Projectors Tests Reviews

XGIMI Mogo 4 : test / review

Published on: 07-07-2025 / Modified: 07-07-2025

I tested the XGIMI Mogo 4 Laser a few weeks ago, and now it's the turn of the "normal" Mogo 4 to go through my test protocol. The timing's perfect, because I've received a lot of questions about the difference between the two projectors, which I can now answer with figures and examples. As I've also tested the previous generation, I'll also be able to add one more candidate to cover a wider price range.

From the outside, the Mogo 4 is absolutely identical to the Mogo 4 Laser, I didn't see the slightest difference. The main difference is the use of a triple laser source for one and an LED source for the other. For the rest, it's basically the same thing, but does the use of the laser justify the extra 200€? That's the question I'll try to answer in this review

Where to buy

You can of course buy the Mogo 4 on the official website:

XGIMI.com

It's also available on Amazon:

Amazon

Video test

Audio: French, English

Manufacturer web site:
https://www.xgimi.com
Site where I have bought or received the XGIMI Mogo 4: https://www.awin1.co...

Price XGIMI Mogo 4

Not yet available / tested

Timeline

July 4, 2025: I receive the XGIMI Mogo 4, but first I have to finish testing the NothingProjector NP One Smart

July 7, 2025: I start testing the XGIMI Mogo 4. It will take me just over a week to complete the written test, another week for the video, and I'll probably make a comparative video with the Laser version.

Why this projector?

XGIMI has found a good recipe for becoming a major player in the world of projectors, and it's working so well that older models are still selling. Today, you can still buy a Mogo 2 Pro, a Mogo 3 Pro and the Mogo 4 (or Laser). This variety makes it possible to cover a wider price range without making major sacrifices. From a purely technological point of view, there's little difference between the first model and the latest. The format has evolved a lot, and this is undoubtedly the factor that will play a major role after price in the choice of projector model.
The Mogo range is XGIMI's portable range, which means that these projectors are not intended to replace a television, as the brightness is too low and the DMD chip used won't allow you to go beyond 80 inches in good conditions. The portable aspect is this projector's greatest strength: it's designed for nomadic use, even if it's just to move from one room to another inside your home.

Unpacking

The packaging of the Mogo range has evolved over time, and the target is quite clear. XGIMI is aiming for a younger, edgier audience for the Mogo range, but without having the figures to prove it, I think the actual buyers are probably a notch older. The Mogo 4 box contains the projector, a manual, an optical filter to enlarge the image and a remote control. There's no charger or battery, whereas there was for the Mogo 4 Laser

Operating system

The XGIMI Mogo 4 runs on Google TV, which means you get the best projector operating system with native compatibility with Netflix and all streaming apps. I wasn't able to sync with my phone for the initial setup, unable to log in, but it works without the phone too. The projector will download your Google profile and a selection of the best-known applications, plus a few local ones (e.g. Molotov for France, Auvio for Belgium, etc.).

I've noticed a cool new feature: it's now possible to use your projector as a Google Home. You can add the connected objects in your home and control them from the projector. It'll only make you want to sit still, but that was probably already the case if you have a lot of connected objects in your home

Finish

I put the Mogo 4 Laser and the Mogo 4 normal version side by side, can you see the difference? No, I don't either. There isn't one, or if there is, the differences must be very subtle. It's not on this point, therefore, that you'll be able to decide between the projectors, but I'm going to go into detail about the Mogo 4 anyway, as most visitors to this page will probably not have read my test of the Mogo 4 Laser beforehand.

The fourth-generation Mogo broadly follows the format of the third generation, with a few differences. The cylindrical format is the same, but the color is different. XGIMI had opted for a champagne-like hue for the Mogo 3, but this one is more metallic gray. I prefer this version, which I think gives it a more premium feel

The projector measures 20 cm in height, with a diameter of 10 cm and a weight of just over one kilo. This makes the projector easy to transport, especially as, when closed, the optical compartment is protected inside the cylinder. It may be a little bulky to carry under your arm, but it will be discreet in your suitcase. As with the laser version, it comes with a small remote control attached to the projector, which controls the basic play/stop functions. It is designed for use in Bluetooth mode when the projector is playing music. This mini remote control requires a flat battery to operate, which is not included in the package

Once opened, the same optical unit with its depth sensor is revealed. Behind the optics is a DMD 0.23 chip, as on all previous generations. The element that generates the image is therefore the same from the start. This chip has a native resolution of 960x540 pixels, so it's not a full hd or 4k chip, but that doesn't mean you can't play in full hd. XGIMI, like many others, uses a wobulation mechanism to achieve a higher resolution. This mechanism works very well, as long as you don't project the image onto too large a surface, otherwise you'll start to see a gap between the pixels

The projector offers two possibilities for playing external content: there's a full-size HDMI port and a USB-A port for external hard drives or USB sticks. If you wish to use the USB port, please note that the projector can only read FAT32 or NTFS partitions in GPT format.

