The XGIMI AURA is a 4k HDR Ultra Short Throw (UST) projector. It's capable of projecting on large surfaces from a very short distance: it projects an 80" image at a distance of 4.3" and up to 150" at 17.3". The projector comes with 8-Point and 4-Point Keystone correction technology to help eliminate trapezoid effects if you've installed it off-center or at an angle. The projector uses a laser light source with a lamp life of at least 20000 hours. It comes with Android TV with Chromecast built-in, with three HDMI 2.0 ports, each capable of 4k @ 60Hz. Finally, it supports DTS and Dolby advanced audio formats and has four integrated 15W Harman/Kardon speakers.
Our Verdict
The XGIMI AURA is alright for watching movies. Its native contrast is very good, and its brightness is okay, leading to deep blacks and a somewhat bright image when watched in a dark room. Unfortunately, the projector's color accuracy before calibration is bad, and it lacks any color calibration to significantly improve the colors after calibration, so it's not the projector for color purists.
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Very good contrast for deep blacks in dark rooms.
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Ultra Short Throw technology allows large screens from a very short distance.
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Dull and inaccurate colors.
- 6.8 Movies
- Updated Mar 18, 2024: We mentioned the newly-reviewed Formovie THEATER in the Post-Calibration Color Accuracy section of this review.
- Updated Feb 13, 2024: Review published.
Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We bought and tested the XGIMI AURA. It's XGIMI's only laser projector, and it has no variants.
Compared To Other Projectors
The XGIMI AURA is packed with technology, and its Ultra Short Throw (UST) lens projects very large images from a very short distance. Still, it's very expensive for what you're getting. The Epson EpiqVision Ultra LS300 is another UST laser projector that's cheaper than the XGIMI and better due to its significantly higher brightness and image accuracy. However, it's only a 1080p projector, so it doesn't look as sharp as the XGIMI when projecting on large surfaces.
The XGIMI HORIZON Ultra is better than the XGIMI AURA. The Ultra is significantly brighter than the AURA and has superior image accuracy. The Ultra also has full auto keystone correction and autofocus, which the AURA lacks, so the Ultra is easier to set up correctly. However, due to its Ultra Short Throw lens, the AURA can project large images at much smaller distances. Otherwise, the Ultra is better.
The Samsung The Premiere LSP7T and the XGIMI AURA are similar projectors. They're both Ultra Short Throw projectors, so they can project very large images from a very short distance. The XGIMI has significantly better contrast and looks much better in a dark room. Still, the Samsung has a wider color gamut, and while both projectors have inaccurate colors out-of-the-box, the Samsung's colors are much more accurate than the XGIMI's after calibration.
The Hisense PX1-PRO is better than the XGIMI AURA. The Hisense is a bit more colorful due to its wider color gamut and is much more color-accurate both prior and after calibration. However, the XGIMI has better contrast and looks better in a dark room.
The Formovie THEATER is slightly better than the XGIMI AURA, but it's close. The contrast, color accuracy, and color gamut are marginally better on the Formovie, leading to a more vibrant and punchier image overall.
The Epson EpiqVision Ultra LS300 is better than the XGIMI AURA. They're both Ultra Short Throw (UST) projectors, which can project large images from very short distances. The XGIMI is a 4k projector, so its image looks sharper overall and is better in a dark room due to its better contrast. However, the Epson is significantly brighter and has vastly better image accuracy, so it looks truer to the content creator's intent.
Test Results
The XGIMI AURA 4k isn't meant to be portable as it's a big and heavy projector without an integrated battery, so it needs to be plugged in. The projector lacks auto keystone correction, so you must manually adjust the image. It also doesn't have autofocus, so you have to manually focus the projector using the remote control. It does have integrated speakers in case you need to move it.
The XGIMI AURA uses a laser light source, which requires no maintenance and will last for 20,000 hours or more. This means you likely won't ever have to worry about replacing its light source. It's an Ultra Short Throw (UST) projector, capable of projecting an image on an 80" screen at a distance of 4.3" up to a 150" screen at a distance of 17.3". The projector doesn't do true 4k as it uses pixel shifting to create a higher resolution image. This offers better quality than 1080p but doesn't look as good as native 4k.
This projector has okay brightness, with great brightness uniformity. It offers an alright viewing experience in a dark room. Unfortunately, the projector isn't bright enough to make its colors pop.
The XGIMI AURA 4k has very good native contrast, leading to deep blacks in a dark room.
The projector has poor image accuracy out of the box. Its white balance is off, with blues being overrepresented in most shades of white. Its color accuracy is bad, with blues and cyans, in particular, being completely off the mark. Finally, the projector's color temperature is very cold, giving everything a blue-ish tint.
The projector's image accuracy improves significantly after calibration, but it's still only decent. It lacks color calibration, so its colors are still noticeably inaccurate, especially its blues. Thankfully, its post-calibration white balance is very good, with some minor accuracy errors, and its color temperature is almost exactly on target. If calibration is important, the Formovie THEATER is much more accurate post-calibration than this projector.
The XGIMI AURA has a good color gamut. It covers most of the Rec. 709 color space used with SDR content, although it struggles with displaying the wider Rec. 2020 color space.
The projector has three HDMI 2.0 ports, one of which doubles as the eARC port. It also has Bluetooth 5.0 and Wi-Fi support.
