LG announced yesterday the CineBeam Qube (model HU710PB) laser projector: it has a minimalist look and stature, weighs 3.28 pounds, measures 135mm square on one side, and is just 80mm wide from the front. (For comparison, the iPhone 15 Pro is just under 147mm tall.) It also has an unspecified number of HDMI eARC and USB-C ports, as well as a 3W built-in mono speaker. Impressively, LG says it can project images up to 120 inches at full 4K resolution, with a fairly standard 1.2 throw ratio. Oh, and it has a handle!
This compact projector has some significant drawbacks. First, it’s relatively dim at 500 ANSI lumens (compared to the 2,200 ANSI lumens of the larger Xgimi Horizon Pro we reviewed two years ago). This means that although LG says this projector supports HDR 10, it won’t pop as brightly as brighter HDR TVs outside of a very dark room. Qube uses the company’s webOS, which is fine as an operating system in its own right but lacks the variety of Google TV or Apple tvOS.
But if you just want a neat little thing that’s temporarily useful, then none of that might matter. It looks a bit like a cross between the Binomes from the ’90s CGI cartoon “ReBoot” and the hand-cranked Bell & Howell 8mm camera I had floating around my house as a kid. While I usually cringe when companies use terms like “stylish interior accessories” to describe their devices, I have to admit that the Qube calls out to me because I’m willing to forgive those weird, boxy ones with handles. Flaws in technology – GameCube, for example. (Obviously, there’s nothing wrong with the GameCube, this is just a convenience example.)
LG hasn’t announced pricing or a release date for the Qube, nor has it said whether it will support other LG projector features like AirPlay 2, smart voice control, or really… anything beyond its basic functionality like the one mentioned above. of those.
