With its roots in the modest 720p ASUS ZenBeam Latte L1, the follow-on ZenBeam L2 design surpasses its predecessor in every meaningful way. Small and powerful, the 1080p ZenBeam L2 has brighter LED lighting components, full HD resolution, and its Hako mini modular TV streaming system is an innovative way to tap into the major services, including Netflix and YouTube.

Unfortunately, the upgrade calls for a near doubling of its price to $699 list/$649 street, putting it in a playing field with some serious competition we'll discuss later. Still, the ZenBeam L2 is a versatile projector that is just as good for binging episodes of "Shadow and Bone" on the living room wall as for sharing a spreadsheet with co-workers or setting up a spontaneous digital classroom at school. Check out the details to see if it fits into your digital lifestyle.

Features

While the original ZenBeam Latte L1 projector looked like an upside-down paper coffee cup, the ZenBeam L2 flips the design with a slightly pyramidal shaped device that has rounded corners. Rather than the Latte's soft fabric covering, the L2's case is made of a dark blue perforated metal screen and adds a leather carrying handle. The package includes a padded fabric bag that, happily, has room for the remote control and AC adapter.

At 5.2 x 6.8 x 5.2 inches (WHD) and 3.5 pounds, it is gargantuan next to the original design but is more than worth it. With its lens mounted five inches above the base, many setups won't require angling the projector. It has a pull-out foot that can tilt it to 4 or 8 degrees and a single threaded attachment point underneath for a tripod or ceiling mount.

The ZenBeam L2 automatically optimizes the image by projecting five black and white targets that the front-mounted camera and sensor take in to focus and frame the video stream. It performs automatic geometric-correction, auto-focus, and obstacle avoidance where it will shrink the image down to avoid a house-plant or wall outlet that obstructs a part of the picture. It takes a couple of seconds to adjust the image, although it's also easy to manually focus and square it. After a few tries I couldn't do better than the ZenBeam L2's automatic routine and gave up.

Under the skin, the ZenBeam L2's arrays of red, blue and green high-intensity LEDs bounce light off the projector's 0.23-inch Digital Light Processing (DLP) imaging chip. The 1920x1080 stream of images travels through the output lens and on to the screen or wall.

It can handle inputs of up to 3840x2160 but the imaging is downscaled to 1080p HD. With a 30,000 hour rated lifetime, the ZenBeam L2's LEDs mean that it will never need maintenance or a new lamp. It has a small fan to keep the projector from overheating but was among the quietest portable projectors we've seen or heard. It topped out at a not too hot 104.5 degrees Fahrenheit.

Like others in its class, the ZenBeam L2 lacks an optical zoom lens. With its 1.2:1 throw ratio, it can project images between 40 inches to 120 inches (measured diagonally). On the downside, it's image began to lose a lot of punch beyond about 80 inches diagonal.

With seven color modes, the ZenBeam can be optimized for a variety of material. In addition to the Bright, Standard and Theater, there are settings for Scenery, Game and Eco as well as a user-defined mode. While it's rated at 400 ANSI lumens, the projector did 13% better in our measurements with a peak output of 452 ANSI lumens in Bright mode. That mode's image, however, is pushed too far to the green end of the spectrum. Using some of the other modes, the projector worked well in a semi-lit room but with its limited output it understandably came into its own in a fully darkened space where it could shine with rich colors, dark blacks and bright whites.

Inside, the ZenBeam L2 has a 65 watt-hour battery pack, allowing it to be used far from an AC outlet or even on a camping or boat trip. There are three Battery Mode choices (Low, Middle and High) that dim the output considerably. Using the Battery Mode Middle setting and an HDMI input, the ZenBeam L2 ran for 2 hours and 51 minutes. It took about two hours to recharge with the projector plugged in but turned off; the LED next to the port glows green when it's charging.

While other projectors have built-in TV streaming systems, the ZenBeam L2 takes a different path with a modular Hako mini TV box that ships with the projector. The small black device looks like polished basalt and fits into a space under the projector's lid. It requires being connected to the projector via internal mini HDMI and Micro USB ports for video and power.

Powered by an Amlogic S905Y4 processor and 2GB of RAM, the Hako mini has 16GB of storage space. The integration is good and a big step forward from the Android-based Aptoide streaming platform on the Latte L1. If Hako continues with this form factor I can envision a variety of future source upgrades without replacing the entire projector.

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In addition to access to Netflix, Amazon Prime, YouTube and Google Play, the projector's Android TV 12 has installable apps for HBO Max, Paramount+ and Disney+ as well as lesser known services, like tubi and Crunchyroll's anime service. Although the ZenBeam L2 is not unique here, it joins other Android projectors in lacking a preloaded web browser. I installed and used the TV-Browser Internet app from the Google Play store.

