Mokoqi star projector night light review

Let's get this out of the way first: The Mokoqi Star Projector Night Light is in no way a star projector aimed at adults. This is, first and foremost, a night light designed for children.

It doesn't offer realistic projections. Instead, it projects colorful cartoon stars and moons onto the ceiling. They're eye-catching enough, but are a far cry from anything that resembles the actual night sky.

Mokoqi has designed this star projector with tots in mind, from its simple buttons to the way that a translucent covering can be placed over the top of the projector to turn it into a simple nightlight. It's chunky and ideal for a toddler's bedroom, but if you want some soothing ceiling auroras to unwind with, you're going to have to look elsewhere.

That's not to say the Mokoqi Star Projector Night Light isn't without merit; it's just that, as adults, we're not its intended audience and it likely won't make our cut of the best star projectors. If you're shopping for your preschool-aged kids, however, this one is well worth considering.

Mokoqi star projector night light: Design

• Distracting LCD display
• Pleasant dome shape
• Feels cheap

With a plastic body and a translucent dome on top, the Mokoqi star projector night light looks pleasant enough, but it's a bit light and plasticky to the touch. When this star projector costs roughly $20, though, that's to be expected — it's hardly going to match the quality of, say, a Sega Toys projector, which can cost upwards of $150. What's neat is that the projector part of the light has a plastic sheath, which essentially blocks the projections and instead turns it into a soothing nightlight.

Perhaps the most egregious aspect of the Mokoqi Star Projector's design is the red LCD display on the front, which shows a countdown for the sleep timer. It's unnecessary and distracting, and really takes away from the lamp itself. In a dark room, the display is too bright, and we kept finding our eyes drawn to it rather than the device's projections.

Mokoqi star projector night light: Performance

• Cartoonish projections
• Blurry unless really close to a wall or ceiling
• Good coverage

As we've already said, the projections of the Mokoqi Star Projector Night Light are aimed squarely at young children. The stars projected here are chunky and cartoonish, and are about as far from scientific projections as you can find. The projected images, a cacophony of stars and crescent moons, can appear in white or several other colors. By pressing the buttons on the front of the projector, you can fix one color or have the projections cycle between them.

The projections can also rotate, but the motor is a little noisy. We preferred turning off rotation altogether to enjoy a fixed image. Since the projector is almost silent when it's not rotating, it's a much better option, particularly if you plan to use this to help children fall asleep.

Unless you place the projector close to a wall or ceiling, however, the projections are rather blurry. They're still pretty enough, and we think kids will enjoy them, but it's a shame they're not a little sharper. The good news is that the projector has a great coverage range: From roughly 1.5 meters away, we were able to enjoy a projection that covered most of our ceiling.

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Mokoqi star projector night light: Functionality

• No speaker
• No remote control
• USB or battery powered

The Mokoqi Star Projector Night Light is barebones in that it doesn't come with a speaker and it doesn't have a remote control: It can only be controlled with four buttons on the front of the device. Figuring out what each button does takes a bit of trial and error as they are simply labeled A, B, C and D. It's a little perplexing why more useful labels, or at least symbols, weren't used, but it's another sign of the projector's budget status.

You can power the projector either with batteries (4x AAA, which you'll have to supply yourself) or by connecting it to a USB outlet. It's handy that you're given the choice, and batteries are useful if you plan to place the projector somewhere where USB power isn't convenient. Keep in mind you will need a screwdriver to change the batteries; however, it at least keeps them safely out of the reach of children.

There's no speaker built into the Mokoqi Star Projector Night Light, Bluetooth or otherwise. Since this is marketed primarily as a sleep aid for children, not including some sort of white noise machine, such as that found in the Item Emporium Dinosaur Egg Star Projector, feels like a bit of an oversight. But given the price point of the projector, it's not all that surprising.

Should you buy the Mokoqi star projector night light?

If you are shopping for a star projector for yourself, no, don't buy the Mokoqi Star Projector Night Light. This isn't a bad projector by any means, but it's very much aimed at children, and we reckon most adults will find its cheap and cheerful cartoonish projection displays more off-putting than relaxing.

If you're looking for something to help your toddler fall asleep with, however? This is a great choice. It's inexpensive, it's easy to use, and its projections, while not as sharp as we'd like, are bound to mesmerize kids.

If you want something more adult-appropriate without breaking the bank, the Fliti Galaxy Projector is worth considering. Or if you want another option that can double as a night light, take a look at the Jiawen Galaxy Projector — we love the build quality of this one.