The Epson Lifestudio Flex Plus is a portable 4k projector with an RGB LED light source that's rated for up to 20,000 hours. Powered by Epson's 3-chip 3LCD Triple Core Engine technology, this projector has a 1.2 throw ratio that can project a 65-inch image from about 5.7 ft (1.73 meters) away, and up to a 150-inch image from about 13.1 ft (3.99 meters) away. It features a 180-degree horizontal swivel, it can be tilted vertically 105 degrees (90 degrees up and 15 degrees down), and it also comes with auto-focus, auto-keystone, auto-obstacle avoidance, and auto-screen fit for easy setup. The projector also has an easy-to-grab metal handle for improved portability, and it can also put out ambient lighting for some added flair. It supports HDR and HLG, includes one HDMI 2.0 port that doubles as an ARC/eARC port, and is equipped with two 5W Bose speakers.
Our Verdict
The Epson Lifestudio Flex Plus is a reasonable projector for watching movies. It's not bright enough to combat a lot of ambient light, and it has unremarkable contrast with darker scenes, but the image is very uniform across the screen, making it better suited for watching movies in a dark or dimly lit room. The projector has a great color gamut, especially for watching SDR content, and while its accuracy is only decent out of the box, it benefits a lot from calibration.
Supports pixel-shifted 4k for sharper images.
Great color gamut in SDR.
Good contrast in brighter scenes.
Excellent accuracy after a calibration.
Can't combat a lot of ambient light.
Shadow details look flat in dark content.
The Epson Lifestudio Flex Plus projector is alright for gaming. It supports HDR10 and HLG, and it projects pixel-shifted 4k. However, it only goes up to a 60Hz refresh rate, and despite having an ALLM mode, its input lag is just okay, making it a more ideal option for casual gaming. It features an RGB LED light source that helps make colors pop, though the projector's mediocre brightness limits this a bit. Its contrast is also unremarkable, especially with darker scenes, but it performs notably well with mixed content and brighter scenes.
Great color gamut in SDR.
Good contrast in brighter scenes.
Excellent accuracy after a calibration.
Can't combat a lot of ambient light.
Only supports 60Hz.
Input lag isn't instantaneous.
Shadow details look flat in dark content.
The Epson Lifestudio Flex Plus has mediocre brightness. Its brightness is very uniform across the screen, and its white and color light output are nearly identical, which prevents colors from being washed out. However, it's only bright enough to watch either in a dark or dimly lit room. The projector also provides the option to charge it using its USB-C port, but there's a significant drop in brightness when doing this, so it's recommended that you use the projector's power adapter for the best results.
Very uniform image across the screen.
Can't combat a lot of ambient light.
The Epson Lifestudio Flex Plus has mediocre contrast. Despite having a dynamic contrast feature, blacks look raised, especially in near-black and dark scenes, which makes shadow details look flat as a result. That said, the projector does excel with mixed content and brighter scenes.
Good contrast in brighter scenes.
Shadow details look flat in dark content.
Check Price
Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We bought and tested the Epson Lifestudio Flex Plus. It's part of Epson's Lifestudio series of projectors, sitting above the Epson Lifestudio Flex as the other portable lifestyle projector in this series. The Lifestudio series also includes the Epson Lifestudio Pop Plus and the Epson Lifestudio Pop, which are positioned as personal lifestyle projectors. The table below highlights the key differences between each model:
| Model | Advertised Color Brightness (lms) | Advisertised White Brightness (lms) | Resolution | USB-C port | Horizontal Swivel | Vertical Tilt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Epson Lifestudio Flex Plus (Epson EF-72) | 1,000 | 1,000 | Pixel-shifted 4k | Yes (power supply) | 180 degrees | 90 degrees up + 15 degrees down |
| Epson Lifestudio Flex (EF-71) | 700 | 700 | 1080p | No | 180 degrees | 90 degrees up + 15 degrees down |
| Epson Lifestudio Pop Plus (EF-62) | 700 | 700 | Pixel-shifted 4k | No | No | 8 degrees up |
| Epson Lifestudio Pop (EF-61) | 700 | 700 | 1080p | No | No | 8 degrees up |
Popular Projector Comparisons
The Epson Lifestudio Flex Plus is an adequate projector for both movie watching and casual gaming, and is more ideal for those looking for a budget, multi-purpose projector with passable portability. It outputs pixel-shifted 4k, and its RGB LED light source helps make colors pop, though its mediocre brightness makes it better suited for use in dark or dimly lit environments. It doesn't have an integrated battery, though, so if you're looking for something a bit more portable, you can consider the XGIMI Halo+, which is a 1080p projector with lower brightness, but it has an integrated battery and is small enough to easily carry around. The Epson Lifestudio Flex Plus accepts 4k signals from gaming consoles, though the projector downscales them to 1080p. It's also capped at 60Hz, and its input lag is just okay, so if you're a more competitive gamer looking for a projector with adequate portability, consider a projector like the Hisense M2 Pro. Finally, the Epson Lifestudio Flex Plus only has one HDMI 2.0 input, so you can't plug a console and soundbar at the same time, for example, but its two 5W Bose speakers are plenty for smaller rooms.
