Anker Nebula Mars 3 review: A powerful and truly portable projector

Why you tin spot TechRadar We walk hours testing each merchandise aliases work we review, truthful you tin beryllium judge you’re buying nan best. Find retired much astir really we test.

Anker Nebula Mars 3: two-minute review

If you’ve been looking for a projector you tin wow your friends with, nan Anker Nebula Mars 3 mightiness beryllium nan one. Despite looking for illustration a monster-sized flashlight, nan Nebula Mars 3 is simply a portable projector designed for usage some connected nan spell and astatine home. To that end, it has a built-in artillery that lets it run astatine afloat brightness for upwards of 2 hours, positive nan Android TV smart TV level for streaming and reasonably beefy speakers, though they regrettably play successful mono. It’s good constructed, and useful effectively, letting you group it down and get up and moving quickly.

Where nan Anker Nebula Mars 3 really impresses is its brightness, which knocks it retired of nan parkland compared to astir different artillery powered examples of nan best portable projectors. It’s not capable to situation daylight, but it’ll sizzle astatine night. At conscionable complete $1,000, it has competition, and you tin besides find 4K models astir that price, though fewer person nan portability connected connection here. You tin besides get amended colour from triple-laser options for illustration nan LG CineBeam Q aliases JMGO N1S Pro, albeit astatine a little brightness for nan LG and nary on-the-go usage for nan JMGO.

If you’re readying to do astir of your viewing astatine home, it’s astir apt worthy getting a projector that skips nan artillery and puts much effort into image quality. But if you want a robust all-in-one theatre you tin tote anywhere, nan Anker Nebula Mars 3 is simply a commendable option.

Anker Nebula Mars 3 review: value and merchandise date

• Release date: July 2023
• Price: $1,099 (around £850 / AU$1,645)

The Anker Nebula Mars 3 launched successful 2023 and is now readily disposable successful nan US for $1,099. It tin occasionally beryllium recovered for less, however, and was $50 disconnected astatine nan clip of writing.

Anker Nebula Mars 3 review: Specs

Anker Nebula Mars 3 review: creation and features

• Built for portability and durability
• Convenient on-device controls
• Built-in speakers and Android TV operating system

The Anker Nebula Mars 3 follows Anker’s Nebula bid creation language, base sizeable resemblance to nan Nebula Cosmos 4K SE projector. That said, location are sizeable differences that make nan Nebula Mars 3 guidelines out.

This exemplary is built for much of a rough-and-tumble, on-the-go lifestyle. It features a hardened lawsuit that tin withstand half-meter drops and has IPX3 h2o resistance. The beforehand has a sliding lens screen and nan rear includes a rubber screen complete nan ports. A sizable, difficult grip stretches crossed nan apical of nan projector, extending from nan beforehand to nan back. While it includes a distant control, nan grip besides has built-in controls for measurement and navigation of nan projector’s onboard operating system. Neither of these power options is rather cleanable though, arsenic nan distant is reasonably constricted successful what you tin entree pinch a azygous property and nan built-in buttons deficiency galore of nan emblematic controls for navigating nan projector’s Android TV smart TV interface.

A cardinal portion of nan portable quality of nan Anker Nebula Mars 3 is its expertise to run outdoors. To that end, nan projector integrates a beefy artillery geared up to tally for anyplace from 2 hours astatine afloat blast to 5 hours successful a dimmer Eco mode. To thief you support way of power, nan grip has a ringing of lights that show artillery level. The projector tin besides double arsenic a Bluetooth speaker aliases a flashlight. A three-speaker built-in audio strategy resides adjacent nan front. It tin pump retired a bully woody of sound, though only successful mono and nan dynamics are reasonably weak. Meanwhile, an LED ray barroom sits on nan rear, stretching retired supra a ample exhaust vent and beneath nan larboard cover.

Since nan Anker Nebula Mars 3 isn’t designed to person a imperishable home, it has a small, adjustable guidelines underneath to thief perspective it up astatine projection surfaces wherever it’s yet group up. It besides features a speedy and effective strategy for automatically adjusting image focus, keystone, and framing.

The projector’s Android TV 11 smart TV strategy is simply a small dated, but still effective arsenic a streaming platform. Like galore different projectors, though, it doesn’t get nan Play Store type of Netflix, alternatively relying connected a sideloaded type that offers a mostly sub-par experience. If you’re disconnected nan grid and don’t person internet, nan projector has a USB-A larboard and supports section media playback.

To upgrade nan audio experience, you tin ligament it up to outer powered speakers utilizing nan AUX larboard aliases wirelessly brace it to a Bluetooth speaker.

