XGIMI CC Aurora: A Hybrid Travel Projector With Ambition

Once upon a time, the market was flooded with “pico” projectors, super small digital projectors that you could nearly fit in your pocket and project on the wall without the need for the best projector screens around.

Picos were mostly about brands showing up what they could do – the trend never really picked up, and tiny projectors were entirely abandoned when everyone realized their smartphones could do the same things, but far better. Now the portable projector market is highly niche…and that provides opportunities for products like XGIMI’s CC Aurora.

The CC Aurora knows that it’s a small projector. It knows that it’s not a mass market device or a big problem solver. That’s what makes it worth paying attention to, from the throwback design to the larger projector size that makes this product worth consideration for on-the-move classes, casual backyard movie nights, and more.

First, the boxy design isn’t exactly pico: It’s small enough to fit in a suitcase, but definitely no your pocket. This allows the CC Aurora to project a 180-inch screen at 720p resolution from several feet away, enough for a room full of viewers – it’s not intended to be a distraction, but rather a way to unite people.

This travel projector is wireless and can connect with Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, although it also comes with a USB connection.

Pull the cover up over the projector lens, and the product can turn into your own personal Bluetooth speakers, with the ability to store around 4,000 songs if necessary (in addition to 10 movies). The battery lasts for four hours of on-the-go music, but without many protective features you should probably keep this model on the patio.

All in all, it’s an interesting hybrid: small enough to take with you pretty much anywhere, but large enough to serve as a standard projector – while being able to turn into a Bluetooth speaker when necessary.

For now the project is pretty new and price details are unknown, but it will be interesting to see what the response is to this latest mobile projector idea.