With the Freestyle, Samsung tries to revolutionize the “projector” idea. Whereas typical fashions are finest put in in the lounge and by no means moved once more after the preliminary setup, it’s extremely inspired you are taking the Freestyle with you. This works excellently within the assessment, however Samsung’s $899.99 gadget is just not fairly the completed article but.
NEXTPITTV
Good
Straightforward setup course of
Quite a few sensible options
Plenty of leisure choices
Nice wanting image in darkish rooms
Good sound
Dangerous
No built-in battery
Excruciatingly sluggish TizenOS
Transport case accessible as a separate buy
Locking is just not all the time fully dependable
No optical zoom
No water and mud safety
The Samsung Freestyle in a nutshell
For the worth of $500, the Samsung Freestyle would have been a brilliant cool gadget! Nevertheless, the {hardware} of this sensible projector is just too excessive a hurdle for many for lower than $900, as a result of the pre-installed TizenOS runs excruciatingly sluggish. Moreover, you’ll have to purchase a protecting cowl and an influence financial institution for outside use.
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Aside from these detrimental factors, the Freestyle is a superb idea for getting your leisure kicks irrespective of the place you might be. It’s a lot simpler to arrange than typical mini-projectors and the built-in audio system can really be used. The truth that the Freestyle can even accommodate a Good TV and ambient room lighting can be actually nice. I might be cautious about recommending anybody to buy this, except you discover a actually cool provide.
Design & Efficiency
The Samsung Freestyle appears totally different from typical mini-projectors. It’s because Samsung deviates from the normal rectangular form and packed the projector, audio system, and sensible TV mind right into a cylindrical kind issue. This sits on a 180-degree hinge, making the Freestyle probably the most versatile projector on the earth. An IP certification and a protecting cowl within the field can be fascinating, although.
You may swap the rubber cowl of the Freestyle with different colours. / © NextPit
What I favored:
Cool and really purposeful design.
Exchangeable rubber cowl.
Steady stand on most surfaces.
What I disliked:
Protecting cowl is non-compulsory and too costly at $59.99.
Far too few ports.
Inconvenient button positions.
The design of the Samsung Freestyle is finest described by photos, as a result of it’s splendidly unconventional. The mini-projector consists of a stand with a 180-degree hinge and a major unit that’s made up of the projector, audio system and different {hardware}. In entrance, you will discover some contact buttons and on two ports (USB-C for energy and mini-HDMI) on the left aspect.In case you have ever used a projector, you’ll know that this isn’t sufficient. You will have an non-compulsory adapter to attach further {hardware} like Blu-ray gamers or your pocket book to the Samsung Freestyle. Additionally it is a disgrace that the USB-C connector doesn’t assist the Thunderbolt commonplace, so you can not join laptops through USB-C.
The Samsung Freestyle’s ports are, sadly, too few. / © NextPit
The place of the buttons on the projector’s entrance can be annoying through the assessment interval. These are touch-sensitive surfaces which are tough to see throughout operation as a super-bright LED lamp shines in your face. So it is best to not lose the included distant, which has similarities to the Apple TV distant and does an excellent job general.Whereas the distant is included, you will have to purchase a protecting cowl for outside use. That is fairly costly at $59.99 however it’s produced from actually high-quality materials. If you’re shocked by a rain bathe exterior, you must shortly pack the mini-projector inside this protecting cowl, as a result of it doesn’t naturally provide safety in opposition to water and mud.
Picture high quality and auto-lock
The Samsung Freestyle depends on LED know-how and has a most decision of 1080p. In comparison with different mini-projectors, that is somewhat darkish with a brightness of 550 LED lumens, however it may well sharply show display screen sizes wherever from 30 to 100 inches. Samsung specified a lamp lifetime of 20,000 hours. The working noise of 30 decibels is much like a loud pocket book fan.What I favored:
Nice image regardless of 1,080p decision in darkish rooms.
Many options for auto-lock.
Not too loud, even at most brightness.
What I disliked:
550 LED lumens is just too darkish in broad daylight.
No optical zoom.
Rotation is just not manually adjustable.
The projector has Full HD decision and manages brightness at 550 LED lumens. / © NextPit
On paper, the Samsung Freestyle would not blow any projector away. In spite of everything, 550 LED lumens of brightness and a most decision of 1,920 x 1,080 are common at finest for a mini-projector. Within the sensible assessment, nevertheless, the projector managed to persuade with a pointy show due to its autofocus functionality and nice colours. Moreover, there are a lot of accessible choices to regulate the image within the settings.What you (largely) do not have to fret about with the Freestyle is the picture lock. For this, the producer has included each an autofocus, computerized keystone correction, and a tilt perform. The shadow that naturally arises with keystone corrections. In spite of everything, projectors can not challenge the sunshine across the curve, and additionally it is pleasingly low in darkish rooms.
The distant management is harking back to the Apple TV Distant. / © NextPit
Nevertheless, it is a pity that Samsung did not embrace optical zoom. Though you may cut back the image if the gap to the wall is just too giant (most 2.7 meters to the wall), you’ll lose some decision within the course of. Additionally it is annoying that you simply can not manually modify the rotation of the image. This causes the issue the place the image was displayed at an angle, regardless that the Freestyle was positioned on a straight floor.
Good capabilities & efficiency
Samsung has geared up its Freestyle with a full-fledged TizenOS working system. You’re acquainted with this if you have already got a Samsung sensible TV in your lounge. Thankfully, you may entry the Samsung TV Plus service in addition to apps for Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video and lots of extra. That is the place Tizen scored factors with us, even when the efficiency is atrocious.What I favored:
Enormous leisure catalog of flicks, collection, TV packages and video games.