For more options, check out our recommendations for the best portable projectors, the best 4k projectors, and the best budget and cheap projectors. If you're really looking for something to use outside, consider the best outdoor projectors as well.
The XGIMI Halo+ and the Epson Lifestudio Flex Plus share a lot of similarities. The Epson can put out pixel-shifted 4k while the XGIMI is 1080p. However, both are LED projectors with wide color gamuts, but max out at 60Hz refresh rates, have similar (but unremarkable) contrast, and only one HDMI input. That said, the Epson has better brightness, more responsive input lag, and is much more accurate than the XGIMI. On the other hand, with its smaller size and integrated battery, the XGIMI is significantly more portable than the Epson.
The XGIMI HORIZON Ultra is an upgrade over the Epson Lifestudio Flex Plus. The XGIMI is significantly brighter, quieter, and has extra HDMI and USB inputs for added flexibility. That said, while the Epson's contrast is unremarkable, it's still notably better than the XGIMI's. The Epson is also more accurate after calibration and is smaller and more lightweight, making it a more portable unit.
The JMGO N1S Ultimate is an upgrade over the Epson Lifestudio Flex Plus. The JMGO is significantly brighter, has much better contrast across dark and bright scenes, and is overall a notably quieter projector than the Epson. The JMGO's color gamut is also much wider, and despite it being much less accurate out of the box compared to the Epson, they both reach similar levels after calibration. Both projectors have auto-focus and auto-keystone, and are comparable when it comes to how portable they are.
We've independently bought and tested over 60 projectors, and we've published all the detailed results for each so you can decide which one to buy. These have all been tested under the same standardized methodology, allowing you to compare them side by side. We still have all these projects in our lab so we can continually go back and compare them to ensure our reviews are still accurate. All our test methodology is also public on our website, so you can validate the results yourself.
Throw Calculator
Global Controls
Test Results
The Epson Lifestudio Flex Plus projector has mediocre brightness. It's bright enough for watching movies and gaming in a dark room, but the image starts to wash out when there's ambient light, which prevents it from being a strong option for a dedicated home theater projector. That said, its brightness is very uniform across the screen, and saturated colors pop across its Standard, Cinema, and Vivid modes.
| Picture Mode | WLO | CLO |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | 875 lm | 874 lm |
| Cinema | 674 lm | 671 lm |
| Vivid | 781 lm | 779 lm |
These results were obtained when the projector was plugged in using the power cable that came with it. The projector also has a USB-C input that can be used for a power supply if plugging in its power cable isn't an option. However, the brightness at the center of the image drops to 117 lx when the projector is plugged in this way (a 47% decrease), and it locks the Brightness setting at 95. As such, if an outlet is readily available nearby, it's strongly recommended to use the projector's power adapter for the brightest image.
The projector's contrast is unremarkable. It does considerably well with brighter scenes, but blacks look elevated in dark scenes, making shadow details look flat.
