AAXA M5 Pocket Projector Review – Summary

Posted on November 29, 2017 By Nikki Kahl

AAXA M5 Pocket Projector Review – Summary: Summary, The Bottom Line, Pros, Cons

Summary

This scene from The Hunger Games has some good color, though its pinks are over-saturated.
Sports look pretty good - the field is over-saturated, but that's hardly an issue when it comes to this kind of content.
This scene from Ender's Game is color corrected blue - the Major's face looks decent, save for the slight pink tinge on his nose and cheeks that isn't there with other projectors.
Gordon's skin tone is handled well by the AAXA M5 in this photo from Gotham.
Though her lips are obviously too pink, Katniss' skin looks pretty good when projected by the AAXA M5.
This scene from Ender's Game is color corrected yellow, which is accentuated by the AAXA M5's handling of color.
The landscape image from The Hunger Games looks really good, though there is a slight pink tinge on their faces.

The AAXA M5 is an LED pocket projector with DLP technology. AAXA claims 900 lumens when plugged in, 500 when running on battery alone. It didn’t quite reach its claim, but came close at 790 lumens in its brightest mode. That battery is claimed to last 70 minutes, and it does just that. Not quite long enough for a film or a good video game session, but you’ll be able to watch a few episodes of sitcoms or one episode of Game of Thrones or a similarly timed TV show.

It’s a 6” x 6” projector that stands just 1.8 inches tall and weighs just under two pounds. The AAXA M5 comes with a black carrying case with a handle. The case contains the power brick, remote control, an RCA cable and a small tripod that helps with adjusting the height of the projector, which helps with the otherwise-non-existent placement flexibility. The M5 can project a very small image, to a decently sized one – up to 86” (possible more).

The AAXA M5 has a built-in media player for easy viewing of photos, video, and audio via either a USB or Micro SD card. This is great for those road warriors on a budget who need a portable projector for their presentations. It is first and foremost a home entertainment projector, however, and it does well at that. For the high school, college kid, or young millennial adult, the AAXA M5 is a portable projector that is sure to impress friends when bringing it around to friends’ houses, apartments, and dorms for casual gaming or binge watching.

This pocket projector has all the inputs and connectors you’d need for home entertainment purposes, as well as business/education. It has an HDMI port, a VGA connector, Micro SD slot, and a USB input. There’s also an audio out port and an input for headphones. The 2-watt speakers, located on the top, are loud enough to fill a small to medium sized room, and even can be used for a summer movie night outdoors, provided that your location is somewhat peaceful.

The Bottom Line

I consider the AAXA M5 to be a projector that is suitable for the younger crowd, perhaps as a first projector or for someone who needs an HD projector that is highly portable. It has reasonable color for a pocket projector, and with a little tweaking, you can get better color. It has a sharp image and is 720p, which is the lower end of HD, but still looks pretty good.

I am not a fan of the squishing issue, where the image is slightly squashed inward and makes people’s faces look skinny and slightly off. For a $499 list price, I would have liked to see that issue resolved before the projector hit the market. That said, I did find the AAXA M5 on Amazon for $382.50, which is a much better deal. Again, I did bring the issue to AAXA, who says they are putting their engineers on it because it is likely a software issue. That means it should be able to be fixed with a firmware update. My dealings with AAXA have been great, so I trust they will find a solution shortly.

Personally, I’d say to go with the AAXA M6, their 1200 lumen, 1080p pocket projector with a 90 minute battery life. That one sells for $599, so if you’ve got the extra $100 in your budget, go with that. If not, the AAXA M5 has quite a lot of lumens and reasonably good color for a pocket projector, and that rechargeable battery and media player give it higher value than some of its competition, and its predecessors – just don’t pay full price, if you can swing it.

Pros

900 Lumen Claim (790 Measured) – Bright enough to use in a modest amount of ambient light
LED Lamp – Lasts up to 20,000 hours
Media Player – PC-Free presenting and playback available using multiple ports
Simple Menus – Easy navigation with simple options
Built-In 2-Watt Stereo Speakers – Loud enough to use with small audiences
Battery Powered – Can run for 70 minutes when not connected to power
Portable – 1.95 pounds and comes with a carrying case, tripod, DC power brick, and remote

Cons

Color that is “good enough” but tends to be oversaturated
Squishing issue on the image, resulting in tall, skinny people
Battery life is not long enough to watch a feature-length film (only 70 minutes)
Loud fan in all but ECO mode
Remote control buttons can be difficult to press (typical of these credit-card sized remotes)