Held in place magnetically, the projector's lid is more than meets the eye. It has rudimentary controls for input, the projector's settings menu and going back. The breakthrough is the joystick that adjusts the volume if you flick it right to left and focuses if you move it up and down. It only works when the four contacts on the lid's underside correctly seat on the projector.

The remote control does a lot more than the onboard controls, with the ability to turn the projector on and off and select an HDMI cabled input, Android TV and USB-C video. It has a four-way control for navigating through the Menu as well as an Android TV Home button, volume control and direct links for YouTube and Netflix. In addition to keys for focusing and getting to the projector's settings, there's a mic button for telling the projector what to do via Google Assistant, such as "Pause show".

In addition to the micro-USB and mini HDMI ports in the hidden compartment dedicated to connecting the Hako mini streamer, the ZenBeam L2 has a nice assortment of connectors in the back. Along with a full size HDMI 2.0 port, there are two USB-C connectors, one for power-in from the supplied charger and another and another compliant with DP Alt mode for a video source of up to 1080p resolution and PD (Power Delivery) protocol. The nearby USB 2.0 Type A connector is also available for powering a streaming device and making firmware upgrades. It was not able to project files on a flash drive, or to work with any of the three USB keyboards I tried. This unfortunately left me with no alternative to logging into my online accounts except to tediously fill in my email and passwords manually using the remote control and on-screen keypad.

Inside, the ZenBeam L2 has both Wi-Fi 5 for streaming as well as Bluetooth for the remote control and external wireless speakers. The projector worked with Chromecast as well as my Monoprice SB-100 soundbar. It has a built-in 10-watt Harman Kardon speaker and a headphone jack for wiring external audio. The sound from the onboard speaker was nothing special—kind of flat and lacking in both bass and midrange richness, but acceptable for a small projector like this.

The Menu structure is straight-forward and divided into portions for the projector and Android TV as is typical with most Android OS projectors. Tap the button on the remote's lower right to get to the ASUS Splendid Menu, with options for using the HDMI, USB-C or Android TV. It's easy to pick the color mode, square the image and focus it. There are four audio modes and access to the main operational menu that includes adjustment of color temperature, color components, or to correct the output for projecting onto a colored wall.

There's a surprise at the bottom: access to what ASUS calls Light Wall. A step forward in entertainment, there are 26 choices for ambient projections, some soothing, others creepy. The digital shadows of waving willows might have helped on Halloween, but my favorite is the calming aurora borealis simulation.

Like other projectors in its class, there's also a menu for Android TV. It let me enter my account details, connect with the Internet and handle other setup features. Personally, I would have preferred a single unified menu, but these two-part menu systems are unfortunately a reality with Android projectors.

Even though the lighting and imaging components should last for years, the projector comes with a two-year warranty. This is unusual for projectors in this class, most of which offer a one-year warranty term.

Performance

The ZenBeam L2 has seven color modes but lacks anything like a dedicated Rec. 709 or sRGB setting. However, it is said to cover 99.5 percent of the sRGB gamut, and you can set it to mimic the neutral-gray D65 white spec by setting the color temperature to Warm for 6500K output. The projector can also take advantage of encoded HDR material for enhanced color and vibrancy.

To start, the Bright mode put out 452 ANSI lumens, about 13 percent over the projector's 400 ANSI lumen rating. Though it was able to compete somewhat with overhead lights and a sunny day with the shades up, everything was overwhelmingly green.

The Standard mode offers a better balance between overall brightness and color balance while delivering 286 ANSI lumens. The Theater mode's extra warmth, however, was even more natural and had an output of 274 ANSI lumens.

All this came together when I was watching Crimes of the Future in Theater mode. The projector did a great job of reproducing lifelike skin tones on a tanned boy on the beach while still showing realistic blue sky and clouds. The sand, pebbles and ocean surf were realistically rendered with lots of texture details.

The L2's Scenery and Game modes are similar with the brightness scale pegged at 80% and the contrast set to 50%. The difference is that the former uses the cold color temperature setting while the Game mode uses Normal; there's also a Warm temperature selection available.

Oddly, while the Game mode modifies the image it didn't speed up the projector's measured latency of 78.8 milliseconds (for a 1080p/60 Hz signal). This makes it less than satisfactory for anything but very casual gaming with slow-moving games. ASUS clarified that the L2 wasn't designed with gaming in mind, though its direct competitors do better on this front.

Using the ZenBeam L2's HDR abilities pays lots of visual dividends when paired with the BBC Planet Earth II UHD Blu-rays. The glow from Lava flows seemed to burn brighter and animals like parrots in a jungle scene seemed to jump off the screen. Later, I watched a YouTube HDR nature video where the ladybugs seemed so lifelike it was a more than a little disturbing.

