Depending on how big a picture you like at home, you really have two options: big TVs and projectors.
When it comes to the former, you need to typically spend a minimum of $2000 for a TV that will always be there, and will be fixed in one location. TVs aren’t exactly portable, short of the lifestyle StanbyMe TVs LG has been toying with, which come in briefcases and has a stand variety where the name originates.
Most TVs are not portable, however, and so if you want a big TV, you’re buying it for a room. It will stay that way, and that is A-OK. It is literally the point.
Then there’s the projector, a box that can stay in the room, especially when it’s large and set against a wall, but also comes in a variety specifically designed not to.
Portable projectors have become a bit of a thing in recent years. There are models with batteries made to be truly take-anywhere-portable, and then there are models aimed to being moved around, but still plugged into a power source.
The latter has become somewhat popular, and has seen companies such as Anker, Epson, Samsung, and Hisense dabble, delivering relatively compact 4K projectors to match.
Now it seems as though it’s Leica’s turn, as a new model arrives in the Cine Compact, a variation on the “Cine” range we saw kick off in 2022, and which saw a compact model in the Play two years later. Granted, the Cine Play 1 was small-ish, but also pricey, fetching a rough $6K price tag.
Two years from that model, the 2026 entrant is the Cine Compact, an aptly named projector sporting up to 1700 lumens compared to the 3000 of its slightly bigger brother. The design is similar, and it uses a triple RGB laser system with 4K resolution, plus a proprietary Leica image processing system.
Also included in the design is a hinge and stand, which allows the projector to be aimed up at a ceiling or against a wall, essentially providing flexibility in where the screen goes. There’s Hisense’s VIDAA U smart TV operating system built in, complete with support for Netflix and Disney+, while Apple AirPlay and HomeKit make an appearance, as does WiFi, Bluetooth, and HDMI.
Even the price is surprising, with Leica going for a recommended retail price of $2990. That’s lower than we expected for a Leica projector.
The catch, however, could be what it competes with, and a very similar model from Hisense.
While Leica is clearly has a different audience than Hisense, the collaboration between the two is properly obvious in the Cine Compact, which basically looks like the Hisense M2 4K projector, but with a few changes to the design to account for Leica and a higher price tag.
The 4K Hisense M2 Pro launched last year, and between the design and specs, there appears to be some clear similarities, albeit with less Bauhaus design on the Hisense. The Leica looks solid, modern, and almost industrial, and the Hisense slightly less on all of those.
But Hisense’s M2 Pro 4K laser projector sports similar specs and a lower price tag, fetching $2499 RRP in Australia, and often found around the $1599 price point, at that.
Given the similarities, it’s likely the Cine Compact is Leica’s interpretation of the M2 Pro, but with a few extra Leica aspects thrown in, including that processing engine. For some, that may seal the deal, and if that’s you, the Cine Compact is heading to Leica stores across the country this week.
