The Yaber T2 Plus Keith Haring Special Edition is the crossover we didn't know we needed—a 1080p smart projector dressed in pop art by Keith Haring, a street art legend, in a seamless blend of art and technology. It has competitive features like AI-powered automatic focus, keystone correction, intelligent screen alignment, intelligent obstacle avoidance, screen mirroring, and Google TV via the included dongle. JBL speakers with Dolby Audio round out the package for a projector that produces a decent image and great sound and looks good while doing it.

Yaber is offering the T2 Plus Keith Haring Special Edition at a promotional price of $399 (MSRP $599), or $429 if you want the projector and a 100-inch screen (MSRP $689.99).

The T2 Plus offers Google TV via an included dongle, competitive auto features, and two excellent integrated 8-watt speakers from JBL. It has a built-in battery, making it a truly portable projector that can easily be set up for a backyard movie night without the need for an extension cord.

Yaber offers lifetime customer support and a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Insights into Our Reviewer's Process

Check out this interview with Nicki Kahl, where we learn more about her experience reviewing the Yaber T2 Plus Keith Haring Edition portable projector.

Features

The Yaber T2 Plus Keith Haring Special Edition is a 450 ANSI lumen projector with a fully sealed optical LED light engine. It employs a single Thin-Film Transistor Liquid Crystal Display (TFT LCD) panel to create images by shining light through the panel, which manipulates the light to form visuals that are then magnified and projected onto a screen, offering decent image quality and color reproduction at an affordable price point, though this technology sacrifices some brightness and contrast.

This 6.50 x 11.42 x 5.51-inch (WHD) projector weighs only 5.51 lbs. It has a fixed focal length and auto-focus, though you can manually focus if you like. The auto-focus functions well. The projector has a handle that is decked out in Keith Haring's art and has a nice tan no-slip grip, which allows you to flip the handle around and use it as a kickstand. There's auto-keystone correction (vertical only) when you do this, but it can only adjust so much, so you can't have too much of an angle.

The T2 Plus will let you know if you've gone out of range. It also has intelligent screen alignment, and intelligent obstacle avoidance, rounding out its auto features that make setup a breeze once you figure out where to put it. For that, use ProjectorCentral's Throw Distance Calculator to help determine placement and screen size for your space.

The T2 Plus Keith Haring Edition is unique in its design. With this projector, it was Yaber's vision to bring high-quality visual experiences into everyday life and make art more accessible to a wider audience, merging their tech with pop culture. Keith Haring was a pioneer of the graffiti art (street art) movement, alongside Futura 2000 and Jean-Michel Basquiat, Richard Art Hambleton, and Kenny Scharf, all of whom showed at New York City's Fun Gallery together in the early 1980s.

Street art is the zeitgeist, for certain. I'm a native Angeleno, and I can tell you that commissioned street art is everywhere in Los Angeles. From Long Beach to Venice Beach, Santa Monica to Downtown LA, there is no shortage of it. So, Yaber is right on the mark with this one. As a professional artist myself, I would love to see more projector companies collaborating with artists—ideally, living artists, so they may also enjoy the effect.

The T2 Plus came with two black, lightweight remote controls in my shipment—one that was standard with the projector and one that came in the box with the Yaber Smart TV dongle. The one for the dongle also controls the projector, so you wouldn't have need of the other, except perhaps as a spare. The remote control that works for both the projector and the dongle has a power and source button at the top, auto-focus, Google Assistant, and settings button below that, and four navigational buttons surrounding the OK button underneath. The back, Home, and menu buttons are below, with the volume +/-, mute, and focus +/- next, and app buttons grouped below: Netflix, Disney+, YouTube, and Prime Video.

