Yaber T2 Plus GBAtemp review
Hardware
Product Information:
- Official Store: https://www.yaber.com/products/yaber-projector-t2-t2-plus
These days, we are spoilt for options when it comes to expanding our screen real estate. They range from traditional desktop displays to sci-fi-esque augmented reality glasses that double as portable monitors. Somewhere within that spectrum are portable projectors and the Yaber T2 Plus is one such recently-released product that aims to be your go-to versatile entertainment system. We’ll take a closer look at what it offers in this review.
Yaber T2 Plus contents and specs
On the official website, the Yaber T2 Plus costs $349 and comes with the following:
- Projector T2
- Power Cord
- HDMI Cable
- Remote Control
- Android TV Dongle
- TV Dongle Adapter
- Lens Cover
- User Guides
Of note, Yaber also has the regular T2 for sale but the only difference is that it does not come with the Android TV dongle. The latter is available for purchase separately and is still compatible with the regular T2.
Specs of the Yaber T2 Plus are as follows:
A projector with a practical hardware design
Aesthetically, the Yaber T2 Plus looks appealing and can easily blend in your living room as part of the furniture. The beige body, upper textile cover and curved edges makes it look like a designer product. The input ports are located at the rear of the device in a single horizontal slot while the front features the lens and some sensors. The charging port is located on the lower end of the left side. On the front and back are the speaker grills.
The overall look is clean and simple, and will appeal to fans of minimalist designs. The build quality is also on par and while weighing 2.4kg is on the heavier end of portable projectors, the heft gives a sense of sturdiness to the product.
Measuring 165 × 140 × 290mm, the Yaber T2 Plus is quite sizable for a portable projector. However, being tall and having the lens on the upper end helps with positioning the projected image easier and relies less on stands or tripods. Nevertheless, I would personally have preferred a more compact and lighter projector, especially if it is geared towards portability.
Should you need to adjust the projection angle, you can rotate the handle to give the T2 Plus a tilt. It’s a nifty feature as the handle also works well to carry the projector around to store/retrieve it as needed. That said, the handle can be a bit stiff, impeding more minute tilting.
I also appreciated that Yaber includes a lens cover for the T2 Plus. This helps with keeping dust off the lens and prevents accidental scratches while the projector is stored or being moved around.
Another accessory included in the T2 Plus is the Android TV dongle which plugs into the HDMI port. There is also an HDMI adapter that enables the dongle to be plugged in vertically so that it does not protrude much when in use.
Projecting with the Yaber T2 Plus projector
Using the Yaber T2 Plus is simple. Just power on the device and you can plug in a source to beam images from. The projector will automatically adjust focus and keystone correction once it’s booted. But you can further adjust these settings manually with the remote control. I found the manual option to be useful as sometimes, when tilted, the automatic keystone correction wouldn’t work out. I could manually adjust the image for a decent output, which wouldn’t be possible if only an automatic option would be available.
The image source can be via an HDMI cable or the USB 2.0. In the latter case, you can plug in a USB stick loaded with pictures and videos and the Yaber OS will allow you to view them. To navigate through files, you can do so via the included remote control or the companion smartphone app.
Over HDMI, you can pair your laptop, console or use the Android TV dongle. The remote control is also compatible with the Android TV add-on, and enables voice input and Google Assistant. The dongle is something of a must-have if you want to get the most out of the Yaber T2 Plus. While the projector can connect online via WiFi and the ethernet port, the Yaber OS is limited in terms of entertainment options. You’ll have to rely on an external source to actually view anything.
Once Android TV is set up, the T2 Plus really becomes an entertainment powerhouse, allowing you to stream videos from the likes of Netflix, Amazon Prime and YouTube. You can further download your favourite apps from the Google Play store to use on the large projected screen.
With an LED lens of 1080p resolution and 450 ANSI Lumens, the T2 Plus displays bright images from a welcome range of viewing distances. You can project screen sizes from 40 inches to 120 inches with a 1.25:1 projection ratio at a throw distance ranging around 111-332 cm (3.63-10.89 ft). I really appreciated that you can adjust the brightness of the projected image, which is a feature I didn’t encounter much on other portable projectors.
The built-in battery can provide up to 2.5h video and up to 18h music playback. Of course, individual mileage will vary based on settings such as volume and brightness but these estimates check out. From a single charge, I could watch the whole The City of Lost Children movie and an episode of The Bear. The T2 Plus’ generous battery life is a welcome feature as it does away with battery worries while watching movies.
Yaber T2 Plus: ambitious but rough around the edges
On paper, the Yaber T2 Plus projector has some attractive features; but in practice, it falls short of its ambitions.
The most glaring issue is the need to have an external dongle for Android TV access. Considering the sheer size of the projector, Android TV could have been crammed in the main hardware itself. Moreover, when using the Android TV dongle, the only HDMI port on the projector will be occupied. This means that you’ll need to constantly swap between sources if you want to use the projector to play games on your console/laptop and then stream videos. Having a separate dongle feels like an afterthought and without it, the T2 Plus is simply a screen mirroring device.
The lack of input ports also limits the projector’s potential. If you had a USB-C port for charging as well as video input, you could plug in other media sources such as a phone or expand the number of ports with a hub.
Another hardware issue I’ve had is the lack of controls on the device itself. Despite being quite generous in terms of size, there’s only the power button and no other controls on the projector. You do have a controller but it relies on AAA batteries and having more options for controls would be appreciated.
Then there’s the quality of the visual output. For the most part, the images are clear and I’m really fond of the adjustable brightness and manual image adjustment options. Audio is also decent, especially with the dual JBL speakers that add to the immersiveness, although nothing spectacular per se. But I found the visuals to be oversaturated, grainy and not as sharp as I would like. This has been the case irrespective of the source and whether it's playing games, streaming videos online or playing a video from a USB stick offline. You can adjust some image settings but you'll have to exit Android TV/HDMI mode and go to the main menu and then settings. It’s a tiresome process and I’ve seen much better video output on 1080p projectors.
Other features of the T2 Plus are also a hit-or-miss affair. This includes the automatic object detection which should detect items such as sofas and picture frames and readjust the screen size accordingly. However, this wasn’t the case virtually every time I tried it. The automatic keystone correction also faces issues when you use the handle to tilt the projector. While it’s recommended to keep the angle within 15°, there’s no means to actually know where the limit is. Depending on your living room set up, you might need more than 15° tilt but the keystone correction will be wonky. Luckily there’s the manual adjustments but again it’s a finicky process and can lead to distorted images.
While the T2 Plus can read files from a USB stick, I couldn’t get it to recognise my phone via the USB port. This is a downer if you are taking the projector out camping (as it is advertised) and you want to use your phone to store videos to watch on a larger screen. There’s the option to mirror your phone’s screen to the projector via the companion Yaber app, which somewhat makes up for this downside.
Overall, the Yaber T2 Plus feels like an ambitious device that aimed too high for its own good. It does have some solid points such as decent dual JBL speakers, generous battery life and an aesthetically-pleasing hardware. But its most important features, such as Android TV and image quality, are rough around the edges. While it is relatively affordable, it’s not exactly cheap. If you want a good portable projector, you might do better with the Anker Nebula ones. They can be more expensive but are more polished products.
Verdict
- Bright, adjustable visuals
- Focus and keystone can be adjusted automatically and manually
- Handy handlebar design
- Doubles as a JBL Bluetooth speaker
- Decent battery life
- Oversaturated and grainy visuals
- Android TV feature relies on an external dongle
- Adjusting display when tilted is finicky
- Bulky portable projector