Conclusion

Small, light and easy to carry from room to room, building to building or city to city, the Asus ZenBeam L2 runs circles around its predecessor, the ZenBeam Latte L1. At a peak output of 452 ANSI lumens, the ZenBeam L2 is not only significantly brighter than the Latte L1 but its ability to project full HD resolution imaging makes it a winner for a TV replacement at home or at work.

Its big step forward, though, is the incorporation of Hako's modular mini TV streamer. Modular and replaceable, it includes a powerful processor, Android TV 12 software and access to a wide variety of streaming entertainment services.

At its $650 street price, the ZenBeam L2 goes up against the XGIMI Halo+ we reviewed last year. That projector is more expensive with its $849 list price but gets promoted for as little $649 and has a current $749 street price direct from XGIMI. The L2 matches or surpasses the XGIMI Halo+ in most respects in terms of features, although, critically, its brightness pales against the XGIMI's 700 ISO lumen output. The new Anker Mars 3 Air, with its $599 street price, comes in $50 less than the L2 and is more directly competitive on brightness with a similar 400 ANSI lumens rating. It comes equipped with an integrated Google TV platform with an authorized Netflix app. (Our ProjectorCentral review is pending.)

In any event, the ZenBeam L2 gets my vote for the most improved projector award, not only for upping the device's output and resolution versus the first-generation Latte L1, but for the inclusion of Android TV 12's ability to work with the major streaming services. It's a small wonder that shines brightly.

Measurements

Brightness. The ZenBeam L2's peak output mode is the Bright setting, where the projector delivered 452 ANSI lumens with the LEDs all running at full blast. This is 13% over the ASUS spec of 400 ANSI lumens, but the ZenBeam L2 also has a 960 LED lumen spec that overstates its brightness considerably, even accounting for the H-K effect that says LED light is perceived brighter than that from conventional lamps. Overall, the contrast was good but everything has a green tinge to it, making skin look ghostly and ghoulish. Other modes were more palatable for color-sensitive material.

Using the Eco mode is similar to the settings for Game mode but at a reduced voltage to the LED illumination components. Its output dropped to 134 ANSI lumens, about what a good flashlight puts out, and consumed 19.8 watts. That's a 70% decline in light output and a 63% drop in power use.

Asus ZenBeam L2 ANSI Lumens

Mode	Lumens
Bright	452
Standard	286
Theater	274
Scenery	286
Game	282
Eco	134

Brightness Uniformity. The ZenBeam L2 had a measured brightness uniformity of 89 percent.

Power Use. Being small and LED-based, the ZenBeam has modest power requirements. At full blast it consumed 53.5 watts, which declined to between 37.8 and 38.5 watts in the other modes. Using Eco mode reduced the power draw to 19.8 watts but at the cost of two-thirds of the projector's brightness potential.

Factoring in its 6.2 watt idle mode, the ZenBeam L2 has an estimated power cost of $19 per year. That assumes it is used for 8 hours a day for 200 days out of the year and you pay the national average of 14 cents per kilowatt hour for electricity.

Battery Use. Inside the ZenBeam L2 is a 65 watt-hour battery pack. There are Low, Middle and High Battery Mode settings that delivered 144, 209, and 283 ANSI lumens of brightness, respectively. This represents a one-third loss of brightness.

Using the Battery Mode Middle battery power mode, it ran for 2 hours and 51 minutes on a charge, plenty for a few full episodes of Loki. It took about two hours to recharge the projector's battery.

Fan Noise. ASUS specs the projector's noise at 28dBA and 30dBA using the industry-standard multi-point, averaged measurement in a sound-proof room. In a casual real-world measurement, with my sound meter set up 36 inches from the ZenBeam L2's exhaust vent, I measured a peak fan noise of 40.5dBA in a room with a background ambient reading of 38.2dBA. Using Eco mode lowered it to 40.1dBA.

Input Lag. Based on readings using a 1920x1080/60Hz source from a Bodnar Video Signal Lag Tester, the ZenBeam L2 had a rather high latency of 78.8 milliseconds. Selecting Game mode strictly adjusts the image and does nothing to lower input lag, making the projector suitable only for casual gaming.

Connections

• HDMI (Version 2.0)
• Mini-HDMI (top compartment, for Hako Mini TV Box)
• USB-C x 2 (1 for DC input, 1 for DP Alt Mode signal input, supports PD)
• USB 2.0 Type-A for power and firmware upgrade
• Micro-USB for power (top compartment, for Hako Mini TV Box)
• Audio out (3.5mm stereo jack)

For more detailed specifications and connections, check out our ASUS ZenBeam L2 projector page.

To buy this projector, use Where to Buy online, or get a price quote by email direct from Projector Central authorized dealers using our E-Z Quote tool.

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