Yaber T2 Plus Keith Haring Special Edition has excellent-sounding, 16-watt stereo JBL speakers with Dolby Audio support. It has four audio modes, which is more than sufficient: User (customizable), Standard, Movie, and Music. The projector has only one HDMI, which will be taken up by the Smart TV dongle if you're using that, or your game console/Blu-ray player otherwise. The other inputs are a single USB 2.0 Type A port, a 3.5mm audio jack, and an RJ-45 Ethernet port. It does have a built-in battery that lasts up to 2.5 hours, making it suitable for a backyard movie night.

The included streaming dongle, which looks similar a Fire TV or Roku TV streaming stick, but it has a nifty little adapter that angles the stick downward. I was a bit relieved to see this because I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about the whole non-integrated smart TV thing, but the adapter makes it okay for me. It would be nice to have the HDMI freed up for other sources, but whatever.

Although the projector's streaming service is advertised as "Yaber Smart OS," it's really Google TV. That makes it very easy to set up. Some will prefer to do it through the Google Home app, while others will go through the on-screen set up using the remote control. Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, Prime Video, YouTube, YouTube TV, and Tubi TV come pre-installed, but you can also add Max, Apple TV+, Starz, NFL, ESPN, Spotify, and even Twitch for my gamer friends. The Google Play Store has more options available for app downloads. It works well; I had no issues with setup or connectivity while watching content.

Screen mirroring works best using NFC/Yaber. Straight AirPlay was okay but there was better performance the former way rather than the latter. There were no syncing issues between video and audio. I could not get my MacBook Pro to play nice with it, but I had better luck with my Mac Mini. There's no Chromecast. For playing audio only, connect via Bluetooth from a mobile device or a computer. More on audio performance in the performance section of this review.

A quick note about the power cord: it is seriously short. Better make sure the power outlet you're using is close by, but you're likely to need a bit of an extension cord unless you're running on battery.

The Yaber T2 Plus Keith Haring Special Edition comes with the remote control (with AAA batteries), its power cord, HDMI cable, a removable lens cover, a branded lens cloth, the TV dongle and adapter, the Quick Start Guide, and an FAQ and brand card.

Performance

Color Modes. The Yaber T2 Plus has six color modes: Standard, Vivid, Natural, Dynamic, Sport, and User. The colors are extremely similar between modes, with saturation and brightness being the main change between them. The projector, though rated for 450 lumens, fell significantly below claim. The brightest mode is Vivid, which measured 265 lumens, with all auto features turned off and the lamp at full brightness. I will comment more on this in the Brightness section under Measurements further down in this review.

In Standard mode, which measured 153 lumens, the yellows and greens look good, but the color that should be teal on the color wheel looks more like seafoam green. There is not much differentiation between blues, each looking quite close in shade. Orange is muted and red orange looks peach.

The colors don't appear to change much between Vivid (265 lumens) or Natural (223 lumens), only Vivid ups the contrast and Natural yields a more desaturated tone that plays nicer with skin tones than the other modes available. Natural mode will be most people's mode of choice for movies, TV shows, and even games. Standard would likely be a close second, with Vivid coming in next.

Dynamic (234 lumens) looks similar to Vivid, except with saturation turned way up. This translates to a mode that clips highlights and has funky colors on some content. It's not the brightest mode, either. It's better to use Vivid, which is the brightest mode and has better color on content. Sport (236 lumens) and Standard look exactly the same, but there are a handful of lumens difference between them. User (232 lumens) has the same color as Standard, with the ability to tweak contrast, brightness, sharpness, and color (which is Yaber's word for saturation).

There's not a proper color management system, but it does have the ability to change color temperature. The default is Cool. There is also Normal and Warm. I liked Warm for content, and felt it improved the color in some cases, though there are instances where Cool or Normal will serve better.

The devices I used for reviewing content were a Sony PlayStation 4 and the provided Yaber smart dongle for streaming content.

1080p/SDR Streaming. I typically test content on several sizes: 60 inches, 72 inches, and 100 inches. I did watch some content at 72 inches, but felt the projector performed best at the smaller size due to the low lumen count. In total darkness, 100 lumens can get you far, but depending on the projector and its ability to handle contrast, it may struggle with certain things, like dark scenes.

