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

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:

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.

Not yet available / tested

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 series of problems will begin to appear.

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 80 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.

Not yet available / tested

Video games

Encoutered bugs

Not yet available / tested

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

Not yet available / tested

Strengths

Not yet available / tested

Weaknesses

Not yet available / tested

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.