If you’re looking for a budget-friendly projector with native 1080p resolution, built-in Android 11, WiFi 6, and smart features like auto-focus, the MAGCUBIC L018 offers impressive value under $100. While it’s not perfect—especially in bright environments or for premium app streaming—it blows away most competitors in its class.
🧲 Why the MAGCUBIC L018 Projector Is Gaining Attention
Budget projectors have flooded the market, but few balance features and price well. The sub-$100 market is especially rife with low-quality products. So when the Magcubic sent us their MAGCUBIC L018 WiFi 6 Bluetooth projector, I wasn’t expecting much.
Priced at just $89, it boasts a native 1080p resolution, 650 ANSI lumens brightness, auto-focus, auto-keystone correction, and a 360° rotatable stand—features rarely found in ultra-low-cost units. So surely, other areas such as picture quality or sound will suffer at this price? Let’s find out.
🧱 Build Quality & Design – Compact, Functional, Portable
Weight: 1.3 kg
Dimensions: 23 × 20 × 15 cm
Mounting Options: 360° adjustable stand + tripod thread
Unique among budget projectors, the L018 includes a 360° rotating stand that doubles as an elevation mount. It’s easy to position without stacking books or buying tripods. The lens isn’t protected by glass, so you’ll need to be very gentle when cleaning it. The remote is Bluetooth-enabled with voice control—a rare bonus at this price for sure.
➡️ Design & Ergonomics Score: 9/10
🎥 Image Quality – Good for Darkness, Limited in Daylight
Specs:
- Resolution: Native 1920×1080 (supports 4K input)
- Brightness: 650 ANSI Lumens (manufacturer claim)
- Contrast Ratio: 20,000:1 (manufacturer claim)
- Projection Size: 80″–150″ (2–3.5m)
- Lens: Basic LED LCD optics with digital zoom
Real-World Performance
I was pleasantly surprised when I turned the unit on. The picture was bright enough to use with some bias lighting on at around 50″ on the wall.
In a light-controlled environment (a fully dark room), the L018’s image is crisp, detailed, and relatively vibrant. Contrast appears great for the price, and definitely better than on even more expensive DLP projectors, due to the unit using an LCD panel.
Colours appear relatively accurate too, and the focus is relatively uniform across the screen, apart from a slight blur around the edges of the screen, which is expected at this price point. However, that is not noticeable until you blow the image up to around 120″.
At larger projection sizes above around 80″, ambient light noticeably degrades image clarity—a reality for most projectors in this price category. For best results, use a projection screen or at least a matte white wall, and turn the lights down.
While the contrast ratio is inflated (as with most brands), dynamic range is actually well above average and provides a great experience during use.
Since this is a one-chip LCD, colour gamut is slightly restricted and reaches only around 80% of REC709 (Blu Ray standard). However, what you get is excellent contrast at this price point so darker movies and scenes have depth and look believable in a darkened room.
➡️ Image Quality Score: 8.5/10
🔊 Audio Performance – Use External Speakers for Best Sound
Built-in Audio: Dual 5W speakers
Audio Output Options: 3.5mm jack + Bluetooth 5.2
EQ Options: Minimal; fixed presets
The L018’s audio system is basic. It can fill a small room but struggles with clarity, particularly in lower or mid frequencies. There’s also no real customization—something critical for users expecting to tweak audio profiles. I strongly recommend adding a Bluetooth speaker or even a wired 2.1 system for proper movie nights or presentations. However, for general YouTube or a TV show, it will do in a pinch.
➡️ Audio Score: 5.5/10
⚙️ Smart Features and OS – Capable, but Limited App Support
Operating System: Android 11 (32-bit)
Processor: Allwinner H713 Quad-Core @ 1.9 GHz
RAM/Storage: 1 GB / 8 GB (usable space ~3.5 GB)
Streaming Capabilities: YouTube HD, Netflix SD (Widevine L3)
This projector includes a customized Android TV-like interface, complete with voice control, built-in apps like YouTube and basic support for Netflix, Prime Video, and Kodi. That said, it lacks Google Play Store access, and most apps must be sideloaded as APKs.
You’ll face streaming limitations due to lack of certifications. For example:
- Netflix & Prime Video output at SD only
- Disney+ caps at 720p
- Apple TV+ isn’t supported
This is expected at this price and you can still enjoy full quality using YouTube, Kodi, Plex, IPTV, or screen mirroring functionality via Google Cast.
➡️ Smart Features Score: 8/10
💻 Performance – Great for Light Streaming
CPU/GPU: Allwinner H713 + Mali-G31 MP2
OS Behavior: Android 11, 32-bit
Responsiveness: Moderate lag due to 1 GB RAM
Gaming: Mostly for turn-based or casual play
Application response time is good, but this is not a multitasking monster, particularly with heavier apps. 1 GB of RAM simply isn’t enough for fluid multitasking, though video playback is hardware-accelerated and smooth up to 4K@60fps for local files, and 1440p with YouTube content / streaming. But honestly, I would cap playback at 1080p for best performance. The option is there to watch 4K files dependent on codec, however.
Video test results:
- H.264: 1080p@60 (HW)
- H.265 / AV1: 1440p-4K@60 (HW)
- VP9: 1080p@60 (HW)
Input lag via HDMI also keeps it out of the “gaming projector” tier. You can’t rely on this for FPS or rhythm games, but casual gaming is possible.