On the other side is another USB port, this time type C, which can only be used to power the projector. The ignition button is right next to it, but if the battery is sufficiently charged, the projector will light up when you open it.

At the rear, we find the usual ventilation grille to evacuate heat. Mogo have always been fairly discreet in this respect, and we'll see later in this test whether this is the case again with this model

The remote control is plastic, but well designed. It detects movement and the main buttons are backlit, which is a nice touch.

Projection room

My projection room is rectangular, 4.6m by 2.9m (height 2.2m). I have two projection walls, one white wall 2.9m wide with just white paint with a possible 4m setback. I then have a 133 inch ALR screen on another wall with a possible setback of 2.8m. I mainly use the ALR screen except when the layout or type of projector is not suitable for this situation.

Battery autonomy

The Mogo 4 is equipped with a 71.28 Wh battery, which should give it a theoretical autonomy of 2h30 for video and 6h for music. Actual autonomy is less than that, and you'll need 2 hours or a little less to drain the battery. You can combine it with an external battery or buy the XGIMI tripod, which contains a battery. With the tripod, you could almost double the autonomy

With eco mode, brightness is greatly reduced, which should enable you to gain in autonomy, but you'll undoubtedly need to limit screen size and ensure that no stray light disturbs your image

Power consumption

I measured a consumption of 42 watts in normal mode, which is very low. Eco mode will allow you to save a few watts, but at the expense of a significant loss of brightness, so eco mode isn't very useful for saving energy.

Operating noise

The Mogo 4 emits a slight hum that is perceptible but far from disturbing. I measured less than 40 decibels close to the projector, so unless you have your head close to the projector, you shouldn't hear it.

Image quality

Not yet available / tested

Colorimetry

More explanations on colorimetry

Measuring color fidelity (colorimetry) is not a subjective question, it is something completely measurable. This measurement is carried out with a device (colorimeter, spectrometer, ...) which measures the difference between the real color and the displayed color. This difference is expressed in delta E (abbreviation: dE). A dE greater than 3 indicates a deviation perceptible to the human eye.

The dE must therefore be as low as possible but projectors rarely have a dE lower than 3 out of the box. They are often between 5 and 10, only a calibration can correctly adjust the colors.

For a perfect calibration, you must call a professional. I give you my parameters which correspond to my situation. These settings might work for your situation but it is not a guarantee, so take them as an indication of the direction to follow.

I measured color fidelity (colorimetry) in all available configurations to obtain the following results:

Configuration	dE white	Temp white	dE colors	dE gray	Gamma	Contrast
XGIMI Mogo 4 Standard	13.7	9867	11.42	19.54	2.15	412:1
XGIMI Mogo 4 Movie	6.6	7464	7.86	8.34	2.14	237:1
XGIMI Mogo 4 Game	13.6	9808	11.34	19.58	2.19	290:1
XGIMI Mogo 4 Calibrated	2.5	6821	4.66	1.02	2.16	303:1

Results in standard mode:

The "Film" mode is the best among the available configurations, but it's still far from perfect calibration. With the settings in the previous paragraph, you can significantly improve color rendering by lowering the dE to 4.66. It's not perfect yet, but it's already very good because my calibration only covers the primary and secondary colors. The gray, on the other hand, is absolutely perfect.

Here's the result for the colors:

And for the grays:

Image Settings
To obtain a more faithful colourimetry than the original configuration, you need to modify a few parameters. These settings should enable you to improve the rendering of your image in a fairly visible way, but don't forget that these settings are valid for my white screen, which tends to absorb the red a little more. If your image is too warm with these settings, simply reduce the red values a little.

