Summary
There are three key features of convenience a projector can have to make it ultra-simple. It should be bright enough for use outside of complete darkness, have streaming services built-in, and have some kind of built-in height adjustment. TheJMGO N1Snails all of those things and more.
The Gimble Handle and Stand Give This Projector a Leg Up
It feels like the star of the show for a projector should be its picture quality—and it should be!—but the first feature of the N1S that I fell in love with was its gimbal stand and handle. The dual-purpose handle makes it easy to carry and is nearly infinitely adjustable for any wall or surface.
Not only on a screen or wall but also on the ceiling. The N1S is far from the only projector with a built-in stand. TheLG CineBeamand theSamsung Freestyleboth do a good job of being flexible. Still, the N1S does a great job too.
Although I like the tilting stand, the triple laser projection system is ultimately the important part. To that end, the 1080p FHD picture looked good. I had no complaints about the image quality, whether the size was blown up past 100 inches or it was shrunk down to around 50 inches.
Although the JMGO team is credited with several patents around its MALC (Microstructure Adaptive Laser Control) color laser optics, the most notable point to me was the projector’s size. The unit was very compact, seemingly without compromising on image quality.
I used the projector on a plain interior wall and with a projector screen. I was satisfied in both cases with nothing of note to mention.
On the sound front, the two integrated 5W speakers were plenty loud for all my indoor movie-watching. They worked fine too outdoors, in a patio setting, but they wouldn’t be suitable for a group event at the beach or park. You’ll want to connect an external speaker for those types of uses.
New projectors are starting to include Google TV software and I’m loving it. I used to use a $50 Chromecast with Google TV dongle with any projector so I didn’t have to fuss with its custom software.
Google TV software is far from perfect, but it has all the streaming apps available and it syncs with your Google account. The inclusion of Google TV on the N1S is a big boon for it. Most people shouldn’t need to worry about HDMI connections or using content stored on a thumb drive to play the latest shows and movies.
Areas of Fault
While I love the N1S projector for what it is, it doesn’t have every feature I’m looking for. For example, it’s small enough that it’s easy to move around the house or a myriad of other places, but it doesn’t have a battery inside. It needs access to a power source.
Since it has Google TV software onboard, I can mostly live with its limited ports—USB-A, HDMI, and 3.5mm. But I really wish there was a USB-C port instead of an A variant. More thumb drives are coming with the updated port type and most HDDs or SSDs use a USB-C cable.
Even if not for data, I would have loved to power the projector via a high-capacity power bank for increased portability.
I wish the N1S had a tiny bit more horsepower. On two occasions, out of many, the Google TV software lagged or stuttered. I’m willing to place most of the blame on Google here, but I do worry that in the long term, the 2GB of RAM or MediaTek MT9630 system on a chip could be outmuscled by Google’s software updates.
Is the JMGO N1S Worth Spending Money On?
Coming in with a $999 retail price, theJMGO N1Sprojector is more of an investment than a summer fling. It’s a good projector, but a tough sell at full cost. I would attempt to wait until it goes on sale, personally. Once it does, it should prove valuable for the role it serves. (This projector is still in line with the pricing from Samsung and LG for some of their offerings.)
I was smitten with its adjustable gimbal stand that moved freely but didn’t shift around. It made using the projector in different environments a stellar experience. I was also fully satisfied with the picture quality and mostly happy with having Google TV software.
Even if there were a few minor items I wanted to fit my exact uses a little better, I still think it’s a worthwhile consideration for families that are having movie nights outside or in various rooms of the house.
JMGO N1S
The JMGO N1S mini triple laser projector features 1080p FHD picture quality, built-in speakers, Google TV, and a stand that doubles as a handle.