The T2 Plus has a hard time with dark shadow detail. In Vikings, Season 1, Episode 1, (on Netflix via the smart dongle) Ragnar Lothbrok entreats Earl Haraldson to sail to lands they have not yet raided. The hall is dark, with sparce lighting, and it is extremely difficult to see not only shadow detail, but the actors' faces—almost as if there was ambient light in my viewing room, only, it was fully darkened.

The scene, I know, is lit well enough. It's only that the T2 Plus doesn't reproduce it accurately. In Natural mode, which is the best mode to watch in terms of color, it was nearly impossible to see details in the scene. Changing to Vivid helped some, but not enough.

Later in the episode, after Ragnar dines with his family and his visiting brother, he leaves his home for a moment to go outside. It is night in the scene, and though it is evident that there is light from the moon, it was, again, nearly impossible to see anything. Color-wise, the scenes I could see looked great and pretty natural. I tried Warm, Normal, and Cool color temperatures, and found Warm and Normal to look best.

Watching The Witcher, Season 1, Episode 1, on Netflix, there was significant clipping of highlights in all modes except Natural, which handle them much better. There are varying degrees of severity when it comes to the issues with highlights in the other modes, and it is particularly noticeable on skin tones, as well as any bright spots on armor or light shining in from windows.

The image also appears to have some extra processing, possibly to improve sharpness and smooth skin tones. It's difficult to tell what the goal is with this, but it looks akin to when you put a little too much "Smart Sharpen" on an image in Photoshop or up-res an image with AI. There's nothing in the settings to control this.

Deciding to test content with brighter scenes, I switched to Inventing Anna, also on Netflix. This show looked best with a Cool color temperature. The other two options made the whites look too yellow/orange. The T2 Plus did a decent job projecting this show, offering better shadow detail, though it was still not excellent. Bright TV shows, films, animated movies, and video games would look better on this projector than content that is composed primarily of dark scenes.

Switching over to Max, I checked out Succession and found Natural to be the best mode. Every other mode yielded whites that were excessively crushed, especially on skin. The party scene in the first episode had instances of both light and dark, which the T2 Plus handled pretty well, except for the low dark shadow details.

1080p/SDR Blu-ray. Big Hero 6 on Blu-ray looked excellent. The colors appeared accurate and whatever the processing the did look great before, seemed to work well for animation. Dark shadow detail improved, as well. You could potentially use Standard or Sport mode to watch this movie, but there is the same issue as every other time with the blown-out highlights.

The scene where Hiro shows off his Microbots invention was nicely sharp with good color in Natural mode, but the yellows and oranges were a tad off. Not enough to bother, but I did notice since I've used this movie to test so many times. Baymax had slight clipping of highlights, even in Natural mode. Since processing wasn't so noticeable here, animated content may play nicer with it than live action; I didn't notice it during the gaming tests, either, which I did before 1080p content.

Next, I chose to test with Uncharted because it pushes projectors to their limits with highlights, particularly in the opening scene and the auction scene. I first watched the opening scene in Natural mode. Nathan Drake's white shirt was clipped, as were highlights on skin tones. Dark shadow detail was okay in Natural mode in the museum scene immediately after. I tested this in Natural and Standard. Neither looked as bad as in Vikings, but there was a slight improvement to shadow detail when viewed in Standard.

Viewing the opening scene in Standard mode, there were entire sections of Nathan's shirt where detail was lost and a strange look to highlights on skin tones. Processing was also evident here. In the auction house scene, shirts, jewelry, and lighting all clipped highlights in Standard. There was some improvement when viewed in Natural, but they were still present. The Color in Uncharted looked decent, particularly in Natural, and I used the Normal color temperature setting for a more neutral tone, but either Cool or Warm could also be used according to preference.