The Epson Lifestudio Flex Plus has a great color gamut. For SDR content, the projector covers almost the entire Rec. 709 space, though it does struggle with blues. As for HDR content, it only covers a limited portion of Rec. 2020 and struggles particularly with cyans, greens, and blues.
Out of the box, the projector is decently accurate. Blues are overrepresented in dark grays while reds are underrepresented in brighter scenes, leading to an image that's a bit too cool. Gamma stays close to the 2.2 target in darker scenes, but very bright scenes are too bright. As for colors, they're mostly where they should be, with the exception of whites and saturated blues.
The projector's accuracy is excellent after calibration. White balance is improved across most scenes, and even though blues still remain overrepresented in very dark grays, the calibration helped bring the color temperature closer to the target. However, gamma remains off in brighter scenes, where the image is still too bright. That said, calibrating the projector helped address the accuracy of whites, but saturated blues remain off.
The Epson Lifestudio Flex Plus projector utilizes a 3-chip LCD engine and an RGB LED light source that is rated for up to 20,000 hours. The projector isn't native 4k, as it uses pixel-shifting to create a higher-resolution image. While this results in an image that isn't as crisp as native 4k, it still looks better than a 1080p projector.
The SPD exhibits narrow blue and red peaks and a broader green peak, as is typically seen with projectors that have an LED light source. This gives the projector vivid and saturated primary colors that help images pop, although the projector's mediocre brightness hinders this a bit.
This projector is equipped with auto-focus, auto-keystone, auto-object avoidance, and auto-screen fit, making it an easy projector to set up, which is ideal for a portable projector like this one. That said, to ensure the best image, it's best to center the lens on your screen and avoid using keystone if possible. It has a 1.20 throw ratio that can project an image up to 150 inches, so be sure to check out our Throw Calculator to find the best screen size and distance based on your particular setup.
Note: Auto-focus is only possible using the projector's remote control. Otherwise, you need to manually adjust the focus using the buttons on the projector.
The Epson Lifestudio Flex Plus's portability isn't bad. It's larger than a typical portable projector, but its sturdy metal bar and base make it easy to bring it from room to room, while its built-in 10W Bose speaker system is good enough for smaller gatherings. There's no built-in battery, and its image is very dim when plugging it in using the USB-C port, so it's best to use it as an indoor projector, unless you have access to an outlet and decent shelter if the weather changes quickly.
That said, setup is fast and easy with auto-keystone and auto-focus. Note, though, that auto-focus is only possible using its dedicated remote. Otherwise, you need to manually adjust the focus via the settings menu using the buttons on the projector itself.
At maximum brightness, the fan noise on this projector is decent but noticeable. However, it mostly fades into the background when watching content at normal listening levels.
The projector has one HDMI 2.0 port with eARC/ARC support. This gives the option to either connect the projector to a soundbar or AVR, or to connect a laptop or console to it and use the projector's 10W sound system for audio. It also has a USB-A port for basic media, as well as a headphone jack, and it supports Bluetooth and Wi-Fi 6 connections.
The projector accepts 4k @ 60Hz and 1080p @ 60Hz (including 4:4:4 for PC use) without issues. However, there's no 120Hz support.
The Epson Lifestudio Flex Plus has okay input lag. When using Game Mode and PC Mode, its input lag isn't instantaneous, but it's good enough for casual gaming.
The projector has a single HDMI port with eARC. You can plug a soundbar/AVR into that port, and the projector will send audio from its built-in Google TV apps back over eARC. However, without a second HDMI input, you can't connect an external HDMI source, like a Blu-ray player or a gaming console, to the projector and have its audio forwarded to the soundbar. In our tests, eARC from the internal apps could passthrough Dolby Digital Plus and LPCM 7.1.
The projector runs Google TV with access to the usual streaming apps, including Netflix and Disney+. It also has built-in Chromecast so you can cast from your smartphone, in addition to the Epson Projection Studio app that enables users to control the volume of the projector's two 5W Bose speakers, playback content, as well as project personalized slideshows and movies.
As an added feature, the projector can also put out ambient light via a light strip below the unit for some extra personalization and flair while you're watching movies or gaming. This can be activated and modified in the 'Ambient Light' menu on the projector.
