As a baseline, the Wemax Go provides you with a 540p, 300 ANSI lumens, small form-factor projector, and thus a portable one. For such a product, paying $299 is adequate; whether the 300 ANSI lumens happen to be LED or ALDP laser probably does not make much of a difference to someone on a budget like that. But the fact that you are getting ALDP tech in such a small form factor is certainly a nice, unique aspect.

In terms of features, the Wemax Go does not offer most of the things that make the Wemax Go Pro or any other modern projector so useful and valuable. Naturally, one can't expect anything in terms of pixel density at 1/4th the pixels of the Full-HD standards, but once the awe of its tiny size wears off, you are left feeling that spending $500 or so dollars on a generally more capable unit would have been the right choice instead.

Drilling down to it, the Wemax Go is tiny, lightweight, and portable right out of the box with the sturdy carrying case. 300 ANSI lumens is just fine for an entry-level projector, and the fact that you can use a potent USB-C power brick or even battery pack to bring the Wemax Go to live adds further merit, which feels like $299 well spent.

Turning it on with a satisfying slide, seeing the blue LED light up and the fan spin up in anticipation further adds to that sentiment. But from there on out, that luster starts to dull with the manual focus, operating noise, and lack of manual keystone control. And while the Wemax Go is bright even after fiddling with the picture settings, the balance feels a little unnatural.

The Wemax Go is limited in the same way as any other tiny, affordable projector through the physics of space and cost. At this price point, you are essentially made to choose between a compact but bulky traditional form-factor that offers 1080p resolution but low ANSI lumens or the modern ALDP technology and higher ANSI in a small package at the tangible cost of resolution. It is hard to pick between these two compromises. In other words, you won't be able to check off all the usual boxes at just $300; if you do opt for the Wemax Go, you will certainly enjoy a package of unheard size, weight, brightness, and portability, as well as the ALDP laser technology, but know that it comes at the cost of pixels.