Anker has cooked up something pretty weird with the Nebula Capsule II. It combines a lot of different things, for better or worse, into a pint-sized package.

At its core, the Nebula Capsule II is a portable projector. You can connect video devices to it and sling a picture on a wall up to 100 inches, which is really cool. But Anker also managed to make this thing smart with a full-blown Android TV install, and it's completely wireless.

Cramming a ton of things into one thing isn't always the best route, though, so let's dig in and see if this paid off for Anker.

Design

Anker calls the Nebula Capsule II pint-sized, and it even gets compared to a pint of beer in product images. That's a pretty accurate size description, too. This thing fits in your hand easily, doesn't weigh too much, and can be carried around in an overnight bag or anything else that you might take with you on the go.

It's made of a black, plasticky material, and feels really premium thanks to the weight. I'm sure most of that is just projector hardware and the battery, but it's nice to have something like this that doesn't feel cheap.

You'll find the projector lens and an autofocus sensor on the front, with a power button and Bluetooth sync button on the back. There's a good amount of connectivity at the bottom, including a USB C port for charging, HDMI input for other devices, USB A port for charging something else, and an AUX port for running external speakers.

The top houses the navigation buttons, which you can use if you don't have the remote. They're a little clunky to use, and you'll sometimes accidentally hit one of them when trying to position the projector, so I'd recommend using that remote when possible. The remote's not bad, either; just a pretty standard Android TV remote.

Software

The Nebula runs a fairly basic install of Android TV. You'll get access to the Play Store and tons of video streaming apps and games, including things like Hulu, YouTube, and things you can buy and rent from the Play Store. It'll also double as a Chromecast from your phone, too, in case you don't want to fill up the internal storage.

However, there's a pretty big catch.

Netflix is not supported on the Nebula Capsule II thanks to some minimum sales requirements and DRM certification on Netflix's end. You won't be able to Cast any Netflix content, either. Amazon Prime Video is also missing.

So that's going to knock out many popular video streaming options. Couple that with the fact that many apps on Android TV don't let you download things for offline viewing, and you've got a weird mashup of portable hardware and software that's very reliant on WiFi. Kind of reminds me of some of the portable Google Assistant speakers; great when you're at home, but they struggle away from the internet, which is the whole point of their smart functionality.

But aside from that stuff, Android TV here works really well. It's snappy and responsive, although there aren't tons of settings to tinker with as far as picture quality goes. Streaming YouTube and Play Movies worked very well, partially thanks to the projector's lower 720p resolution. Plex really makes this thing shine.

Battery

It's a portable projector, so obviously battery is going to be a concern. Anker rates it at about 2.5 hours on a single charge, which seems fairly accurate; you've got enough time to watch a normal movie with maybe a bit of time leftover. I got anywhere from 2 to 3 hours, depending on what I was watching. YouTube seemed to drain a little less than bigger, higher bitrate content.

But the gadget certainly could have benefitted from just a little more juice. 2.5 hours is great for most things, but if you're trying to watch an extended cut of a movie, or if you want to watch Endgame in your backyard, you might get cut off before the movie is over, and that's not a great experience. Fortunately, you can charge the projector up on the go with nicer USB C batteries, but keep that in mind if you're taking it out of the house.

Video performance

There's a lot to love about this projector, despite some of the trade-offs Anker made. It's only a 720p projection, which is definitely noticeable when you're blowing something up at 100 inches. But with how incredibly small the Nebula is, coupled with some extremely impressive brightness (200 ANSI lumens), it's hard to complain. It's not going to be a killer home theater projector, but it is really cool for easily putting movies on a screen or a garage door when you're looking for that kind of experience, instead of chasing perfect video quality.

I put the projector through its paces by watching quite a bit of YouTube and some content from a Plex server. Despite the lower resolution, everything still looked good, although not better than my regular TV setup. YouTube definitely didn't matter because very little of that content is high-bitrate, 1080p resolution anyway, but on Plex I did prefer to stick to more fun shows and movies, or things I'd already seen before. Trying to watch a dark, gritty movie was tough, simply because the resolution wasn't as high as what I'm used to, and dark scenes could get tough to watch.

I also tested out the HDMI input on the projector, which really seems to be a huge selling point for the gadget. You can always hook up your own video device, like a Roku or Fire Stick, and get Netflix and all of your other content that way. That's a great workaround for the lack of certain apps here. I tested it out with an NES Classic, however, which was probably the most fun I had with the projector.

See, that USB port can power small devices like the aforementioned Fire Sticks and classic game consoles. So connecting the NES to the HDMI port and the USB A port basically gave me a totally portable retro game setup, and the projector quality really made for a cool nostalgic experience. You could also pull this off with a Raspberry Pi or something similar, and if you're in your house, an Xbox One or PlayStation 4 would be another fun but less portable idea. I can absolutely see this being a hit at hangouts or parties, if you have room for it. You can run the whole thing off a USB Power Delivery battery, too, if you're really trying to get away from wires.

But having the room or setup is what makes a projector so tricky. I invested in a pretty cheap projector screen to test drive this thing, and it was a pretty cool experience, but I can see how a nicer screen or flat, painted wall would make it even better. Of course, blowing it up further is going to make the lower resolution stand out more, so there's always a trade-off. But keep it in mind that you might need to invest in something else to actually watch this projector, if you don't have a suitable wall or room. Going outside with it is a great solution, but you'll have to be wary of your WiFi connections, too.

Everything else

The speakers on the projector were pretty mediocre, which also detracts from the immersive home theater experience that you might be chasing. They get the job done, but watching massive Hollywood blockbusters just left something to be desired, unless you're running separate speakers into the projector.

It does also double as its own Bluetooth speaker, so you can just play music through the speaker when you're done with the video part of things. Again, these speakers don't sound great, so I wouldn't recommend it for an audiophile, but it's pretty cool to have just one device to do everything instead of having to carry around three or four things.

Anker's upgraded Capsule II does have a new autofocus feature that helps the projector properly line up its projection based on whatever you're trying to throw too. So even if the wall or screen isn't perfectly flat or angled, the projector can make up for that, to an extent.

The remote doubles as a Google Assistant voice controller, too, just in case you planned on using this in your home as the hub of your smart gadgets.

Worth it?

I can easily say that this projector is one of the most fun gadgets that I've used in a while. Playing games, watching movie trailer, binging YouTube, whatever; having a gigantic projector screen for it just makes everything more fun. Having it in a completely portable package was just icing on top. But, obviously, that's not without trade-offs.

The biggest trade-off is definitely price. Anker asks $579 for this projector, which puts it well out of what most people would consider an impulse buy. You can buy a fairly nice TV set that's most likely going to have native Netflix at that price point, and it'll be a 1080p or 4k screen, too. High-end 4K projectors are significantly more expensive than that, though, so this all depends on what you're comparing it to.

But regardless of the comparisons you want to make, it just puts the Nebula Capsule II in a weird position to try and slot into. Are you looking for a casual device to make weekend movie nights more fun? There's no doubt that Anker has made the perfect product for that, but if that's what you're looking for, are you willing to drop nearly $600 on it? And if you are prepared to drop a sizable chunk of change on a projector, is a 720p projector with mediocre speakers that can't watch Netflix going to cut it?

I love the Nebula Capsule II, and if you have the cash, you should absolutely go buy one right now. But if it doesn't sound like a wise $600 investment, well, I can't say that I blame you.

Buy it now: Amazon