Mokoqi Star Projector Night Light review

If you’re looking for a scientifically accurate star projector, the Mokoqi Star Projector Night Light is not it. Rather than being concerned with delivering realistic depictions of the night sky, this is designed to be a sleep aid for babies and young children. Its projections are bold and cartoonish, and they lack the sharpness of more expensive projectors. But considering that this is primarily a sleep aid, the calming atmosphere it creates is what matters the most.

From its simple buttons and plasticky build quality, it’s obvious that Mokoqi has designed this star projector with kids in mind. With no remote control, it’s fully operated from the unit itself via four face buttons. An LCD screen shows you what mode the projector is currently set to, and that’s about all there is to it.

Given the low price of the Mokoqi Star Projector (it’s typically available for around $20), it offers decent value for money, but if you’re looking for something with a modicum of scientific realism, you’re going to want to look elsewhere. For youngsters, though? It’s well worth considering.

Mokoqi Star Projector Night Light review: Design

• LCD is distracting
• Attractive shape
• Cheap construction quality

We really like the domed shape of the Mokoqi Star Projector. It’s an attractive design, and the translucent dome patterned with stars makes it immediately attractive to youngsters. It comes in different colorways, too: Our review unit was in black, but you can pick up white, pink, blue or purple models, which are no doubt even more appealing to kids.

One neat touch is the fact that the unit comes with a translucent cover for the dome, covering up the stars and essentially turning this projector into a soothing night-light. This gives the unit a handy dual function, although it does mean keeping the cover somewhere safe when it’s not in use.

It’s just a shame that its construction feels rather plasticky. It’s very lightweight and feels flimsy, giving the impression that it probably won’t withstand many knocks or bumps. God forbid it accidentally gets knocked off a desktop — but given the fact that this projector only costs around $20, this is not all that surprising.

By far the most annoying thing about the Mokoqi Star Projector, however, is the bizarre design decision to put a large red LCD on the front. This shows a countdown for the sleep timer, which is not only pointless but also distracting. In a dark room, it is far too bright and we can’t help feeling it will do the exact opposite of helping you fall asleep. It can’t be turned off, but it can at least be easily blocked with a strategically placed object.

Mokoqi Star Projector Night Light review: Performance

• Cartoonish projections
• Projections are blurry unless really close to a wall
• Wide coverage

In operation, the stars projected by the Mokoqi Star Projector Night Light are chunky and cartoonish. Aimed at the youngest children, it’s about as far removed from "scientifically accurate" as you can get. But helping children sleep and relax is clearly Mokoqi’s main goal here. If you’re looking for an educational tool, this isn’t it, but as a fun, colorful, easy-to-use projector? You could do a lot worse.

Simply plug in the projector using the supplied USB-C cable to power it up, and press one of the four buttons on the front of the projector to cycle through its available color schemes. Projections can appear white, blue, red or green, or you can cycle through all available colors.

The projector has an impressively wide reach, covering most of our walls and ceiling with bold, cartoonish star and moon shapes. Unfortunately, we found the projections to be blurry, with no way to adjust the focus. The only way we could fix this issue was by moving the projector very close to the wall or ceiling, but that obviously affects the reach of the projector. It’s an annoying issue, but is unlikely to affect a child’s enjoyment of the unit.

The Mokoqi Star Projector Night Light is equipped with a motor, which means the projections can rotate to create a soothing sense of motion. Unfortunately, the motor is quite loud and may be distracting if you’re using this as a sleep aid. Thankfully, though, the motor can be disabled and the unit will project a still image instead — and the projector itself is almost silent.

Mokoqi Star Projector Night Light review: Functionality

• No built-in speaker
• No remote control
• Runs on USB or battery power

The Mokoqi Star Projector Night Light is rather barebones in terms of functionality, but that’s part of the reason why this projector is so inexpensive. It doesn’t come with a remote control, and it doesn’t have a built-in Bluetooth speaker. It is first and foremost a basic projector, but it does at least boast dual functionality as a night-light.

Having no remote control means the unit is controlled entirely via the four buttons on its base. Another bizarre design choice is the fact that these buttons are labelled A, B, C and D rather than any meaningful symbol, so you have to press them and figure out what each one does.

It’s not a dealbreaker, though. The Mokoqi Star Projector does a decent job of creating a relaxing ambience to help young children fall asleep, which is what it was designed for. For that, no additional functionality is necessary.

Should you buy the Mokoqi Star Projector Night Light?

The Mokoqi Star Projector Night Light isn’t a great choice if you’re looking for a projector suitable for adults. It’s even less suitable if you’re wanting something with a degree of scientific accuracy. But if you just want a fun, easy-to-use star projector to help a little one drift off to sleep, this is a great choice.

If you just want a basic projector and you’re not expecting anything too fancy, the Mokoqi Star Projector is more than adequate. But if you do want something a little fancier, better options are out there.

The BlissLights Sky Lite Evolve projector offers relaxing light and color displays in a more premium package. But if you want something that can also be used as an educational tool, offering scientifically-accurate images, we’d recommend the Orzorz Galaxy Lite or the Sega Toys Homestar Flux. Both have interchangeable discs, offering up different views of the solar system, and although they’re more expensive than the Mokoqi Star Projector Night Light, they’re worlds away in terms of functionality.