While the idea of a huge screen is very appealing, not all of us have room for that at home, and certainly it may not be viable if we prefer portability. That’s why highly mobile, compact, durable, and smart portable projectors are so appealing. They have the big screen wow factor of fixed location projectors, but are far more flexible in terms of screen sizes and placement. From small room to the big wide open spaces of a campsite, portable projectors give you a big screen format wherever you are, and offer an excellent alternative.

We wanted to go over some pointers and highlights now that Samsung released the Freestyle portable projector, and namely how the BenQ GV30 stacks up as Samsung Freestyle alternative . We’ll be evaluating the major aspects that make a good portable projectors, primarily projection angle, brightness, battery life, built-in speaker quality, and compatibility with streaming apps. 

Quite an easy one for the BenQ GV30 with its free angle rotation, which allows for very flexible and free-feeling adjustment . The GV30 rotates easily to project on a wall or ceiling without requiring any accessories, stacks of magazine, props, or anything else. It has a wobble-free sturdy base that allows you to confidently change the projection angle.

While the Samsung Freestyle has a creative design, it’s not as well suited to flexible projection angles. To change projection direction from onto a wall or your ceiling to a top down fashion, you will need to purchase a separate accessory for the Freestyle, which is adds up to overall cost and isn’t very convenient.  Overall, for family use and larger groups, the GV30 is a clear winner, but if you enjoy the look of the Freestyle and don’t mind having a fixed projection angle, then it may be for you. The Freestyle also has smart features that tie into Samsung accounts, and if you have one of those then it could be a good choice. 

Good thing we said speaker in the singular, because the Samsung Freestyle indeed only has one. Samsung describe it as a 360-degree speaker when the Freestyle is in a hanging placement, as opposed to standing on a surface.  This speaker provides acceptable audio considering the device size. By comparison, the BenQ GV30, which isn’t much bigger, has true 2.1-channel audio. That’s two 4W speakers and a powerful 8W subwoofer. The design of the GV30 allows for a 270-degree sound arc that creates a more immersive, three dimensional audio effect.  

The BenQ GV30 uses Android TV as its OS, so any app that works on your Android phone or tablet works on the GV30, including streaming apps obviously. The GV30 was made for easy interconnectivity with Android devices. You can easily share or project content from your Android smart devices. 

Samsung’s Freestyle unsurprisingly uses the Tizen OS found on Samsung TVs. That’s because we assume Samsung intends for the Freestyle to be part of its ecosystem for easy pairing with Samsung home devices, mostly TVs, but also Samsung phones and tablets. Again, that’s fine if you’re already invested in the Samsung sphere. Otherwise, the GV30 offers more universal compatibility and wider access to apps thanks to the use of Android as its foundation. 

All told, we must conclude the Freestyle, while a very attractive device in terms of design, is entirely meant for home use alongside other Samsung products. By comparison, the BenQ GV30 was explicitly designed for “view anywhere” versatility regardless of brand loyalty or other devices.  . If you’re looking for a reliable and capable portable projector, we believe the conclusion makes itself here. The GV30 is therefore a very capable Samsung Freestyle alternative.

Take a look at a quick comparison table for additional clarity: