale for $649.99) PlayCube<\/a> when true portability is the priority. The PlayCube costs the same, is a little brighter, also tilts, and runs the same Google TV OS, but manages to fit a three-hour battery into a much smaller projector. It just can\u2019t compete with the Nebula P1 on sound.<\/p>\n Display Technology: DLP 0.23\u201d DMDResolution: 1920 \u00d7 1080Light Source: LEDBrightness: 650 ANSI LumensColor Gamut: 124% Rec. 709Native Contrast Ratio: 400:1Light Source Lifespan: 25,000 HoursAspect Ratio: 16:9Throw Ratio: 1.2:1Offset: 100%3D Content Compatibility: NoFocus Adjustment: Auto \/ ManualProjection Mode: Front \/ Rear \/ Front Ceiling \/ Rear CeilingKeystone Correction: Auto (Vertical \u00b140\u00b0), Auto (Horizontal \u00b130\u00b0)Interface: HDMI 2.1 (eARC), AUX-OUT, USB-A, USB-COS: Google TV (With Official Netflix)Modes: Projector Mode \/ Bluetooth Speaker ModeScreen Mirroring: Google Cast Built-InCPU: Quad Core ARM Cortex-A55GPU: ARM Mali-G52MC1RAM \/ ROM: 2 GB \/ 32 GBSpeakers: 10W \u00d72 (Dolby Audio Supported)<\/p>\n Photography by Thomas Ricker \/ The Verge<\/p>\n Follow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.Thomas RickerClose Thomas Ricker<\/p>\n Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.<\/p>\n FollowFollow<\/p>\n See All by Thomas Ricker<\/a><\/p>\n Accessory ReviewsClose<\/p>\n Accessory Reviews<\/p>\n Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.<\/p>\n FollowFollow<\/p>\n See All Accessory Reviews<\/a><\/p>\n GadgetsClose<\/p>\n Gadgets<\/p>\n Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.<\/p>\n FollowFollow<\/p>\n See All Gadgets<\/a><\/p>\n ReviewsClose<\/p>\n Reviews<\/p>\n Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.<\/p>\n FollowFollow<\/p>\n See All Reviews<\/a><\/p>\n TechClose<\/p>\n Tech<\/p>\n Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.<\/p>\n FollowFollow<\/p>\n See All Tech<\/a><\/p>\n TVsClose<\/p>\n TVs<\/p>\n Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.<\/p>\n FollowFollow<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_7771.jpeg\"\/)
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