White balance 11 points
30% Blue 46
50% Blue 47
70% Blue 46
90% Blue 48
100% Blue 32

Saturation
Red 70
Green 42
Cyan 42
Magenta 55
Yellow 34

Brightness
Red 86
Green 45
Blue 100

Gain
Green 48
Blue 36

Colour temperature
Red 2
Green -23
Blue -32

The lack of hue adjustments means that I can't go much further, which is a shame because with hue I could probably have achieved a better result. I've pointed this out to XGIMI, and I hope they'll add the tint in a future update.

Brightness

More explanations on brightness

The brightness for a projector is absolutely crucial. The brightness is measured in ANSI lumens and the values provided by the manufacturer are very often higher than reality.

I measure the brightness with a lux meter and I convert my measurements into ANSI lumens in relation to the projection surface. You thus obtain a real value.

A video projector, even if it is bright, cannot compete with a television. The contribution of light (natural or artificial) will have the effect of drastically reducing the contrast of your image. With a brightness lower than 1000 ANSI lumens, the projector must be used in total darkness.

The XGIMI Mogo 4 isn't a very bright projector, as was already the case with the previous generation. This is clearly visible in this image, where I compare the same image in complete darkness and daylight. The image is still visible, but all the colors are washed out.
I measured a brightness of between 220 and 262 lumens in standard mode, depending on the chosen configuration. With performance mode, you can get close to the advertised brightness, but at the expense of a significant loss of quality and very high operating noise. Ultimately, whether it's 400, 300, or even 250 lumens, it doesn't make much difference; you'll have to use the projector in the dark.

With a brightness level of 250 lumens, you can aim for an image between 70 and 75 inches, because beyond this size, the image will be darker. Projecting on a 120-inch screen is clearly not an option, even if your tolerance for a dark image is greater than mine.

Sharpness

The sharpness of entry-level projectors isn't always uniform, and I often see significant degradation at the edges. This isn't the case with the Mogo 4. XGIMI has mastered its craft, and that's what sets it apart from most entry-level projectors available on Aliexpress. Edge-to-edge sharpness is good even when using text like this:

This sharpness will, however, deteriorate if you project your image onto too large a surface. You will also see a gap between the pixels and see green and red appear on the white edges like this:

I know the temptation to use a projector over a large area is great, but there is a physical limit beyond which a whole host of problems will start to appear. I have also noticed a loss of sharpness that occurs after a long period of disuse.

Contrast

More explanations on contrast

Contrast (on/off) is used to measure the difference between white and black. This measurement gives an indication of the ability of a projector to produce a good rendering in dark scenes.

A contrast lower than 500:1 should be considered as a very low contrast and the consequence will be especially visible in dark scenes where you will lose details. This is less of a problem for sports, bright films or even cartoons.

A low contrast ratio does not mean that a projector is not usable, you just have to be aware that for films like Aliens, dark scenes will no longer allow you to distinguish details.

I've included the results of my contrast measurements in the table in the color accuracy section. I obtained a contrast ratio between 290:1 and 412:1. This is a low contrast ratio, as with previous generations. This means that dark scenes won't be very detailed. I'll add an example in the video I'll publish once it's ready.

This contrast level is common with this type of projector; exceptions are rare. To achieve better contrast, you should consider less portable projectors like the Formovie S5 or the Dangbei Atom.

Motion compensation

Image size and projection distance

More explanations on the projection distance

The projection distance determines the size of the image and the size of the image is determined by the projector's throw ratio. If a projector has a throw ratio of 1.2, it will have an image width of 83 cm with possibly a gray border.

The distance also plays a role in the brightness because the brightness decreases with the square of the distance. A projector placed at 4 meters will therefore lose 4 times more brightness than a projector placed at 2 meters.

Keystone image correction does not modify the projection cone, it resizes the image inside the projection cone. This means that in the event of a significant correction, you will see a large gray border appear around your image.

The Mogo 4 has a throw ratio of 1.2, meaning it generates an image 86 cm wide (with a gray border) for every meter of distance from the projection surface. At 2 meters away, you get an image 172 cm wide.

Given this projector's low brightness, I recommend placing it no further than 2 meters away to achieve an image of approximately 75 inches. Beyond this size, the image will appear too dark, and you may also notice gaps between pixels, loss of sharpness, and beginning to notice fringing.

