Is it better to mirror wirelessly or use an HDMI cable?
A cable wins on every technical measure: no lag, no compression, no dropouts, no protocol matching, and it works when the Wi-Fi does not. Wireless wins on convenience alone. If mirroring keeps failing or you care about latency, the cable is not a fallback - it is the better answer.
| Wireless mirroring | USB-C to HDMI | |
|---|---|---|
| Latency | 100-300ms | Effectively none |
| Needs matching protocols | Yes | No |
| Needs Wi-Fi | Yes | No |
| Picture quality | Compressed | Uncompressed |
| Drops out | Sometimes | No |
| Suitable for gaming | No | Yes |
| Cost | Free, or a subscription | Around 10-20 for an adapter |
| Convenience | No cable, move around freely | Tethered to the TV |
| Works on any phone | No | Only with DisplayPort Alt Mode |
Choose Wireless mirroring if
- You want to move around the room, or pass the phone between people
- Your phone and TV already share a protocol and it works reliably
- You are showing photos or slides, where a little lag does not matter
Choose USB-C to HDMI if
- Your phone and TV share no protocol - this is the fix, not a workaround
- You are gaming, or anything where 100-300ms of lag is unacceptable
- Mirroring keeps dropping and you have run out of patience
- You are presenting somewhere the Wi-Fi blocks device discovery
The verdict
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