➡️ System Performance Score: 7.5/10
📶 Connectivity – Excellent for the Price
Wireless: WiFi 6 (dual-band), Bluetooth 5.2
Wired Inputs: HDMI 1.4, USB 2.0, 3.5mm AUX
Casting Options: Google Cast, DLNA (via BubbleUPnP)
The inclusion of WiFi 6 and dual-speaker Bluetooth sets this unit apart in a crowded low-end field. Pairing is fast and stable. Google Cast works smoothly from Android and Chrome browsers. DLNA is supported through apps like BubbleUPnP if you want to get that working. However, there is no native AirPlay support for iOS devices.
➡️ Connectivity Score: 9.5/10
🧐 Personal Use-Case
As a home cinema nut, I have plenty of TV screens and projectors lying around so I was wondering what use a projector in this category would have for me. Well, I am quite precious with my other projectors so I wouldn’t drag them into the bathroom with me while having a bath.
But I wasn’t as precious with this one, and had a wondering bath time while watching some YouTube clips on the Magcubic L018. I appreciated that it was plenty bright, did automatic keystone and focus during setup, and worked well even on the grey bathroom tiles.
Measurements & Calibration
I measured the unit in Standard mode, then immediately switched over to Custom, so I could make adjustments.
The greyscale isn’t terrible. It’s a bit strong on blue and green, but nothing that you would notice. This is pretty standard for TVs and projectors out of the box. There aren’t any greyscale controls, so this can’t be corrected, and neither would you want to on a low-end projector like this. It would reduce both brightness and contrast.
The gamma looks a bit low in the low end and high in the high end by default. This can actually be corrected with the brightness and contrast controls. However, since they also control the black and white levels, and therefore affect shadows detail and highlight detail respectively, you cannot go too far from the defaults.
However, you can increase the contrast control by 3 clicks from 50 to 53, which gives you a more even gamma curve in the top end, to arrive at a 2.0 – 2.1 gamma that’s relatively flat. But do note that anything above 95% stimulus (very bright highlights) might look a tiny bit compressed. However, this might be a good trade-off for a smoother gamma for most content.
The brightness control pulled down to 49 can also help with low-end gamma. Also, the black level will reduce ever so slightly, but again, this is at the cost of some shadow detail. Although, not as bad as with some other projectors. So for completely dark home theatre use, you can decrease the brightness control to 49, OR leave it at 50 for the best shadow detail.
The contrast of the unit is actually pretty decent at 2600:1. This is to be expected with an LCD panel that’s being used here, and is excellent contrast performance in this price range. DLPs costing 10x as much might have worse contrast in the 500:1 to 1500:1 range, so with that in mind, this is not bad at all, and results in a picture with excellent depth. Dark movies also end up looking convincing, more so than with cheap DLPs.
Gamut is severely limited, with probably around 50-60% of REC709, but it looks pretty linear ouf of he box, even if some of the saturations are a bit low. Again, this is the limitation is a single-LCD chip technology used here. This is what you trade for excellent contrast.
You can get things tracking a bit better on the lower saturation points by increasing saturation to 53, and Hue down to 49. However, this can actually get things a bit further off in some areas, especially with blue. But if you crave more saturated colours, increasing saturation to 52-53 can help, even without touching hue. But you will lose some of the linearity.
Overall, this isn’t too bad considering what you pay for with this projector, and the colours will still be enjoyable, as most of the content is within the range of the projector.
After watching some content with a range of settings, my final recommended calibration settings are as follows:
- Brightness: Standard
- Picture mode: Custom
- Brightness: 50
- Contrast: 53
- Saturation: 53
- Hue: 49
- Sharpness: 55-60 (to taste)
🆚 MAGCUBIC L018 vs. Other Budget Options
| Feature | MAGCUBIC L018 | HY320 | HY450 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Native Resolution | 1080p | 720p | 1080p |
| Brightness | 650 ANSI | 320 ANSI | 850 ANSI |
| Smart OS | Android 11 | Android 11 | Android 13 |
| Auto-Focus & Keystone | ✔️ | ❌ | ✔️ |
| Google-certified Apps | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Price (as of 2025) | $89 | $79 | $129 |
🎯 Final Score and Recommendation
| Category | Score (/10) |
|---|---|
| Image Quality | 8.5 |
| Audio Quality | 5.5 |
| OS & Smart Features | 8 |
| System Performance | 7.5 |
| Connectivity | 9.5 |
| Build | 9 |
| Overall Rating | 8.5/10 or 85/100 |
🛍️ Should You Buy the MAGCUBIC L018?
Yes—if you want a smart, feature-packed 1080p projector that doesn’t cost more than a dinner out.
While it’s not flawless—limited RAM, no 1080p Netflix playback, so-so speakers—the combination of native Full HD, 650 ANSI brightness, auto-focus, a rotatable stand, excellent contrast performance and smart Android interface for $89 is a deal that’s hard to beat.
For those after more premium features (certified Android TV, better audio), stepping into the $200+ tier is inevitable. But for movie nights, kid’s rooms, and weekend gaming with friends—the L018 holds its ground.
📦 Where to Buy:
Magcubic | Amazon | AliExpress
Magcubic is offering an exclusive discount code for Simple Home Cinema readers. Just enter the DJENDH discount code at checkout on Magcubic‘s site.
🔁 Warranty & Support:
1-year warranty with dedicated app support via Whale OS store
🗣️ Customer Reviews Snapshot:
- “Clear picture and portable!” – ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Whaea Lee)
- “Good for price, sound kinda weak” – ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Ashley Tan)
- “SD Netflix is meh, but Plex works great” – ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Lexus G.)
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