Screen choice

Choosing a screen for this type of projector is fairly straightforward. Given its portable nature, a screen may not be necessary unless you also choose a portable screen. If you opt for a screen, you'll need to choose a white screen with a gain greater than 1, if necessary. Gray screens are unsuitable for this type of projector; I'll add an example in my video.

Audio quality

More explanations on audio quality

I use several types of music tracks to illustrate the sound quality of the projector but the rendering will always be limited by the recording device. Since I always use the same device, you will be able to compare the difference on the same basis.

I regularly use well-known songs protected by copyright to illustrate the sound quality of a video projector. It therefore sometimes happens that YouTube decides to block my videos for these reasons. In this case, you can listen to the soundtracks directly on YouTube and hope that YouTube has not completely blocked my channel.

The XGIMI Mogo 4 is equipped with two 6-watt Harman/Kardon speakers, the same as the laser version. The sound produced by this projector is of good quality, but it obviously lacks a little power, especially for bass sounds. I have integrated the usual test soundtrack into my video review so that you can see the sound quality.

Video games

Encoutered bugs

If you want to play 4k files locally from a hard drive or usb stick, this won't work.

I also noticed an occasional loss of sharpness when starting up the projector, but I didn't notice any change during use.

ALR/CLR Projection screen

Are you looking for a good ALR/CLR screen for your projector? I may have what you need:
ALR/CLR NothingProjector Screen

Test / Review conclusion

Before I give you my conclusion, I'll take a quick detour with a comparison between this projector and the laser version

XGIMI Mogo 4 vs XGIMI Mogo 4 Laser

If I take my test criteria, the XGIMI Mogo 4 Laser clearly comes out on top, and rightly so. The opposite would have been a failure for XGIMI. There are 3 criteria in particular that make the MOGO 4 Laser stand out.

First of all, brightness. Even if the laser version isn't 10x brighter, this projector is brighter and will save you a few inches on maximum image size. Then there's the contrast, which is 2 to 3 times greater on the laser version. This doesn't make the XGIMI Mogo 4 Laser a benchmark in the field, but the difference between the two models is significant.

The third criterion is undoubtedly the most important: color space. The XGIMI Mogo 4 is limited to REC709, while the MOGO 4 laser covers REC2020. What does this mean? It means that the laser version is capable of displaying many more colors, and this is particularly important for HDR content. The normal version is capable of displaying HDR content, but it will be a simulation that won't give you the full potential of the film or series.

Do these 3 criteria justify the price difference? It's up to you to decide what's important to you and the type of content you're used to consuming.

Finally, the conclusion

The great strength of this projector is its placement flexibility: you can turn it in any direction, and there's no limit to the angle of projection. Just bear in mind that if you overdo the image correction, you'll see a gray border appear around the image.

Another advantage specific to this projector is the presence of a battery with reasonable autonomy and the possibility of charging the projector from a usb-c connector. A smartphone charger is all you need to power it, and you can also connect an external battery to increase autonomy

This projector isn't very power-hungry, and it's not very noisy either

Basic colorimetry is too cold, but fortunately you can easily improve the situation with film mode, and even do better by using my settings to significantly increase color fidelity

I'll end the list of strengths with the very low latency for gaming, the sound quality and the Google TV operating system, which offers a host of possibilities.

Of course, not everything is perfect: this projector does have a few weaknesses. The most important is brightness, or rather the lack of it, which means you'll have to use the projector in the dark, limiting the screen size to around 75 inches. Contrast is also low, so this projector won't be very at home in dark scenes.

Sound is good but not very powerful, which is to be expected - you can't expect miracles with 2x6 watts.

I also found two problems, but these will probably only affect a minority of users. There's no tint adjustment in the settings, and local playback of 4k files is not possible

Strengths

Format, flexibility

Battery and runtime

Power consumption

Operating noise

Colorimetry after adjustment

Audio quality

Low latency

Google TV + Netflix

Audio quality

Weaknesses

Low brightness

Low contrast

Limited sound power

No tint adjustment

No local 4k file playback

LAURENT WILLEN
Head of myself on this blog

I share my passions on my blog in my free time since 2006, I prefer that to watching nonsense on TV or on social networks. I work alone, I am undoubtedly one of the last survivors of the world of blogs and personal sites.

My speciality? Digital in all its forms. I have spent the last 25 years working for multinationals where I managed digital teams and generated revenues of over €500 million per year. I have expertise in telecoms, media, aviation, travel and tourism.