Xgimi Halo+ Review: The Best Portable 1080p Projector on the Planet

The Xgimi Halo+ (Halo Plus) is an excellent 1080p portable projector. It sports a crisp native full high-definition (full HD) resolution, built-in battery, and modest 900 ANSI lumens of brightness. With its automatic image adjustments, onboard Android TV operating system (OS), and Harman Kardon speakers, the Halo Plus makes backyard movie nights a breeze. But is this the right mini projector for your needs? Find out in our hands-on Xgimi Halo+ review!

Xgimi Halo+ Overview

The Xgimi Halo Plus is a portable projector that improves upon the already great Xgimi Halo (our review). It packs a generous 2.5-hour long battery life, dual 5 Watt Harman Kardon speakers, and Android TV 10.0 baked in. You’ll enjoy 900 ANSI lumens of brightness paired with a native 1080p FHD resolution.

A slew of image adjustments, including auto focus, auto keystone, intelligent obstacle avoidance, and intelligent screen alignment ensure a perfectly rectangular image regardless of where you have the projector situated. 3D support lets you watch 3D Blu-rays or streaming videos, plus there’s a low 26.5ms of input lag in Game Mode. At just 3.5 pounds (lbs.) and measuring 4 x 5 x 6 inches, the Xgimi Halo+ is small and lightweight.

Xgimi Halo Plus Specs

• Resolution: Native 1080p (1920 x 1080) with HDR10 and HLG support
• Brightness: 900 ANSI lumens
• Audio: 2 x 5W Harman/Kardon speakers
• Android TV 10.0
• Input lag for gaming: 26.5ms in Game Mode
• 3D support
• Image adjustments: Auto keystone, auto focus, intelligent screen alignment, intelligent obstacle avoidance
• Battery life: 2.5 hours
• Weight: 3.5 lbs.
• Dimensions: 4 x 5 x 6 inches
• Inputs/outputs: 1 x HDMI input, 1 x USB Type-A, 2.4GHz/5GHz 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth

Xgimi Halo+ Review Verdict

Because of its wrap-around speaker grille concealing dual 5W Harman/Kardon speakers, you’d be hard-pressed to differentiate the Xgimi Halo+ from a smart speaker like the Sonos One. The small and unassuming Halo Plus boasts a native 1080p full HD resolution that looks crisp and its 900 ANSI lumens, while far behind the 2000 or 3000 ANSI lumens of many bright room projectors remains on the high side for a portable projector. In our experience, its image quality held up extremely well even with some ambient lighting, although as with all projectors, it looked better in total darkness.

Movies and TV shows look vivid with punchy colors, especially when displaying vivid animated content. Black levels and contrast were decent for a portable projector, although not quite as impressive as true home theatre projectors or even Xgimi’s own Horizon Pro 4K. Compared to the vanilla Halo, the Xgimi Halo+ looks noticeably brighter. I also preferred its image to my AAXA M7 and Anker Nebula Cosmos. The Horizon Pro 4K blew away the Halo+ with its 4K resolution and 2200 ANSI lumens, but at nearly $1,700 MSRP, the Horizon Pro is in a completely different class.

With a perfectly respectable 26.5ms of input lag in Game Mode, I found casual gaming for bouts of titles like Spider-Man Remastered a real treat. Single-player games and non-competitive multiplayer games such as Diablo II Resurrected play just fine, but for more serious gameplay consider a purpose-built gaming projector with 16ms or less of input lag.

Generally, built-in projector speakers suck, but the Halo+, like its Halo predecessor, bucks that trend. The dual 5 Watt Harman Kardon speakers sound superb and are more than capable of filling up a small- to medium-sized room. Even at full volume, I noticed little clipping. We still recommend a good soundbar

or home theatre surround sound system for audio big enough to match the on-screen image, however the Halo+ provides exceptional sound quality.

Where the Halo Plus really shines is its bevy of automatic image adjustments, which make set up a sinch. Auto focus ensures that the picture is crisp and clear, while auto keystone maintains a perfectly rectangular image, even when projecting at an angle. And there’s always manual keystoning if you need to make small tweaks. Intelligent screen alignment detects the presence of a screen and makes sure the projected image is withing the boundaries of the screen, while intelligent obstacle avoidance shifts the image around, say, a light switch in the middle of the wall where you’re shining the Halo+.

The onboard Android TV operating system lets you install most of your favorite apps and games. I was able to download Amazon Prime Video, HBO Max, Disney+, Hulu, Peacock TV, Plex, and a smattering of other streaming apps. You can easily connect external streaming devices like Blu-ray players and streaming boxes to its sole HDMI input. Thanks to 3D support, you can watch all of your 3D Blu-ray movies and in my testing, I noticed little to no crosstalk when paired with a set of Boblov 3D glasses.

Unfortunately, while Nextlix comes pre-installed, you can’t playback any content. That’s not Xgimi’s fault as nearly all smart projectors aren’t licensed by Netflix, but it’s worth noting. As such, we suggest using a separate streaming device like an Android TV box, Roku, Fire TV, or Apple TV. It’s also a bit expensive at around $900 USD regular retail price. Nevertheless, it’s tough to find this combination of performance, portability, and versatility in such a convenient package.

Save up to 33% on the Halo Plus for Xgimi’s Black Friday sale!

Xgimi Halo+ Video Quality

Sporting a native 1080p resolution and 900 ANSI lumens, the Xgimi Halo+ performs extremely well when playing back movies and TV shows. And thanks to its LED light source, you’ll enjoy up to 30,000 hours of lamp life. Animated content like “Raya and the Last Dragon” looks stunning with bright colors that pop on screen.