Gaming. Input lag was measured using a Leo Bodnar 4K Lag Tester with all auto features deactivated, as these increase lag times. Still, the T2 Plus measured high at 127.3 ms in Standard mode, 177.1 ms in all other modes. In terms of latency, that is extremely high. Most projectors will hover around the 40-60 ms if they're not for gaming (this is generalizing), with the best gaming projectors coming in between 16 ms and as low as 4 ms.

Obviously, the T2 Plus is not a gaming projector, but Yaber never claimed that it was. Casual gamers, however, might not mind. I played a variety of games: a first-person shooter, a third-person open-world RPG, and two 3D platformers. I only had lag issues with one game, and it wasn't one of the ones I would have expected.

Both FarCry 6 (FPS) and Horizon: Zero Dawn (RPG) are graphics-heavy games. Those are the ones I expected would have moments of lag, if any. But it was Spyro: Reignited that gave me a few moments of lag. It wasn't anything awful, just some sticky moments that didn't affect my gameplay but was noticeable.

The best color mode for gaming is Natural mode. It offers the most—dare I say—natural, look to skin tones, props, and environment. There's no real clipping of highlights, but the contrast is a bit lower than the other modes. If you desire more contrast, you can use Standard or Vivid, but the highlights are a bit overdone, particularly on skin tones.

Since the color modes themselves are extremely similar in shade, and it's mostly just a difference in saturation, all the games looked good in most modes—save for one. Crash Bandicoot: N'Sane Trilogy has vibrant colors that were turned muddy by the Yaber T2 Plus, no matter the mode. It wasn't awful, but if you know the color of your games like I do, and what they're supposed to be, you will notice. It's still playable—you can see everything—but the oranges of the characters and world are dark and muddy. Overall, you should find playing games on the big screen using the T2 Plus enjoyable on the condition that you're a casual gamer who doesn't play online and you mostly game at night, because the projector is not bright enough to withstand daytime ambient light. It was fine to have low lighting on that did not shine directly on the projection screen at night.

Audio Quality. Yaber T2 Plus Keith Haring Special Edition comes equipped with some powerfully immersive dual 8-watt speakers from JBL, with Dolby Audio support. For the price of the projector (especially the promotional price), they're extremely good value. There are four audio modes: User (customizable), Standard, Movie, and Music. Most will find Movie or Music to their liking depending on the content, with User being for the audiophiles who want a little finer tuning.

I have a banger playlist for writing my novel—most authors do, but mine is a companion playlist meant to go along with the chapters of my book rather than simply "for the vibes" —and I had an absolute blast listening to it on full blast on the Yaber T2 Plus in Music mode. Turning the volume up to 100 on these projectors can be a bit iffy and sometimes yield cringey results, but not so for this Yaber. It competes with standalone speakers. JBL doesn't disappoint, offering highly spacious sound, with great bass, clear vocals, and general good times.

Connect via Bluetooth for "Bluetooth listening alone," not screen mirroring over Wi-Fi for or audiobooks, or you'll get stuttering. While Music mode is best for listening to music, you'll find either Standard or Movie satisfactory for audiobooks. I'm currently listening to A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin (third book in A Song of Ice and Fire Series— Game of Thrones), which has a single narrator and no sound effects. That was fine in either mode. For dramatized adaptations, like the dramatized adaptation of Fourth Wing that has a full cast, sound effects, and music, Movie mode is much more enjoyable. Standard has a balanced approached, whereas Movie has more depth to the sound and adds clarity to the voices.

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When watching movies and TV shows, Movie mode picks up sound effects from the subtle flick of a lighter a sizzle of a cigarette to the scuff of a shoe, to the more brazen sounds of horns blazing in New York or layers of an explosion in an action scene. Movie mode isn't just for your typical cinematic TV show or film—it picked up the intricacies of the mechanical clinks and whirls and puffs of steam from the moving castle in Howl's Moving Castle from Studio Ghibli without any distortion. Overall, highly impressed with the sound quality of this projector, and it's really the crowning jewel of the T2 Plus.

