Yaber T2 Plus Projector Review: Cut The Cord For Smart Outdoor Movies

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

Watching your favorite movies on a projector creates an extra layer of cinematic immersion that televisions just can't replicate. Anyone who has done their research knows that there are a lot of factors one can consider when buying a projector. The Yaber T2 Plus, or Yaber T2 if you forgo the dongle, is the company's latest projector, and it offers some unique benefits that some people will love.

At $329 for the T2 Plus (AKA the Yaber T2 bundled with its Google TV dongle on Amazon), or approximately $300 without the dongle as listed on the Yaber store, this portable unit isn't trying to replace your more traditional projectors like the much more expensive Formovie 4K Projector or even something like the Dangbei Atom. Instead, Yaber has designed the T2 Plus to go wherever you go, even if you aren't near an outlet, and give you an enjoyable experience while doing it.

Yaber was founded in 2018 and is a company you have likely heard of if you've followed the projector space for some time. The T2 Plus projector is a step up for the company, but does it do enough to earn a spot in your movie-watching arsenal? Yaber provided the T2 Plus for this review.

The Yaber T2 Plus comes with a premium-looking and unique design that helps it stand out from just about every other projector out there. Instead of the low, flat, rectangular shape that often accompanies a typical projector, the T2 is tall, thin, and boxy. At 6.5 x 5.51 x 11.42 inches, and weighing 5.51 lbs, the T2 Plus is on the bulky side.

Yaber does include a carry handle, making it easy to move from location to location. The handle doubles as a stand, allowing you to angle the unit to get that perfect image. While the T2 is a tad bulky, it's very stable and gives plenty of confidence that it won't easily get knocked off a surface.

You can find the power button on the top of the unit, the lens prominently displayed on the front, and its sensors near the bottom. Yaber includes two built-in 8W JBL speakers and a built-in battery that can hit 2.5 hours of video runtime or 18 hours of music playback.

Charging is a little slow, as it takes about 3.5 hours to charge the T2 if it's in standby mode or 5.5 hours if it's in use. Keep in mind that the brightness lowers from 100 to 60 in battery mode. You can manually put it back to full brightness, but it's going to take a toll on the battery life. The power cord plugs into the bottom left side of the T2, which is awkward, but at least it doesn't get in the way of leaning the T2 back.

For the T2, Yaber went with an LED lens that can output a 1080p image with a max of 450 ANSI Lumens. We will get into the picture quality in the next section, but it's comparable to other portable projectors like the Xgimi Mogo 3 Pro. Yaber offers your basic port selection, including a USB 2.0 port, an audio out port, and one HDMI port.

Interestingly, Yaber put an RJ45 jack on the back for cabled networking, which is surprising considering its portable nature and the need for an external device to watch your favorite content. I would have liked to have seen an additional HDMI port on the back or at the very least, have Google TV built into the software to free up the singular HDMI port. It's also equipped with Bluetooth 5.0 and Wi-Fi 6.

Yaber did include some nice-to-have features with the T2. The projector is capable of automatically adjusting the focus, alignment, and correcting keystone. It even offers obstacle avoidance which detects nearby obstacles and adjusts the picture size for a nice, clean fit. As long as the projector is within range, it does a commendable job of auto-focusing and making most adjustments. It can struggle with automatic keystone adjustments if it's at more than 10 degrees off-center, requiring manual adjustments.

The projector's JBL speaker system also does a very respectable job of delivering some impressive sound quality. This device's audio had no trouble filling up my living room with sound and were clear and easily heard. If you're using this projector outdoors, they won't have any trouble overpowering cricket chirps and other random insect sounds.

Yaber went with a 60Hz LED lens that does a solid job of color reproduction. The T2 isn't an HDR projector, so don't expect a super bright image or punchy colors, but it works well when the surrounding setting is not very bright. The light source is rated to last 20,000 hours, so you don't have to worry about it burning out prematurely.

The single LED lens does a good job of displaying its 1080p picture as long as you remain in the T2's sweet spot of four to nine feet. With a throw ratio of 1.25:1, the T2 picture size can range from 40 inches at just 3.63 feet, all the way up to 120 inches at 10.89 feet. The T2 does struggle with auto adjustments at its max range, often failing to make the necessary focus and keystone corrections.

Steve Smith/SlashGear

Where the T2 struggles the most is with its limited 450 ANSI Lumens of brightness. It's perfectly bright at night and is quite capable of delivering a quality image. The issues start to crop up as it has to combat other light sources. It can overpower a single bedroom lamp, but you can forget about using the T2 during the day unless you have blackout shades.

Movies and TV shows were the best types of content to consume on the Yaber T2. I did try to use the T2 for some gaming sessions, but it's not something I would recommend. While playing "Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered," distant enemies were difficult to find due to the lack of brightness. Games like "Gran Turismo 7" offered a more pleasant viewing experience, however, the T2 also suffers from input lag. It's something you will notice on this projector, even if you put the T2 in game mode.

Yaber does include its own Yaber OS (operating system and user interface), but it's very basic. It allows you to switch to the HDMI source, screen share from Android or iOS, and access the file manager. The menu system is easily Yaber OS's best feature as it's exceedingly simple to make the necessary adjustments to get the best picture quality out of the T2.

If you want to watch your favorite movies or shows, you're going to need the Google TV dongle with the T2 Plus or something like an Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max. The dongle included with the T2 Plus does allow you to use the same remote to adjust the volume as well as navigate all of the menus. I attempted to hook up a Roku Stick and while it recognized the video just fine, I couldn't get it to control the volume.

Steve Smith/SlashGear

The Google TV dongle (included with the T2 Plus) does come with a nice angled HDMI adapter, which allows the streaming stick to sit flush vertically. It significantly reduces the risk of breaking your streaming stick due to it sticking straight out of the back.

Connecting the included T2 Plus dongle brings you to the typical Google TV setup menus. It's a quick and painless process and you'll be watching your favorite content in no time. Thanks to Yaber's decision to go with a Google TV streaming device, you gain access to over 7000 apps including all of your favorite streaming platforms like Netflix, Peacock, and Apple TV.

I did run into an odd bug with the Google TV dongle. Every so often the picture would quickly zoom in and out, which felt nauseating. The only way to fix it was to exit the app or fast-forward through the show. It happened in multiple apps, but it was most prevalent in Peacock, where it would happen after every ad break. This issue wasn't present when using a Roku Stick.

The Yaber T2 projector is more than worth your consideration thanks to its array of features and specs. Picture and sound quality are good with its crisp 1080p picture and its dual 8W JBL speakers that produce great-sounding audio that is more than enough to fill a large room. As an outdoor projector, the 2.5 hours of battery life gives you enough run time to watch most of your favorite content.

It's not a perfect projector and won't be replacing your 4K TV or high-end projector in your living room, although it can be used to complement it within the home. The biggest issues with the Yaber T2 are its lack of HDMI inputs and its limited 450 ANSI Lumens of brightness. This projector just isn't usable during the day unless you have some way of eliminating sunlight.

If you're looking for a projector to fill your summer nights with fun, then the Yaber T2 deserves your attention. It's an attractive-looking product that will let you enjoy movie night in your home, in the backyard, or provide that needed break during your next camping adventure.

The Yaber T2 and T2 Plus can be found directly from Yaber ($300 without the dongle) or Amazon ($329 with the dongle bundled).