Live action movies such as “Thor: Love and Thunder” look magnificent. Black levels wash out a bit of detail that’s easier to see on an LED television, OLED TV, or even a brighter projector like the Xgimi Horizon Pro 4K. Likewise, the contrast ratio isn’t as high as a true home theatre projector. Still, for its size, the Halo+ punches well above its weight class.

Sports look fantastic and with MEMC or Motion Estimation, Motion Compensation, fast moving images are smoothed out. I don’t recommend MEMC for most TV and movie viewing as it introduces unnatural motion known as the soap-opera effect, however it’s fine for watching sports like football, soccer, or basketball.

3D Blu-rays appear regal blown up to over 100 inches. While the picture is dimmer–an issue with all 3D content, not something unique to the Halo Plus–I didn’t notice any crosstalk. Because of its high (for a portable projector) 900 ANSI lumens, the Halo+ holds up well even with some ambient light. In the middle of the day with the blinds shut and some light pollution, the picture wasn’t washed out, though it was considerably brighter in total darkness.

Xgimi Halo Plus Gaming Performance

With just 26.5ms of input lag in its Game Mode, the Xgimi Halo Plus is great for gaming. Casual video games such as single-player titles or non-competitive online gaming is a blast. I found it extremely immersive web-slinging and swinging around in Spider-Man Remastered. For serious play, consider a projector with 16ms or less of input lag like the BenQ TK700, TK700STi, or X3000i.

Xgimi Halo Plus Audio Quality

Its dual 5W Harman Kardon speakers provide a pleasantly surprising oomph. In my testing, the Halo+ filled up a small to medium room easily, even avoiding clipping with the volume cranked to the max. I suggest pairing the Halo Plus with a soundbar or surround sound system, but its speakers certainly don’t disappoint.

The Xgimi Halo Plus Software Experience – Android TV 10.0

Because the Xgimi Halo+ runs Android TV 10.0, it lets you install your favorite apps and games including Disney+, Plex, Hulu, Peacock TV, HBO Max, YouTube TV, Kodi, and a slew of other applications. I found the streaming and overall experience snappy. Unfortunately, there’s no native Netflix support, so you’ll need a standalone streaming device to watch movies and shows like “Stranger Things.”

Image Adjustments

With a handful of helpful automatic image adjustments, the Xgimi Halo+ is incredibly portable. Auto focus keeps the on-screen image crystal clear while auto keystone or manual +/-40-degree vertical keystone lets you achieve a perfectly rectangular image even with the projector at an odd angle. Intelligent screen detection notices the presence of a screen and ensures the projected image is properly on the display. And intelligent obstacle avoidance shifts the image when there’s an impediment like if you’re shining the Halo Plus on a wall and there’s a wall switch. In all, its various image adjustments mean set up and installation is a total breeze.

Moreover, the Halo Plus gives you various image presets like Movie, Game, Football, and Custom. I found Movie the most color accurate, while Game has the lowest input lag. Football is great for fast-paced sports but unlike most other modes, you can’t disable MEMC. Custom gives you the option to dig into its settings and tweak everything from contrast and local dimming to color temperature. For projector placement, the Halo+ lets you project from the front, rear, or ceiling mounted which offers flexible installation options.

Xgimi Halo+ Battery Life

Since the Halo+ has a 2.5-hour battery life, it’s capable of playing back several TV show episodes, or about one Marvel Movie. Coupled with its auto focus, auto keystone, intelligent screen detection, intelligent obstacle avoidance, Android TV OS, and powerful Harman Kardon speakers, the Halo Plus is an outstanding portable projector.

Xgimi Halo Plus vs. Halo vs. Horizon Pro 4K

I pitted the Xgimi Halo Plus, Halo, and Horizon Pro 4K against one another. While the standard Halo is no slouch, the Halo+ gets you a brighter image, lower input lag, and improved automatic image adjustments.

The Horizon Pro 4K blows the Halo+ out of the water, although that’s not quite a fair comparison considering its significantly higher brightness (2200 vs. 900 ANSI lumens), resolution (4K vs. 1080p), and price tag (the Horizon Pro sets you back nearly double the price of the Halo+). You do lose out on the battery with the Horizon Pro and it’s larger as well as heavier, so the Halo Plus is more portable.

Overall, the Xgimi Halo+ is a superb value that strikes a nice balance of price, performance, and portability.

Xgimi Halo+ vs. Portable Projector Rivals

Although the Xgimi Halo+ is a fantastic portable projector, it’s not the only option on the market. The Samsung Freestyle is a great choice which offers 550 LED lumens, a native 1080p resolution, and effective auto focus for around the same price as the Halo+.

The Anker Nebula Cosmos sports a nearly identical spec sheet with a native 1080p resolution, 900 ANSI lumens, and Android TV 9.0. In our experience, the Cosmos looks solid but its color accuracy and image adjustments lag behind the Halo+.

On a budget, consider the Xgimi MoGo Pro, which gets you a native 1080p FHD resolution, 3W Harman Kardon speakers, automatic vertical keystone, Android TV, and 300 ANSI lumens.

If you can step up in budget, the Xgimi Horizon Ultra boasts 4K visuals, 2300 ISO lumens of brightness, and Dolby Vision HDR support.

Xgimi Halo+ Review – Final Thoughts

Ultimately, the Xgimi Halo+ is the best portable 1080p projector on the market. It’s tough to find a projector with a full HD resolution, high brightness, low lag, 3D support, and a built-in battery. While similarly-priced projectors might be better for gaming with lower lag, brighter, or feature cinephile-caliber picture quality, you’ll sacrifice portability and other useful qualities available on the Xgimi. At the end of the day, the Halo+ is a nearly unrivaled jack of all trades that’s just as comfortable in the backyard hosting movie nights as it is in a living room for gaming and watching movies or TV shows.