Conclusion

The Yaber T2 Plus Keith Haring Edition is undeniably stylish—its playful, iconic design is sure to turn heads and spark conversations while adding personality to any space. But beneath that bold exterior lies a projector that begs a bit of grace when it comes to performance. Its actual brightness measurement came in significantly below the advertised 450 ANSI lumens, landing instead at 265 in its brightest mode. That's a noticeable gap, and one that restricts its usefulness to dark rooms or nighttime viewing only. Pair that with uneven brightness uniformity—where, in this case, the center is far brighter than the corners and creates a visible vignette—and this isn't a projector built for picky cinephiles or bright daytime spaces.

That said, the T2 Plus still manages to charm. The built-in speakers by JBL are genuinely impressive for a projector at this price and size—they deliver rich, room-filling sound with clarity that punches well above its class. While the input lag is too high for competitive gaming, casual gaming was surprisingly enjoyable, especially in Standard mode where latency was lowest, though I preferred Natural mode for its superior color. Titles with slower pacing or single-player experiences work just fine, with little to no issues with latency, and the vivid color modes help elevate the overall immersion.

Ultimately, the T2 Plus Keith Haring Edition is best viewed as a fun, functional piece of tech art. It's not the most powerful projector on the market, but if you approach it knowing its strengths—great sound, great style, decent visuals in the right setting—and understanding its limitations, it can still deliver a delightful and unique entertainment experience.

Measurements

Brightness. Yaber claims 450 ANSI lumens for the T2 Plus Keith Haring Edition, but in our 9-sector average measurement in its brightest picture mode, Vivid, at 100% brightness lamp mode, the T2 Plus yielded only 265 ANSI lumens. This was with all auto features turned off, which can have a negative effect on brightness (as well as input lag).

That's a notable 42% below claim. A margin of error of up to 25% below claim is considered acceptable. If it's so low, where did they get that number? Likely the center sector's measurement in Vivid mode, which measured 406 lumens.

Yaber also could also be banking on perceived brightness, as many manufacturers do with LED light engines. These projectors do appear brighter than their measurements, but I still don't like claims based on eyeballing rather than true measurements.

Though the measurement coming in so below claim is disappointing, it is better to think of it as a 265-lumen projector and look at it through that lens. By understanding its limitations, you can meet the projector where it's at instead of the hype. So, what are those limitations? Dark rooms only, or very low, indirect ambient lighting. Nighttime viewing only.

Yaber T2 Plus Keith Haring Special Edition ANSI Lumens

Color Modes	Normal Mode
Standard	153
Vivid	265
Natural	223
Dynamic	234
Sport	236
User	232

Brightness Uniformity. The Yaber T2 Plus Keith Haring Edition has a measured brightness uniformity of 53%. This isn't great, and it's something you can see visually on a solid white screen. There is a drastic difference between the brightest sector of the screen—the center—and the dimmest—the bottom left sector. Both bottom corner sectors were the dimmest one, with the left measuring just a hair dimmer than the right.

Visually, there is a vignette effect that is obvious when projecting solid blocks of color like white. I didn't see this on content, though it is still there. There is just more to distract the eye while watching a movie or playing a video game.

Fan Noise. Yaber has not published a fan noise claim for the T2 Plus. My testing room's noise floor is 30.1 dBA. Measuring the T2 Plus at approximately 3 feet away from multiple locations the T2 Plus measured:

Normal
Left: 34.3
Right: 33.1
Front: 32.8
Rear: 36.6

Input Lag. Input lag was measured using a Leo Bodnar 4K Lag Tester with Game Mode activated. The best mode to game in is Standard, in terms of latency. The other color modes did not do was well.

Standard Mode
1080p @ 60Hz = 127.3 ms

Other Color Modes
1080p @ 60Hz = 177.1 ms

Connections

• HDMI
• USB 2.0 Type A
• 3.5mm audio out
• RJ-45 Ethernet

For more detailed specifications and connections, check out our Yaber T2 Plus Keith Haring Edition projector page.

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