On the CES 2026 stage, Samsung unveiled its newest Freestyle projector, which could be an improvement on its predecessor. But, with The Freestyle+ reportedly not hitting the market until later this year, there's a unique opportunity to pick up a bargain on the tech giant's current offering – The Freestyle 2nd Gen.
For just £329 at Amazon, a gargantuan £570 has been shaved off the launch price, and while it's not quite the best price we've ever seen, dropping to £299 in early November, it's not far off.
We haven't fully tested Samsung's The Freestyle 2nd Gen model, but our expert testers enjoyed the four-star original The Freestyle and in terms of spec, it's pretty close with a few extra surprises.
The 2nd Gen has the same cute design as its predecessor – and is something Samsung is continuing with newly-unveiled The Freestyle+. But, how does it perform?
With the 2nd Gen, you get an LED light source, with a claimed 30,000-hour life span, and peak brightness of 230 ANSI lumens. Plus, it offers a 1080p resolution, alongside support for HDR10+ and HLG. The built-in speaker is capable of 360-degree sound akin to the original, and Samsung’s extremely clever auto keystone feature was also back.
While physical connectivity options are limited to micro HDMI (although the connector does support HDMI ARC), The Freestyle excels in what it offers in terms of simplicity and portability with smart features and new gaming abilities all built-in.
And even simpler is Samsung's Tizen OS, which can be found on its TVs, which gives you easy access to multiple streaming services, including Netflix, Prime Video and Disney+, all of which are reached via dedicated hot keys on the remote.
If you're into gaming, the 2nd Gen model does have a feature that the OG doesn't: access to Samsung's Gaming Hub, meaning you can play Xbox games using an Xbox Game Pass subscription directly through it.
Visually, it was hard to get a clear impression of the 2nd Gen in the bright exhibition space, but our expert tester reached this verdict: "There appeared to be decent detail to the picture, with solid enough colours and good definition and detail on faces and clothing. One of the areas we criticised the original for was the below-par black levels but it was impossible to really get an idea of this in an exhibition environment."
While The Freestyle+ will almost double the brightness of the 2nd Gen, reaching a claimed brightness of 430 ISO lumens, it'll undoubtedly come in at a price point more like the 2nd Gen when it first launched (although we don't know the exact price).
For now, the 2nd Gen drops to a seriously competitive price, just £329 at Amazon. And if you fancy saving nearly £600 today while securing a decent projector for movie nights in, then it's a great time to buy.
More
Read our hands-on with Samsung The Freestyle 2nd Gen
Or, check out our full Samsung The Freestyle review
And here's the best projectors: budget, 4K and ultra-short-throw
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