• Design and features score: 4/5

Anker Nebula Mars 3 review: image quality

• Good, but not exceptional picture
• Decent colour and detail
• Enough artillery powerfulness for a 2-hour-plus movie

The Anker Nebula Mars 3 features an LED DLP projection strategy rated for 1,000 lumens and 1080p resolution. That’s astir what should beryllium expected from a projector sitting astatine astir $1,000.

Anker’s artillery powered portable has a good-looking picture, but not an exceptional one. It isn’t nan type of projector you’ll want if you’re viewing successful a agleam room, since its 1,000 lumens conscionable aren’t capable to grip overmuch ambient light. You mightiness get by if you’re watching agleam cartoons, but you really should beryllium viewing pinch it successful a acheronian space, and that extends to nan outdoors arsenic well. Controlling ambient lighting outdoors is moreover much difficult than indoors, and if you’re expecting a bully viewing acquisition pinch tons of municipality lighting present, you’ll beryllium disappointed. That said, if you’re successful a much agrarian area without overmuch ray pollution, nan Anker Nebula Mars 3 should supply ample brightness aft sunset.

The colour you’ll get from nan Anker Nebula Mars 3 is decent, but nary lucifer for triple-laser portable projectors for illustration nan LG CineBeam Q. It doesn’t consciousness utterly lacking aliases poorly managed, and a show for illustration Ru Paul’s Drag Race still had plentifulness of ocular spark erstwhile I viewed it. Colors person humble vibrance, but conscionable don’t get nan aforesaid level of popular I’ve seen from HDR-capable projectors reaching toward 100% sum of nan UHDA-P3 colour space. The aforesaid is existent of its resolution. At a projected image size of astir 65 inches, nan projector's 1080p image looks reasonably crisp, but spell acold supra that and you will seeing much softness unless you beryllium further back. A larger image will besides show an artifact of nan projector’s DLP chip, which shows up arsenic noticeable dithering (an effect for illustration writhing mini dots) erstwhile displaying acheronian colors complete a ample information of nan screen.

The projector has a mobility smoothing mounting buried somewhat successful nan settings paper nether nan explanation MEMC that is group to connected by default. While it tin soft retired definite motions, it creates each sorts of distracting effects, particularly successful action sequences for illustration those successful Gladiator. It’s worthy turning off, which results successful much earthy motion.

Many of nan image trade-offs are a consequence of Anker needing to compression a artillery successful for nan $1,099 price. And nan artillery makes it worthy it. At afloat brightness, nan Nebula Mars 3 was capable to tally for nan entirety of a two-hour movie astatine 50% measurement pinch a small complete 20% complaint to spare, which fto it spell for astir 30 minutes longer. Annoyingly, if you’re nearing nan extremity of your movie aliases show and nan artillery powerfulness starts to get low, your acquisition will beryllium thoroughly interrupted by respective low-battery warnings successful a model that occupies a ample information of nan display.

• Picture value score: 3/5

Anker Nebula Mars 3 review: value

• Great for portable use
• Brighter than different compact portables
• Better options for image quality, but not portability

The Anker Nebula Mars 3 is an absorbing package. It’s not a awesome location theatre projector for nan money, arsenic location are acold much appealing options disposable successful nan aforesaid ballpark. But it’s an wide decent projector and a powerful portable one. The Nebula Mars 3 is speedy to group up, and tin tally for hours astatine a time. It’s a knockout adjacent to thing for illustration nan Samsung The Freestyle 2nd Gen, which has a portable setup pinch an optional artillery battalion but isn’t astir arsenic bright.

A competent projector you tin bring anyplace and easy get up and moving is thing special, and nan Anker Nebula Mars 3 nails nan concept. It’s built to withstand surprises and has clever elements (like nan lens screen and waterproofing) that fto you easy drawback it and spell without worrying astir a protective case.

• Value score: 4/5

Should I bargain nan Anker Nebula Mars 3?

Buy it if...

Don’t bargain it if… 

Also consider...

How I tested nan Anker Nebula Mars 3

• Tested astatine location successful multiple, real-world viewing conditions
• Presented nan show pinch a assortment of media and formats
• I person tested galore projectors and displays complete nan past half-decade

I tested nan Anker Nebula Mars 3 astatine home, successful real-world conditions. This saw it faced pinch ambient ray coming successful from galore windows, in-room lighting, arsenic good arsenic ambient sound that some nan projector and speaker systems had to overcome. The projector was tested some against a bare, achromatic wall and an Akia Screens CineWhite screen. It was presented pinch streamed content, some HDR and non-HDR.

My testing evaluates nan projector’s capacity pinch respect to its value and title from different models I and colleagues astatine TechRadar person tested.

I person been testing projectors since 2021 and displays for moreover longer.

First reviewed: November, 2024

• Read TechRadar's reappraisal guarantee