XGODY Gimbal 3 Review: a cheap Android mini projector that’s better than it looks (with a few catches)

I’ve been playing with this XGODY Gimbal 3 mini projector for a bit, mainly as a bedroom and small living-room setup. I went in with low expectations because of the price and the usual hype around “12000 lumens” and “supports 4K”. In practice, it’s a small 720p Android projector that tries to do everything: built-in apps, WiFi 6, Bluetooth, auto keystone, ceiling projection, the whole lot.

Most of my use has been Netflix, Disney+ and YouTube, plus some HDMI with a Fire Stick and a laptop. Distance to the wall: between 2 and 3 meters, so roughly a 60–90 inch image. I’ve also tried it once in a brighter room for a football match just to see how bad it gets in daylight. Short answer: you still need curtains.

Overall, it’s not a miracle machine, but it’s better than I expected for the money. If you’ve only ever used proper home cinema projectors at 4–5x the price, you’ll see the limits right away. If you’re just looking for a cheap way to throw a big picture on the wall and you’re okay with some compromises, it starts to make sense.

In this review I’ll go through how it looks and feels, the picture and sound, the Android side of things, and the annoying bits like the remote issues and heat. I’ll keep it simple: what works, what’s a bit meh, and what might be a deal-breaker depending on how you want to use it.

Price-wise, this thing often sits in the budget bracket, and that’s where it starts to be interesting. You’re getting a 720p LED projector with Android 11, WiFi 6, Bluetooth, auto keystone and a fairly compact rotating design. For the money, that’s a pretty solid feature set. Several users point out that they paid far more for older projectors that didn’t really do much better in brightness or sound. One buyer even said their old projector cost five times more and this still holds up fine for their use.

On the other hand, you have to be realistic. If you compare it to a more serious 1080p or 4K projector from big brands, of course it loses on picture quality, brightness, and long-term reliability. If your budget can stretch a lot higher and you care mainly about image quality, you might be better off skipping the smart features and going for a brighter 1080p model plus a cheap streaming stick. But then you’re easily spending two to three times more.

Where it shines from a value perspective is simple setups: small flats, bedrooms, student rooms, or as a portable projector for occasional movie nights or travel. One person bought it on a heavy discount (around £38 on Prime Day) and straight up said it replaced two TVs in their home because it’s so convenient. At that kind of price, it’s honestly hard to complain much. At full price, it’s still fair if you know what you’re getting: a casual-use projector, not a reference cinema machine.

The Amazon rating around 4/5 stars with a lot of reviews lines up with my feeling: people who want a cheap, easy, plug-and-play projector are mostly happy; people who expect premium performance or have bad luck with the remote are less impressed. If you buy it, I’d do it knowing it’s good value for what it is, but not the best in every category. Think “good budget toy that can handle daily use” rather than “long-term home cinema investment”.

The design is honestly one of the strongest points. The projector is about 17 cm tall, 10 cm in diameter, and weighs only 0.8 kg. In real life that means it’s roughly the size of a big Bluetooth speaker or a tall coffee mug. You can throw it in a backpack without thinking twice, and it doesn’t feel fragile or wobbly. A couple of users even said they use it while traveling or camping, and I can see why: it doesn’t take much space and it’s light enough to move around constantly.

The gimbal-style 180° rotation is also genuinely handy. You can tilt it to project on the wall, higher up, or straight onto the ceiling without stacking books or fiddling with tripods. One user mentioned watching on the ceiling with almost no effort thanks to the auto keystone. That’s the kind of thing you end up using a lot in a bedroom setup: lying down, projector on the nightstand, image on the ceiling. It’s a bit of a gimmick on the product page, but in practice it’s actually pretty useful.

The footprint is small enough to sit on a shelf, side table, or even the headboard of a bed. Stability is decent; it doesn’t feel like it will tip over at the slightest bump. One buyer said they lodged it behind the headboard and plan to buy a wall bracket later. That’s exactly the kind of flexibility this design gives you. Compared to big, flat projectors that need a wide shelf, this one is much less of a pain to place in tight rooms.

On the downside, the power cable is short, and that shows up in several reviews. If your plug is not right next to where you want to place it, you’ll need an extension lead. Also, the ventilation grills are small and the device can get quite warm, so you can’t just shove it into a closed cabinet. Design-wise though, for the price, I’d say it’s pretty solid: compact, easy to carry, and flexible in how you aim it.

Build quality feels okay but not premium. The plastic shell is light, the moving gimbal arm doesn’t feel like it will break immediately, and people who move it around a lot (travel, camping, moving between rooms) don’t report it falling apart. The LED light source is advertised at 30,000 hours, which, on paper, is years of use. That’s pretty standard for LED projectors in this price range.

Where it gets a bit concerning is heat and smell. At least one reviewer mentions it getting very warm and having a plasticky fan smell that makes them a bit nervous. Another recommends keeping it in a well-ventilated spot and using the auto-off after 5 minutes setting if you’re worried. I wouldn’t say it’s dangerous based on what’s out there, but it’s clearly not the coolest-running device. If you put it in a closed shelf or cover the vents, you’re asking for trouble.

The real weak point seems to be the remote control / power-on reliability. One user had a pretty bad experience: after a day or two, the remote started to stop responding, even with fresh batteries and pointing it directly at the projector. Eventually they couldn’t even turn the projector on reliably and basically called it unusable. That kind of failure is annoying because this projector doesn’t have a full set of physical buttons on the body, so if the remote dies, you’re stuck. This might be a one-off defective unit, but it’s something to keep in mind: test everything thoroughly in the return window.

