The Anker Capsule 3 Laser is a compact laser projector designed with portability in mind. It has a compact, lightweight design and great features that allow for a variety of screen setups, as well as a built-in battery pack designed to last up to 2.5 hours. It also has built-in speakers and Android TV 11.0, so you can easily pair it to a wireless hotspot and stream your favorite movies anywhere you want.
Our Verdict
The Anker Capsule 3 Laser is disappointing for watching movies, even in a pitch-black room. Although it has passable contrast, it's not very bright, so everything looks a bit dull and muted overall. It's not very accurate, either, and most colors look overblown even after calibration.
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Built-in battery pack.
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Android TV OS built-in for easy streaming.
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Low peak brightness.
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Poor color accuracy.
- Movies
- Updated May 21, 2024: Updated text throughout the review according to Test Bench 0.9, mainly in the Verdict, Compared To Other Projectors and Contrast sections.
- Updated May 21, 2024: We've converted this review to Test Bench 0.9. We've overhauled our Contrast tests, as we now measure contrast at various average pixel levels (APL). You can see the full changelog here.
- Updated Feb 26, 2024: Mentioned the newly reviewed Anker Nebula Capsule Max in the Color Gamut section of this review.
- Updated Feb 13, 2024: Review published.
Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We bought and tested the Anker Capsule 3 Laser. There are other models in the Capsule lineup, including the Anker Nebula Capsule 3, which uses an LED lamp instead of a laser light source.
| Model | Light Source | Resolution |
|---|---|---|
| Capsule 3 Laser | Laser | 1080p |
| Capsule 3 | LED | 1080p |
| Capsule Max | LED | 720p |
| Capsule II | LED | 720p |
Our unit was manufactured in July 2023; you can see the label here.
Compared To Other Projectors
Regarding portable projectors, the Anker Capsule 3 Laser is a decent choice, although the XGIMI Halo+ offers better image quality with a very similar feature set. Still, with its built-in battery and automatic adjustment features, the Anker is a breeze to bring with you, and watch movies at night wherever you go. Unfortunately, it's also very expensive and doesn't deliver as good cinematic picture quality as a traditional fixed unit.
Check out our recommendations for the best portable projectors and the best outdoor projectors. If you'd prefer to shop for another product in the same price range, look up the best projectors under $1,000 instead.
The XGIMI Halo+ is much better than the Anker Nebula Capsule 3 Laser. The XGIMI is much brighter, has better contrast, and has a much wider color gamut, so it projects a more vibrant image than the Anker. The Anker is more accurate than the XGIMI but not nearly enough to compensate for the XGIMI's edge in image quality.
The Anker Nebula Capsule 3 Laser and the Samsung The Freestyle 2nd Gen deliver very similar picture quality, but the Nebula is a slightly better portable projector. It has a built-in battery that Nebula advertises to deliver up to 2.5 hours of movie-watching. It also supports USB-C data delivery, so you can project directly from your laptop or smartphone.
The XGIMI MoGo 2 Pro projects a slightly more vibrant image than the Anker Nebula Capsule 3 Laser due to its slightly better peak brightness, but the Anker is much more accurate out-of-the-box and has slightly better contrast. The Anker is also even more portable than the XGIMI as it is lighter and smaller and has an integrated battery, which the manufacturer advertises to last up to 2.5 hours.
The XGIMI MoGo 2 is slightly better than the Anker Nebula Capsule 3 Laser, although the Anker has a slight edge in portability. The Anker has a built-in battery pack, which they advertise to be good for up to 2.5 hours of playback. The XGIMI, however, is much brighter than the Anker, so it's a bit more forgiving when it comes to lighting conditions.
The Anker Nebula Capsule 3 Laser is better than the Anker Nebula Capsule Max. The Capsule 3 Laser gets a bit brighter than the Max, which helps make colors pop more, but it's still not bright enough for a room with lights on. The Capsule 3 Laser has much better color accuracy that you can further improve with calibration, and this model has a higher native 1080p resolution. The Capsule Max only has automatic vertical keystone correction, but the Capsule 3 Laser also has automatic horizontal correction, so it's easier to set up. The Capsule 3 Laser features the Google Play store, which has many more apps to download, and you can cast content from your phone instead of being limited to screen mirroring like you are on the Capsule Max.
The XGIMI Elfin is better than the Anker Nebula Capsule 3 Laser, although the Anker is slightly more portable due to its more compact size and integrated battery. Still, the XGIMI has superior image quality, with better brightness, contrast, colors, and image accuracy.
Test Results
The Anker Capsule 3 Laser has a compact design that's easy to carry around. Its auto keystone correction and autofocus features make it a breeze to set up, so you can quickly jump into your favorite movie and spend less time adjusting settings every time you move it. It also has a built-in battery pack that Anker advertises to last about 2.5 hours, and it has built-in speakers. There's also a travel case available for this model, but it's sold separately.
This DLP projector uses a laser light source, which requires no maintenance and will last for 20,000 hours or more. This means you likely won't ever have to worry about replacing its light source.
Unfortunately, the brightness of this projector after calibration is very low, with both colors and pure white. The brightness uniformity is fantastic, but on a 100" screen, it's just not bright enough for an enjoyable movie-watching experience, even in a pitch-black environment.
The Anker Capsule 3 Laser has passable contrast. Blacks look good in a dark room, but contrast is low as whites aren't very bright.
Out-of-the-box, the Anker Nebula Capsule 3 Laser projector has mediocre accuracy. The white balance is decent, with very few noticeable issues, but the color temperature is a bit cool. Colors aren't very accurate, especially reds and blues, but even green is a bit off.
The overall image accuracy is great after calibration. The white balance and gamma are nearly perfect, and the color temperature is close to ideal. Since it lacks a color calibration system, colors are still noticeably inaccurate, especially pure blues and reds.
This projector has an okay color gamut. It covers most of the Rec. 709 color space used with SDR content. It can't display anything beyond that, though. If you want a similar projector with a wider color gamut, check out the Anker Nebula Capsule Max, but it's even dimmer than this model so the difference won't be noticeable to most people.
- Power supply
- Power cable
- Remote (2x AAA batteries)
- Documentation
The Anker Nebula Capsule 3 Laser runs the Android TV 11 smart interface. It's easy to use and has a huge selection of streaming apps, so you can quickly and easily find your favorite content.
You can use the USB-C port for charging or as a data port. If you're using it as a data port, connected to a laptop or mobile phone, you're limited to the built-in battery pack.