The ultra compact Samsung The Freestyle pico projector looks like a spotlight and can be tilted 180° to project onto the wall or even the ceiling! You can therefore enjoy a large HD1080p image measuring up to 2.5m anywhere in the home. This mini Samsung projector has many assets: automatic image adjustments, 360° sound, WiFi streaming, Bluetooth, HDMI…
Sold for €990, can the attractive Samsung The Freestyle all-in-one projector rival competing pico projectors such as the Philips PicoPix Max TV and Xgimi H2?
Samsung The Freestyle: packaging & accessories
This projector comes with a remote control, a mains adapter and a 1.8 meter long USB-C cable. Everything is packaged in an environmentally friendly, fully recyclable cardboard box.
- Read the article: How companies are transitioning to sustainable packaging
Samsung The Freestyle: presentation
This very appealing portable projector allows you to stream movies and series via WiFi. With its micro HDMI port, it is even possible to connect a video game console or a Blu-ray player. You’ll then be able to enjoy a large picture measuring up to 2.5 meters across. This Samsung projector can be tilted 180° to project on the wall or ceiling. Simply pivot the projector on its base to change the projection area.
Portable projector
This spotlight-like projector weighs 800 grams and measures 10cm in diameter and just over 17cm in height. Consequently, you can easily take it everywhere with you.
It is cylindrical in shape and its chassis is covered with a white rubber coating. The circular base allows you to adjust its angle and provides perfect stability.
At home, all you need is a power outlet to use it. Outside, you can power it with an external battery via its USB-C port. It is a shame that there isn’t a built-in battery, as is the case with certain competing models.
Automatic image adjustment
One of the main advantages of this projector is its ability to automatically adjust the image as soon as it is turned on. It straightens the edges of the image, resets its geometry and focuses almost instantly. It can therefore be tilted and directed as desired, without having to be placed exactly opposite the wall. Regardless of its position and angle, the projector always manages to project a clear image with the correct geometry.
It is important to note, however, that the keystone correction reduces the image quality. To achieve a true full-frame 1080p HD image with this projector, it must be placed in the axis of the screen.
Large image without zoom
The size of the image projected by the Samsung The Freestyle directly depends on the projection distance and angle. The further it is from the wall, the larger the image is. The picture quality can either be very satisfactory or mediocre depending on the surface of the wall (beware of roughness) and, above all, the projection conditions. With ambient lighting, the image is dull, but in the dark, it is a festival of colors!
During our review, we pushed The Freestyle to its limits by projecting a 3 meter image in a dedicated room! The overall brightness of the image was then a little low, but the result remained acceptable. Note, however, that the pixels become visible if you stand too close to the screen with images measuring over 2 meters.
With the standard picture mode, the colors are vivid and nicely saturated, which is ideal for sport and documentaries. With the cinema mode, the shades are softer and more suited to movies and series.
The smart calibration of this projector adapts the colorimetry to the color of the wall. Therefore, it isn’t a problem if the projection surface isn’t completely white.
360° sound?
The Samsung The Freestyle’s speaker is supposed to deliver 360° sound. In practice, however, this is only the case when the projector is positioned vertically to project onto the ceiling. Otherwise, the sound is louder or quieter depending on whether you are seated in the axis of the speaker or not. However, even when the projector is behind the spectators, the sound remains sufficiently audible.
To improve the sound quality, we paired the projector with the Marshall Kilburn 2 Bluetooth speaker. We didn’t experience any delay between the sound and image. Another solution would be to connect the projector’s HDMI ARC/eARC port to a compatible HDMI port on a soundbar or amplifier.
This projector can also be used as a wireless Bluetooth speaker with a smartphone. However, the fan continues to run even when the projection feature is turned off. We measured a noise level of 33-34 dB at a distance of 1 meter, so you have to turn up the volume to no longer be disturbed by the fan.
Connected projector
The Samsung The Freestyle projector incorporates the Tizen operating system shared with all Samsung TVs. Once connected to the Internet via WiFi, it can access a multitude of content via Samsung services and applications such as Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video, AppleTV+…
Voice control (Bixby and Alexa) and screen mirroring (via the SmartThing app or in AirPlay 2) are also available.
Samsung The Freestyle: key specifications
- Image definition: 1920 x 1080 pixels
- DLP LED technology
- Lamp lifespan: 20,000 hours
- Automatic image adjustment
- Netflix, YouTube, Prime Video, Disney+…
- 360° sound
- Micro HDMI 1.4 (ARC/eARC)
- WiFi
- Bidirectional Bluetooth
Samsung The Freestyle: configuration
We tested this projector by projecting onto a wall and onto the ceiling. We also tested it in a dedicated home theater room, with a Lumene Movie Palace UHD 4K Ultra Slim 300C screen. The projector was wirelessly connected to a Netgear Orbi RBK852 300C mesh WiFi router so we could enjoy the best possible bandwidth for streaming.
Setup is quick and intuitive. You plug in the projector and turn it on by touching the dedicated control on its touch sensitive interface. The remote control is paired by pressing one of its keys, then you select the interface language. You then choose the configuration mode: via the smartphone or with the remote control. The first requires the installation of the SmartThings application, which is user-friendly and intuitive. The configuration of the projector takes only a few moments.
Samsung The Freestyle: our impressions
This Samsung pico projector is great for projecting anywhere: onto a wall, ceiling or portable screen. All you need is a power outlet and WiFi access or a smartphone as a video source. In addition, the fast and very efficient automatic image adjustment makes it very easy to use.
The image quality was also very satisfying. The picture was precise and smooth and the colors were vivid and saturated as long as the image remained a reasonable size (ideally no larger than 2m) and the room was dark. If not, the contrast wasn’t great and the picture was dull.
Regarding sound, the projector’s speaker was sufficient when the viewers were seated nearby, delivering a clear and rather energetic sound. As always, the Tizen interface was comprehensive and easy to use. However, the projector lacked responsiveness when pressing the buttons on the remote control. Perhaps due to a small processor?
Samsung The Freestyle: compared to…
Xgimi H2 (€899)
The Xgimi H2 is brighter than the Samsung projector and can project a larger (up to 7 meters in diagonal) and more contrasted image. It has a wider range of connectors: 2 HDMI, 2 USB, optical output and headphone jack. The Samsung The Freestyle offers more flexibility thanks to the automatic image adjustment. The Tizen interface is also more intuitive and comprehensive.
Philips PicoPix Max TV (€899)
The Philips PicoPix Max TV projects a potentially larger, brighter and better contrasted image than the Samsung. Its connectivity is more extensive and its Android TV interface with Chromecast is on par with Tizen. Its image correction feature isn’t as advanced as that of the Samsung The Freestyle. However, it has an integrated rechargeable battery that provides an autonomy of 4 hours.
Samsung The Freestyle: who is it for?
This projector will appeal to those looking for an easy way to project movies and series anywhere in the home. No need for a dedicated room, or for it to be installed in the living room. The user-friendly Samsung The Freestyle makes projecting everywhere fun.
Samsung The Freestyle: conclusion
The Samsung The Freestyle projector is very appealing and impressed us despite its low brightness. One cannot fault its ease of use, its versatility and its picture quality when the conditions are right. But these assets and its innovative design don’t come cheap. It’s a pity that it doesn’t have a built-in rechargeable battery as standard.
We liked
- The automatic image adjustment
- The Tizen connected interface
- The saturated colors (dark room)
- The clear sound
- The rechargeable remote control
We would have liked
- Higher brightness
- Better contrast
- An integrated battery
