Great, But Not Fully Portable – Review Geek

The JIRENO CUBE 4 is a powerhouse of a projector well worth the price of admission. With 1080p FHD resolution, full 4K decoding, dual 5-watt speakers and built-in Android TV, the JIRENO CUBE4 has everything you need in a portable projector. The only problem: it’s not that portable.

Design: Slim and sturdy

Packed in an aluminum housing, the JIRENO CUBE4 feels sturdy. Like most projectors, the CUBE4 is a bit cumbersome. Weighing in at about five pounds, picking it up feels like holding a toaster. The only handles are an attachable set of leather straps that are used as handles. The strap went fine and it is more than capable of supporting the weight of the projector. I wore and hung it around the house without any problems.

At the top of the box is the power button; it’s a little hard to notice at first, but after that you don’t lose sight of it. The holder is nicely concealed at the bottom of the CUBE4.

This projector hits the minimalist aesthetic pretty well; all its features are unobtrusive and flush with the case.

The projector’s lens is located above a fan on the front, with a secondary fan on the back of the projector. The fans are quiet enough – the sound of movies and TV shows drowned them out almost all the time. Still, there were a few moments when the movie went quiet and I could hear both fans spinning across the room.

The input ports of the JIRENO CUBE4 are located on the back of the projector and support DC, USB, HDMI, USB type C and 3.5mm audio jack. It also features Bluetooth 5.0 and Dual-band WiFi (2.4GHz and 5GHz) connectivity – all of which offer alternative ways to control the device. It’s a nice spread, but ultimately to be expected in today’s era of projectors.

JIRENO advertises functionality with PCs, phones, tablets, Google Chromecast and cameras; it all works as intended without finding big drops in connection.

Portability: misses the mark

This projector will fit anywhere you might throw some books, but it does require a power outlet and isn’t water resistant. The portability of the Cube is advertised as one of the main attraction factors, so worrying about rain is a bit of a downer.

The JIRENO CUBE4 is still a true projector, which is not known for being portable. The CUBE4 is certainly smaller than most, but it’s a striking 5 pounds in weight and about 7 inches in length and height. I could carry the CUBE4 in a backpack or duffel bag, but it’s way too big to fit comfortably in most handbags or shopping bags. This isn’t much of an issue when driving the projector to your destination, but it is heavy enough to weigh down your bag as you walk.

You certainly won’t want to wear this the way you would a tablet or laptop. The lack of an internal battery kills a lot of the possibilities that would make this a really great portable projector. If you want to use the JIRENO CUBE4 outdoors, you need to go somewhere with a big enough wall, a power source, and a way to get it there.

It’s certainly a step above most machines in the field, but these are enough clauses to make me question the portability as a major selling point of this projector.

Image quality: Sharp FHD

The JIRENO CUBE4 produces an impressive 500 ANSI lumens with its LCD lens, which converts to approximately 200 LED lumens. I tested it against white drywall any time of the day and honestly the picture quality is great. While I wouldn’t use this projector outside in broad daylight, the image looks sharp in most settings. Brightness tends to smooth out the image, but lens quality and autofocus do a good job of making the most of a bad situation.

The Cube 4 achieves a screen resolution of 1920x1080p and according to Jireno can project a screen size of up to 200 inches. Those measurements come with a warning; after a certain point the image quality deteriorates noticeably. It starts to get muddy around 100-inches, but remains perfectly visible for the entire distance advertised. It only annoyed me when I got close to the projection. It’s fine to look outside.

Sound: solid, only one source

As mentioned, the CUBE4 has dual 5-watt speakers with custom diaphragms designed to create the kind of big echo you’d get in a movie theater. It certainly manages to simulate a larger space, but in the end it’s just a single audio source after all. The actual sound quality isn’t bad at all, just distorted in scenes with polluted soundscapes – and even then it wasn’t much.

Fortunately, the Jireno Cube 4 supports external playback devices via Bluetooth and the 3.5mm audio jack. I don’t find it necessary to use as the built-in speakers are fine; they just “simulate” larger spaces rather than actually being placed in them.

User experience: pros and cons

This is where the minimalist design of the Jireno Cube frustrated me. Every function on the projector, except activation, is handled through an external input device. Worryingly, the included remote is battery powered and difficult to open. A distinct downward arrow on the back of the remote indicates a slider, but there are no grooves or clips. I ended up using a knife to open the remote, which may have been an issue with the particular version I got, but it left a bitter taste in my mouth.

I don’t know why the CUBE4 doesn’t have other buttons; there’s plenty of empty real estate it could use without cluttering the design. If you have a model without a remote, you need to use a USB device such as a mouse to control it.

Once set up, you get access to the CUBE4’s built-in Android TV. As you would expect, it has all the applications and games you would find on a TV, such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Google Play Movies & TV.

It does use an older version of Android TV OS, but it works fine and includes the ability to install other Android apps. The Jireno Cube 4’s Am Logic T972 chip proved strong enough to handle whatever I set out to do, and the 2GB of RAM and 16GB of storage were more than enough to keep things running smoothly.

Should you buy the JIRENO CUBE4?

The JIRENO CUBE4 is undoubtedly a respectable choice for a projector. It does everything I want a projector to do, and my frustrations were quickly resolved. Features like diffuse reflection and 6D auto-correct open up many surfaces to be a viable screen for a show. Not to mention those dual 5 watt speakers that are powerful with enough bass to fill a room. That said, if you’re looking for the most portable projector on the market, this isn’t quite the case.

At $299 on release, I’d think it’s well worth the price, especially for social events or impromptu movie nights.