Fan noise is acceptable, but long sessions add to the heat build-up. If you watch several hours every evening, I’d keep it in an open space and maybe give it a break now and then. Overall, durability feels decent for the price, but there are clearly some quality control hits and misses, especially around the remote. I wouldn’t buy it expecting bulletproof reliability for many years; I’d see it more as a budget device that might last well if you’re a bit careful with it.

Let’s be blunt: this is a 720p projector, and you can see it. On a 60–80 inch image, it looks fine for movies and series, especially if you’re not sitting right next to the wall. Text and UI elements aren’t ultra sharp, but they’re readable. One user mentioned some graininess in certain content, which matches what you’d expect from 720p stretched on a big surface. If you’re used to watching 4K on a TV, you’ll notice the downgrade, but for casual viewing it’s acceptable.

In a dark room, the picture is actually quite decent. Multiple buyers say the brightness is “pretty good” indoors once you close the curtains. The contrast ratio is listed as 10000:1, which you should take with a grain of salt, but black levels are okay for this price bracket. Don’t expect cinema-level contrast, but it’s not a grey mush either. In bright rooms or with lights on, it struggles like most cheap projectors. The image looks washed out and lacks punch. So if your plan is daytime sports in a bright living room, you’ll probably be disappointed unless you can darken the room.

Sound-wise, it’s better than the usual tinny projectors, but still limited. Several users say the sound is clear and fine for normal-sized rooms, but not very loud. One IT/AV guy said he’d happily watch a movie on it but would pair it with Bluetooth speakers for a more “cinema” feel. I agree with that approach: the internal speaker is okay for a bedroom or small room, but if there’s any background noise or you sit further away, you quickly feel the need for an external speaker or soundbar (via Bluetooth or 3.5mm jack).

Fan noise is reported as quite low. Once you start a movie, it blends into the background. That’s a nice plus, because some cheap projectors sound like a hairdryer. Here, the bigger concern is heat: a few users mention it gets hot and has a plasticky fan smell at first, which doesn’t inspire full confidence. It hasn’t melted on anyone as far as I can see, but you’ll want to keep it in a ventilated spot and maybe activate the auto-off feature if you’re paranoid about it running too long.

On paper, the XGODY Gimbal 3 is sold as a “12000 lumen, 4K-supporting, Android 11, WiFi 6” projector. That sounds huge, but you need to decode it a bit. The native resolution is 1280x720, so it’s a 720p projector. It can accept 1080p and 4K input, but it downscales it to 720p. If you expect pin-sharp 4K, you’ll be disappointed. For casual movie nights, 720p is fine, but it’s not razor sharp, especially if you stretch the image very large.

Brightness is advertised as 12000 lumens, but that’s marketing talk. In real life, users and specs mention around 1000 ANSI lumens, which is more realistic. That’s okay for dark rooms, decent in dim light, and pretty weak with lights fully on. Several people mention the same thing: in a dark room, the picture is clearly watchable and actually quite pleasant; in a bright room, it washes out quickly. So think “evening and curtains closed”, not “midday with windows wide open”.

The big plus is the built-in Android 11 system. You don’t have to plug in a Fire Stick if you don’t want to. You can install apps like Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video, VPNs and browsers directly on the projector. Some cheaper mini projectors force you to use an external device for everything; here, you can just turn it on, connect WiFi, log into your apps and watch. Several reviewers mention Netflix working fine now, even though older firmware had issues.

Connection-wise, you get HDMI, USB, 3.5mm audio, Bluetooth, and WiFi 6. That covers the basics: phones, laptops, tablets, USB sticks, Bluetooth speakers. So in theory, it’s a compact all-in-one box: streamer, projector and basic speaker in one. Just keep in mind, it’s still a budget product. It gets the job done, but it’s not meant to compete with high-end home cinema gear.

The Android 11 part is what makes this projector more practical than some of its direct competitors. You turn it on, connect to WiFi, log into your streaming apps and you’re done. Users report Netflix, Disney+ and Prime Video working, plus VPNs and browsers. One reviewer even said they basically stopped using their TVs because this thing handles all their content by itself. So if you want an all-in-one box without an extra Fire Stick or Chromecast, this is a real advantage.

The auto keystone correction is hit and miss. A few people say it works really well, especially for quick setups and ceiling projection. Others find it a bit off and prefer manual adjustment. The good part is you can fully shape the image manually: resize, move, tweak corners, etc. So even if the auto mode isn’t perfect, you can fix it. For me, that’s acceptable: auto keystone is nice for lazy use, manual controls are there when you want a clean rectangle.

Wireless screen mirroring and WiFi 6 are okay in practice. You can mirror your phone screen or connect a laptop, though for serious stuff I still prefer HDMI for stability. WiFi 6 is more future-proof than anything else; at this brightness and resolution you’re not exactly streaming 4K HDR at crazy bitrates, but having a fast, stable connection doesn’t hurt. Bluetooth works as expected with external speakers. One downside mentioned by a user: some older soundbars with only a 3.5 mm jack need a cable, no wireless there, which is more of a limitation of the soundbar than the projector.

Day-to-day, the interface is simple enough to use. Menus are straightforward, navigation with the remote is fine when the remote actually works (more on that below). One user said they never looked at the manual after initial setup, which tells you it’s not complicated. For a cheap Android projector, it gets the basics right: turn on, pick app, watch.