XGIMI Halo Review: ‘Fantastic mini projector for movies, TV shows, and gaming’

XGIMI HALO PROJECTOR REVIEW.

For those with room to support it, a projector is one of the best ways to enjoy games, movies, and TV shows on a big screen. Creating my own personal cinema for playing the latest games is my favorite thing to do at the weekend and it makes binge-watching Netflix shows a joy. After reviewing and daily driving the XGIMI Elfin, I was eager to take a look at the XGIMI Halo, which goes even bigger on the potential screen size and has an internal battery for even more versatility. It’s a chunkier bit of tech, sure, but there’s a lot to like here. This is my XGIMI Halo review.

The XGIMI unboxing experience

The clean packaging of the XGIMI Halo contains the projector itself, a power cable and brick, a remote, and various documentation including a helpful FAQ guide.

Buy the XGIMI Halo projector on Amazon.

My first impression of the Halo was that it’s smaller than I was expecting. Though it is blocky, it’s not that big overall. At 113.5 mm x 145 mm x 171.5 mm, it remains perfectly portable and can fit into my backpack. The weight of 1.6 kg is significant enough to keep it locked in place on a desktop or stand, but isn’t so heavy as to be a burden when traveling.

The XGIMI Halo looks stylish, too. The sleek silver finish looks great and should fit in with most lounge, bedroom, or home cinema setups.

Internal battery is a game-changer

For me, the main attraction of the XGIMI Halo over the Elfin is the internal battery. This allows for untethered projecting for up to four hours. While I never made it to the four-hour mark, as I suspect XGIMI is basing that on the power efficiency modes, I did squeeze out two hours of watching at maximum brightness and high volume.

Speaking of volume, the “Harman Kardon” branding on the side isn’t just for show. The speakers in this thing can kick out some serious audio quality, even when pushed to the maximum setting. They are truly impressive and a step up from the less powerful speakers found in the Elfin (which were also excellent). Obviously, true audiophiles will be using the Halo’s outputs to connect dedicated speakers, but for more casual listeners and watching on the go, the built-in speakers are great.

Hello I/O

When it comes to the inputs and outputs, the XGIMI Halo boasts DC power in, USB 2.0, HDMI, and 3.5 mm out. The HDMI input supports a 4K signal, but the Halo projector itself caps out at 1080p.

Though the max resolution is 1080p, I found that the Halo kicks out a very sharp image, even at the 100 inches I was testing at. There are additional sharpness settings found in the settings, but I found it best to leave these at “0.” It’s better to just adjust the focus to achieve maximum clarity and then leave it at that. The end results at 100 inches were fantastic and users with larger spaces can stretch things to up to 300 inches, which is pretty nuts.

Software snags

The XGIMI Halo is powered by Android and has a snappy Google TV interface. The Google Assistant is also built-in, making audio commands easy. While Android offers a bunch of apps that do work with the XGIMI Halo, there are some that do not. Netflix is the big one and users will have to resort to a third-party stick for that service.

While Google TV is a nice foundation, I think many will be leaning on a Roku or Fire TV Stick to bypass any limitations. Using my Fire TV Stick 4K, I was able to boot up Netflix and achieve 4K playback without any issues. To my eye, at least, it looks clearer.

Plugging in my PS5 was also a treat. Though input latency will be better on a fast monitor, this XGIMI Halo held up well for all but the most competitive titles. I played through some of The Last of Us II and it looked incredible on the big screen.

XGIMI Halo Review: The final verdict

At $799, the XGIMI Halo is well-priced for a 1080p mini projector with a brightness rated at 800 ANSI Lumens. The boost in sound quality and presence of a battery make it my new go-to over the Elfin.

With the Halo+ now launching, which combines the great features of the Halo with the smarts of the Elfin, that is also worth considering.

During the holiday sales, I’d keep an eye out for any drops on the original Halo, as it is a fantastic mini projector for movies, TV shows, and gaming.

Halo projector review unit was provided by XGIMI.