A longtime favorite among Underscored readers, the Samsung Freestyle is a sleek and ultra-portable projector that lets you summon crisp, colorful images onto pretty much any surface. And now that Samsung’s Gaming Hub software is available on the new Freestyle Gen 2 model — which just went up for preorder — it can also double as a nifty travel console of sorts.
I put this feature to the test a few months back at Summer Game Fest, escaping the Los Angeles gloom for a comfy tent where I got to kick back and stream everything from modern blockbusters to classic arcade hits on a giant projected screen. And while you don’t necessarily need an $800 projector for quality on-the-go gaming, I was certainly impressed by the experience.
The Samsung Freestyle lets you project up to a 100-inch image onto any surface, complete with plenty of built-in streaming and gaming apps for instant entertainment. If you preorder before Aug. 30, you’ll get a free Freestyle Case.
An instant arcade you can beam to any wall
Gaming Hub, which we first saw on last year’s Samsung TVs, is an all-in-one interface that lets you access a growing list of top gaming services that includes Xbox Game Pass, Amazon Luna and Nvidia GeForce Now as well as a few lesser-known offerings for retro and indie titles. Just like on a Samsung television, you can pair most Bluetooth controllers to your Freestyle, which, combined with the generally low latency I experienced, results in a surprisingly console-quality experience without the need for an actual console.
I started things off with Antstream Arcade, a service that lets you play more than 1,300 retro classics such as Space Invaders, Asteroids and Metal Slug. Being the fighting-game fanatic I am, I immediately fired up the original Mortal Kombat, and it felt just like how I remember it from the arcades — unfairly cheap AI opponents and all. The game’s digitized actors and pixelated blood looked authentically crisp on the Freestyle’s projected 1080p display, and there was no major latency to get in the way of me hurling balls of ice as Sub-Zero.
To my pleasant surprise, the Freestyle was just as capable at streaming modern console games as it is arcade classics. I booted up some Halo Infinite via the Xbox Cloud Streaming app, and mowing down aliens felt nearly as responsive as it did during the dozens of hours I’ve poured into the Xbox and PC versions. Granted, I was playing in a controlled demo booth with what was likely decent Wi-Fi — your mileage may vary if you’re trying this out in the wild with a portable cellular hotspot.
That being said, this setup seems way more ideal than lugging both a projector and a console with you on a camping trip, if all you’re looking to do is get in some casual gaming between adventures. Sure, you can bring your Nintendo Switch and prop it up in tabletop mode, but crowding around a tiny tablet isn’t quite as ideal as beaming up to a 100-inch screen to your tent’s ceiling while you comfortably lie down, controller in hand.
Gaming features aside, the latest Samsung Freestyle packs a built-in 360-degree speaker and the same Smart TV interface you’ll find on the company’s televisions — which means easy access to Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+ and the like. You’ll also get perks like Auto Keystone and Auto Focus, which promise to keep your picture even and sharp without much manual fiddling.
The takeaway
In the time since the Freestyle first hit the scene, we’ve tested some truly great competitors — including the Anker Nebula Solar Portable for folks on a budget and the XGIMI Horizon Pro 4K for people willing to splurge on 4K picture quality. But the Freestyle’s uniquely portable design and wealth of built-in streaming and gaming apps make it a compelling package, and we’re eager to see how the Gen 2 stacks up against our favorites once we get one in for a full review.
