The Anker Nebula X1 is a portable home theater projector primarily marketed for outdoor use. It's a medium-sized projector with a retractable handle for easy portability. It can be bought with an additional accessory pack containing a carrying case, a set of microphones for hosting duties or karaoke nights, and two extra wireless speakers, turning the unit into a true 200W speaker setup; without the extra speakers, the unit itself acts as a 40W speaker.
The unit has a full suite of image correction features, such as auto keystone and autofocus, alongside auto screen fit and an automatically tilting lens for easy positioning. The projector comes with Android OS 11, with official Netflix integration, and Dolby Vision support. It's capable of projecting an 80-inch image at a distance of 5.2 to 8.7 feet, up to a 300-inch image at 20 to 32.5 feet.
Our Verdict
The Anker Nebula X1 projector is excellent for watching movies. It's easily bright enough to be watched outside at night, even with some lights around. Its contrast is great, showing deep blacks in most scenes. It also has an extremely wide color gamut, even in HDR. The projector is also very accurate right out of the box, although our unit initially had strange visual artifacts, which disappeared after a settings reset. Ultimately, this is an extremely versatile projector that can both act as a home theater unit or a high-quality portable model.
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Easily bright enough for dim conditions.
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Deep blacks in most content.
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Very wide color gamut.
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Fully featured projector, with official Netflix and Dolby Vision support.
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A ton of image correction features, alongside a retractable handle, makes for easy portability.
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Very easy to calibrate.
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Unit initially had strange visual artifacts before a settings reset.
- 8.6 Movies
Changelog
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Updated Aug 15, 2025:
After resetting the settings and putting the projector's iris level to maximum, most of our problems with the unit have been resolved. The projector is now far brighter, at the cost of some contrast. It's also much more accurate out of the box. We modified the Verdict, Popular Comparisons, Brightness, Contrast, Pre-Calibration Color Accuracy, and Color Gamut text boxes accordingly.
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Updated Aug 11, 2025:
Added a photo showing the artifacts that occur when setting the unit's contrast above 45, and modified the Movies usage and the cons to clarify the issue. Also added a sentence in the Pre-Calibration Color Accuracy section to note that the unit's pre-calibration accuracy was similar in 'Movie' and 'ISF Night' Picture Modes.
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Updated Aug 11, 2025:
We mentioned the newly reviewed Hisense C2 Ultra and added a mention of it in the Pre-Calibration Color Accuracy section.
- Updated Aug 06, 2025: Review published.
- Updated Aug 01, 2025: Early access published.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The Nebula X1 Projector is currently the only projector in Anker's X Series. It can be bought stand-alone or alongside an accessory kit, which includes two microphones, a carrying case, and a set of wireless speakers that transform the projector into a full-blown sound system.
Our unit was manufactured in April 2025.
Popular Projectors Comparisons
The Anker Nebula X1 is a tremendous projector with a rather unique use case: a mid-size home theater-grade projector with an integrated handle that's primarily marketed to be used outside. Alongside its handle, the unit has a full suite of image correction features, all to make sure it can easily be carried around. This means that it combines the strengths of some home theater products, like the Valerion VisionMaster Pro 2 or the Epson Home Cinema 3800, with portable products like the Samsung The Freestyle 2nd Gen or the XGIMI MoGo 2 Pro. Ultimately, the Anker is leagues above any other portable product, making it an interesting option for anyone looking for a high-quality portable projector.
For more, check out our recommendations for the best 4k projectors, the best projectors for home theater, and the best portable projectors. If you're really looking for a product to use outside, consider the best outdoor projectors as well.
The Anker Nebula X1 offers slightly better image quality than the Epson Home Cinema 3800, but they're rather different. The Epson is a barebones home theater projector with no integrated smart OS and no Wi-Fi support, although it does have an older implementation of Bluetooth. The Anker, however, is a fully featured modern processor with Google TV, native Netflix integration, and full wireless support. This makes the Anker a much more attractive proposition for anyone hoping to buy an all-in-one projector, while the Epson is more attractive for old-school home theater lovers who prefer to watch physical media on their unit than stream content over the internet. Furthermore, the Anker has a retractable handle and a full suite of image correction features, making it more portable, while the Epson is meant to stay put.
The Valerion VisionMaster Pro 2 and Anker Nebula X1 are similar projectors, although the Anker is a bit better overall. While the Anker is specifically marketed for its portability and outdoor use, as it has a retractable handle and a full suite of image correction features, the Valerion also comes with a carrying case, making it almost as portable. Still, the Anker offers more options, especially if you opt to buy its accessory pack, which transforms the unit into a full-blown sound system. It also has slightly better image quality overall. Ultimately, what you're looking for is likely to dictate your purchase: those looking for a pure home theater solution will lean toward Valerion, and those hoping for a more versatile option will lean toward Anker.
The Anker Nebula X1 and Hisense C2 Ultra projectors perform very similarly, with the Anker having a very slight edge. The Anker is a bit brighter, with slightly deeper contrast, and is a bit more accurate out of the box, but they're extremely close. They're equally portable, but they go about it in different ways: the Hisense has a gimbal stand, which lets you fully adjust its viewing angle, while the Anker has an integrated handle and a motorized lens.
