Let me prefice this by saying before I bought this I had seen so many comparisons and reviews with this projector and others, and this one always came up dead last. But that being said, other projectors it was put up against were also at the minimum 1.5x the price or more, and not readily available (being, ordering online vs walking in store and picking it up same visit).
Despite all those reviews, watching them on a TV or phone or any screen in general, yes, it was a little discouraging to actually want this projector. But I didn't want to spend over $1000 on a projector. So I bit the bullet anyways and I'm really glad I did. I picked it up on sale for $850, plus a tripod with a flat stand on it for $25, so I was still within the budget.
Brightness and Picture;
The performance on this projector has been amazing. Even in a pretty bright room, things were still watchable. Yes, in daylight it's more washed out but still completely watchable. The autofocus and keystone is a great feature for quickly repositioning and angling the projector. You can always find tune the image sharpness and position as well as sometimes you can squeeze out a bit more focus after it auto focuses. The keystoning 9/10 times works perfectly and I almost never have to adjust image positioning. Brightness during the day is pretty good but at night is amazing. Being only 1000lumens blacks are not super washed out. And yes while this one while compared to others that are 2000lumens+, you really have to see it in person because it might just be good enough for you. On video it might seem like the lowest performing between others, but it still performs exceptionally well to put into perspective. So I can only imagine how much better the others would look, but you also will spend twice the money and it's easy to spend even more. Colors pop and look very good. There are additional color and picture mode settings as well to fine tune it to your liking (like warm and cooler tones, and just different color mappings all around). I also project right onto my wall, and my wall is painted grey. I believe in turn I do get more contrast in image while white would give more brightness. Something to keep in mind as well, what you're going to be projecting in to.
Sound;
I haven't used the build in audio as I connect it directly to my Bluetooth sound system. There is no latency or delay in sound. I can't speak on the built in speaker but from what others say it's decent enough if you crank it up high. But they're built in speakers. So I wouldn't expect cinema level sound. Speaking of sound it also doubles as a Bluetooth speaker. The fan noise on it is basically non existent. It is so quiet you won't even notice it unless you put your ear right up on it. This thing is extremely silent that you won't even know it's on if you were just going based off of fan noise.
Android TV;
This one's important to address as many say Android TV is very laggy and janky. To a certain extent I can agree, but overtime after doing its firmware updates and a bit of use it has definitely gotten smoother overtime. It is nice to have it built in, all your favorite apps are there as well as Chromecast and screen mirroring. The remote is decent. Not back lit. But it is responsive.
Design;
It's on a swivel, and it's decently weighty. You'll be able to put this thing anywhere and fine tune the positioning. Eventually I'd like to ceiling mount mine, which I believe for this one even having a build in stand, is possible. The paint on the body and front feels and looks very high quality, almost as if it has a pearl/metallic flake to it. It's very pretty, the design is top notch.
Gaming;
I have not used it at all for gaming so I can't speak on delay. I'm sure quality will be good, but I don't know about delay if any.
Extra side thoughts;
Being a laser projector you get the benefit of a very long lasting bulb life without diminishing quality overtime. Regular lamp bulbs technically degrade as soon as you start using it. Slowly but surely. Laser technology will last a long time and will not degrade in brightness or quality. Basically it will just stop working at the end of its life but until then it will perform the same as it did from day one. The base of it is pretty big, so if you're planning on putting it on a wall shelf, make sure you get a decent sized one. Mine was too narrow so I use the tripod which has a flat stand on top. I still need to research how to ceiling mount it as well. If you can pick it up on sale that's even better but I would say $1000 is a fair asking price for regular MSRP. You do get a lot, with great performance in a good looking piece of technology. I believe if you're on the fence, give it a try, because it might just be enough for you, even if you're trying to produce a very large screen. I'm glad those other reviews didn't complely discourage me because this certainly is a great projector and it performs well for the money.