Best Budget Projectors 2026: Aurzen’s Roku-Powered EAZZE D1R Air and Honor’s AI Projector Pro
Not every notable projector launch this year has been a flagship laser model chasing 6,000 lumens. There’s an equally active budget projector 2026 and travel-projector segment where the story is less about raw brightness and more about software convenience, portability, and price. If you’ve been searching for the best budget projector, a cheap smart projector, or a portable projector under $200, two recent launches are worth knowing about: Aurzen’s EAZZE D1R Air, the first portable Roku TV projector with Roku TV built directly into the hardware, and Honor’s Choice AI Projector Pro, a budget AI projector from the phone maker’s China-market lineup.
Aurzen EAZZE D1R Air: Roku TV Projector, Untethered
Aurzen has been building out its Roku-partnered projector lineup for a while — the original EAZZE D1R launched back in November 2025 as the first projector with Roku TV built in, and the EAZZE D1R Cube followed shortly after. The D1R Air is the portable evolution of that idea: same built-in Roku TV concept, but now untethered from a wall outlet, with USB-C power bank compatibility and a folding, all-white minimalist design built for a genuine travel projector use case.
Key specifications:
- Resolution: Native 1080p Full HD
- Brightness: Up to 300 ANSI lumens, SGS-certified
- Smart platform: Built-in Roku TV — no external streaming stick needed, with direct access to Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, Hulu, YouTube, the Roku Channel, and Apple TV, plus 500+ free live TV channels covering news, weather, and sports
- Design: 180-degree integrated gimbal stand, letting you pivot from wall projection to ceiling projection in seconds; measures roughly 5.35 x 4.33 x 10.12 inches and weighs about 42.3 ounces
- Setup: Automatic picture alignment (focus and keystone correction)
- Audio: Dual 5W speakers with Dolby Audio support
- Connectivity: HDMI (with eARC), USB-A, 3.5mm audio out, dual-band Wi-Fi, and power via USB-C, which is what enables power-bank operation for fully cordless use
Price and availability: The D1R Air is available now from Aurzen’s own site and Amazon at a list price of $239.99, with a limited-time launch discount bringing it down to $149.99 — making it one of the more compelling cheap projector deals on the market right now. Reviewers who’ve spent time with it single out the simplicity of the pitch: it works as a fully standalone streaming device the moment it’s powered on and connected to Wi-Fi, without needing a phone, laptop, or separate streaming stick in the mix. At 300 lumens it’s squarely an entry-level, dim-room projector rather than something meant to compete with ambient light, but that trade-off is expected at this price point and form factor.
Honor Choice AI Projector Pro: A Phone Maker’s Budget Home Projector
Honor — the former Huawei sub-brand that’s mostly known for phones and wearables — has been quietly expanding into projectors under its “Choice” line, and the AI Projector Pro (also listed as model MRO-SH01) is its latest entry aimed at the living room or bedroom rather than travel use. Unlike the Aurzen model, this AI-powered projector leans into automated setup rather than a specific streaming-service partnership.
Key specifications:
- Resolution: Native 1080p (1920×1080), 16:9 aspect ratio
- Brightness: Up to 750 nits (LED light source); Honor has not published an ANSI or ISO lumens figure for this model, so it isn’t directly comparable to lumens-rated projectors
- Throw ratio: 1.2:1
- Contrast: 2,500:1
- Processor: HiSilicon V352 chipset, 2GB RAM, 32GB internal storage
- Platform: Android 9.0, with Honor noting the interface is free of intrusive ads
- AI features: Automatic focus, automatic image correction, and automatic screen-size adaptation handled without manual setup
- Image adjustment: 4-point keystone correction, integrated gimbal stand for adjusting projection angle
- Audio: Built-in 5W speaker
- Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, HDMI 2.0, USB
- Design: Titanium Gray and Starlight White color options
Price and availability: The Honor Choice AI Projector Pro went on sale in China on May 15, 2026, priced at roughly 1,410 yuan (about $200) — squarely in projector under $200 territory. As with much of Honor’s projector lineup, it’s currently a China-market release only, with no announced timeline for a US or global launch. It sits alongside cheaper Honor Choice models like the Bee AI Projector Air (around $84), which trades brightness and specs for an even lower price and adds novelty features like stylus input for wall doodling.
What These Two Launches Say About the Budget Projector Market
Aurzen and Honor are chasing slightly different budget buyers, but both are part of the same story: 2026 is shaping up as a breakout year for affordable smart projectors. Aurzen’s bet is on eliminating friction — bake a full smart TV platform into the projector itself so there’s nothing else to buy or configure, and make the whole thing genuinely portable with power-bank support. Honor’s bet leans more on its phone-industry AI credentials — automatic setup and correction features that reduce the fiddly focus-and-keystone dance that’s historically made budget projectors annoying to actually use, even if the brightness and resolution specs stay modest.
Neither of these is a projector for a dedicated home theater. But if you’re searching for the best portable projector 2026, a Roku TV projector, or just a cheap projector for camping and backyard movie nights, both are worth knowing about, with the D1R Air being the easier one to actually buy right now if you’re outside China.
Sources: Android Authority, Pocket-lint, Notebookcheck, Gizmochina, AndroidGuys, Aurzen, Honor.