The XGIMI MoGo 2 Pro is far cheaper than the Anker Nebula X1, but it's also significantly worse when it comes to image quality. This isn't a surprise considering the price difference and size difference; the Anker is a heftier, beefier product. It does have a retractable handle and a full suite of image correction features, making it rather easy to carry around regardless of its weight, but the XGIMI is so small that you can easily throw it into a backpack. Ultimately, if you're considering one, you're not likely to be considering the other. If you're looking for the cheapest possible portable projector, the XGIMI is up your alley, but if you're looking for a portable projector that can also double as a home theater option, go for the Anker.
The Samsung The Freestyle 2nd Gen is a smaller and more portable projector than the Anker Nebula X1, but it's also far worse when it comes to image quality. The Anker is also much more expensive, so even though they're both portable products, they really belong to different market segments. If you're looking for the smallest projector possible, the Samsung fits that bill, but if you're looking for a portable projector that can also double as a home theater option, the Anker is far better.
The BenQ X3100i and Anker Nebula X1 perform similarly, but they don't have the same use case. The BenQ is a gaming projector that can also double as a home theater unit; this means that it comes with a full suite of gaming features, which the Anker lacks. Inversely, the Anker is marketed as a home theater-grade portable projector, with a retractable handle and a full suite of image correction features. The Anker is a bit punchier when it comes to image quality, especially due to its superior contrast. Ultimately, those looking for a unit capable of some serious gaming will prefer the BenQ, but those looking for more punch, or who want to be able to easily carry the unit, will prefer the Anker.
Test Results
The Nebula X1 is quite portable for a medium-sized projector. It has an integrated handle that slides out upon being pressed. It also has a full suite of image correction features, including auto keystone and autofocus, alongside an automatically tilting lens. Unfortunately, it doesn't have a built-in battery, so you'll need a power source of some kind if you want to take it outside.
The unit has a 40W sound system. You can also purchase a separate accessory pack with additional wireless speakers, transforming the projector into a 200W sound system. In that arrangement, the projector itself acts like a subwoofer. The accessory pack also includes a set of microphones and a carrying case.
The Nebula X1 projector uses a laser light source that lasts more than 30,000 hours and needs almost no upkeep. It isn't native 4k, as it uses pixel-shifting to simulate a higher-resolution image, but it still looks crisper than a regular 1080p projector. The unit supports 3D content, but DLP Link 3D glasses are required.
- Throw distance (80-inch screen): 5.2 to 8.7 ft
- Throw distance (300-inch screen): 20 to 32.5 ft
Anker says that the projector's IEA (Intelligent Environment Adaptation) features work best at 13 feet, which encompasses screen sizes from 120 to 200 inches.
The Nebula X1's brightness is excellent. Its best trait is its fantastic brightness uniformity; the sides of the screen are almost just as bright as the center, leading to an immersive viewing experience without any dark spots. The projector's white light output, namely how bright it gets, is amazing. It's certainly bright enough for dark rooms, and can even handle some moderately lit rooms without washing out. Its colors are great, as the projector is bright enough to project vibrant hues.
Our results are with the iris level set to maximum. When set to minimum, the projector isn't as bright, but has better contrast. Here are brightness measurements with the iris set to minimum:
- White Light Output: 1,544 Lumens
- Color Light Output: 1,533 Lumens
- Brightness Uniformity: 97%
- Screen Brightness: 175 nits
The Nebula X1's contrast ratio is great with almost all content. It falters a little bit in very high APL scenes, but it's still satisfactory. Overall, this projector's contrast delivers an impressive viewing experience in darker rooms.
Prior to a settings reset, we had a very noticeable bug with the Contrast setting, at least with Firmware version 11.0.44. When contrast was set to its default 50, the projected image had artifacts in the form of rectangular geometric shapes, the screen looked extremely red, and was clipping whites. You had to drop the contrast to 45 to fix it. Now most of this has been resolved after the reset, even if there is still a slight red tint to the image when contrast is set to 50.
Our results are with the iris level set to maximum. When set to minimum, the projector isn't as bright, but has better contrast. Here are contrast measurements with the iris set to minimum:
- 1% APL Native Contrast: 1,750 : 1
- 5% APL Native Contrast: 1,068 : 1
- 10% APL Native Contrast: 640 : 1
- 15% APL Native Contrast: 448 : 1
- 25% APL Native Contrast: 277 : 1
- 50% APL Native Contrast: 142 : 1
After a settings reset, the projector's pre-calibration accuracy in SDR is great. Its color accuracy, in particular, is almost right on the money; almost all colors are on target, and there aren't many color mapping issues. The unit's white balance is very good, with some blues being slightly overrepresented in some grays, and reds being a bit underrepresented in other grays. It does make the projector's color temperature too cool out of the box.
For another option with similar pre-calibration SDR accuracy, consider the Hisense C2 Ultra.
The Nebula X1 is easy to calibrate with an 11-point white balance and full color calibration. Doing so significantly improves the unit's accuracy and fixes most of its issues.
Its color gamut is incredibly wide. It portrays the entirety of the Rec. 709 color space used with SDR content and excels in the wider Rec. 2020 color space, although greens and yellows are slightly off the mark.
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Comments
Anker Nebula X1: Main Discussion
Let us know why you want us to review the product here, or encourage others to vote for this product.
- 21010
How do you guys decide the exact spots for black luminance and align the measurements across different models?
- 21010
Is the re-test focused only on 24p Judder?