Seamless Samsung ecosystem (Faucet View, linking with Samsung sensible TVs and extra) expertise.
May also be used as an ambient room mild.
Alexa and Bixby on board.
AirPlay suitable.
What I disliked:
Very sluggish efficiency.
Samsung’s mini-projector scored significantly properly in its multimedia capabilities as that is precisely what it was designed for. The Freestyle makes up for the lacking ports with a colourful bouquet of streaming content material. The intensive app retailer in TizenOS presents apps for all common media libraries and streaming companies in addition to quite a few cell video games.
You may also use the Freestyle as a lamp. / © NextPit
As well as, Samsung TV Plus is a free reside TV supplier on the Freestyle, which curiously displayed the Spongebob Squarepants collection each time it booted up within the assessment. Aside from the Spongebob channel, there are virtually 90 different channels you could try within the linked channel listing. This diploma of integration into the Samsung ecosystem is rounded off by Faucet View and the flexibility to hyperlink to sensible TVs through the house WLAN.What’s the subsequent sensible matter? Voice assistants! There are microphones within the sensible mini-projector you could deactivate through a {hardware} swap. Bixby or Alexa can then hearken to your voice directions. One other constructive function is how one can flip the projector into an ambient room mild through the included protecting cap. Samsung put in a number of Atmosphere screensavers on the two.5 GB of inside reminiscence for this very goal.
Sadly, Samsung didn’t present further info on the remainder of its {hardware}. That could be a pity, as a result of then I might know which processor I must demonize day by day any longer. That is as a result of sluggish efficiency of the Samsung Freestyle through the assessment. Web sites took a number of seconds to load within the Samsung Web browser and there was lag every now and then. I’ve recorded this for you within the following video.If I had spent $900 on the Freestyle, I may ship it again with such a sluggish operation. That may be a disgrace, as a result of the leisure choices are distinctive for a mini-projector.
Audio system: Ample and expandable
The Freestyle has a 5-watt speaker that’s purported to allow 360-degree sound. Dolby Digital Plus, Adaptive Sound, Dialog Enhancement and, above all, Bluetooth is connectivity for connecting exterior audio system are additionally on board.What I favored:
Strong quantity for watching motion pictures with none comprehension issues.
Connection to Bluetooth audio system potential.
What I disliked:
360-degree sound doesn’t equal to encompass sound.
No audio-out port.
The built-in 5-watt speaker within the Samsung Freestyle does its job properly sufficient. By that, I imply you could flip up motion pictures and collection loud sufficient to know the dialog with out having to hear carefully. On the similar time, the audio system drown out the Freestyle’s fan noise with none issues.
The speaker radiates audio to the underside. / © NextPit
The 360-degree sound that Samsung advertises, nevertheless, doesn’t describe a 3D encompass sound as I erroneously assumed. As a substitute, the sound is distributed 360 levels from all sides of the speaker. This function is particularly helpful while you level the projector upwards orthogonally to the ground and challenge the picture onto the ceiling.Whereas I used to be happy with the menu’s simple capability to attach Bluetooth audio system and even peripherals like a mouse and keyboard, I personally miss a wired audio out port. Thus, I can not join my analog stereo system with a 3.5 mm jack adapter. That is annoying, however cables are clearly an indication of being too versatile for Samsung!
Battery…or not
Samsung’s Freestyle doesn’t have a built-in battery. In response to Samsung, you need to purchase a “Battery Base” for nearly $180 or join an influence financial institution as an alternative. At this level, I wish to emphasize as soon as once more that the Freestyle was designed for versatile use in every single place.What I favored:
Average energy consumption.
Works with powerbanks.
What I disliked:
No built-in battery.
Costly battery base.
Promoting a conveyable mini-projector with out a built-in battery is sort of a courageous transfer. Particularly since common fashions just like the Nebula Capsule include long-lasting inside batteries for a a lot lower cost. As a substitute, Samsung suggests that you simply make investments one other $180 for a battery base that clamps onto the underside of the projector.
The 180-degree hinge of the Samsung Freestyle. / © NextPit
Alternatively, you can even energy the Freestyle with an exterior powerbank. Nevertheless, this has to assist an output energy of 65 watts, which is what the Freestyle requires so as to work. The battery life is, after all, dependent in your powerbank, however the mannequin included by Samsung for assessment functions theoretically manages virtually eight hours of steady playback with 23,800 mAh. You’ll pay just below $35 on Amazon for the mannequin used within the assessment.
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Remaining verdict
In conclusion, the Samsung Freestyle is someplace between “ingenious” and “means too costly”. As a result of there are fashions from Anker, as an illustration, that additionally provide an built-in working system and are even far more versatile due to built-in batteries at a lot decrease costs. Samsung’s mannequin additionally has the benefit you could place it extra flexibly due to the 180-degree hinge and auto-lock capabilities.
The Samsung Freestyle in contrast in dimension with a Pixel 6 / © NextPit
Past that, the Freestyle scores with an enormous vary of leisure choices. Sadly, the {hardware} is so weak that the way in which to the correct film and collection is a really, very tedious course of. Nevertheless, as soon as the content material is up and working, the image and sound high quality are excellent in darkish rooms, however the 550 LED lumens are just too low in broad daylight.
If Samsung hadn’t offered us with the Freestyle on mortgage, I might have been upset concerning the costly equipment once I purchased it. In spite of everything, paying a complete of virtually $230 for a case and an extra battery is nothing to sneeze at. Such a factor ought to be included with the transportable projector itself. Out of spite, I might somewhat wrap the projector in an Apple sharpening fabric for cover, as a result of this appears exceptionally low-cost as compared at solely $20. What occurred to you, Samsung?
Samsung Freestyle
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