The XGIMI Halo+ is a 1080p HDR10/HLG projector. The projector comes with a full suite of image correction technologies, including autofocus, intelligent screen adjustment, and auto keystone correction with object avoidance, so it compensates for any geometry errors in the image automatically. It adjusts itself when it detects objects in the frame. It has Android TV with Chromecast and AirScreen built-in and supports Bluetooth 5.0/BLE and Wi-Fi. It has one HDMI port and can passthrough advanced audio formats from DTS and Dolby through eARC. Finally, it has two integrated 5W Harman/Kardon speakers.
Our Verdict
The XGIMI Halo Plus is unremarkable for watching movies. It has okay contrast but mediocre peak brightness, so it looks its best in dark rooms, even with its visibly raised blacks. Unfortunately, this projector's pre-calibration accuracy is quite poor, but you can greatly improve its image accuracy with the limited calibration options. It has a wide color gamut, although the projector isn't bright enough to make its colors truly pop. Finally, fan noise is also noticeable at max brightness, although easily tuned out by audio.
- Full suite of smart features and wireless connectivity options.
- Extremely portable due its small size and integrated battery.
- Poor pre-calibration color accuracy, so you really need to calibrate this projector if you care about color accuracy.
Doesn't passthrough any lossless audio format.
The XGIMI Halo+ is an unremarkable portable gaming projector. The projector accepts a 4k @ 60Hz signal but scales it to its native 1080p, and it doesn't support 120Hz. Input lag in Game Mode is sub-par; it will do in a pinch for slower single-player titles, but most gamers will be unhappy with the unit's responsiveness. Brightness is mediocre, although it isn't bad considering that the unit is a very compact LED model. Contrast is alright; again, not bad considering what the projector is, but the black floor is raised, so darker games look gray in a dark room. Fan noise is also noticeable at max brightness, although easily tuned out by game audio.
- Full suite of smart features and wireless connectivity options.
- Extremely portable due its small size and integrated battery.
- Poor pre-calibration color accuracy, so you really need to calibrate this projector if you care about color accuracy.
Latency is too high for any serious gaming.
Limited resolution and refresh rate support.
Changelog
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Updated Oct 20, 2025:
Mentioned the newly reviewed Epson EpiqVision Mini EF21 in the Contrast section of this review.
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Updated Oct 10, 2025:
We've added Imaging, Optics, Noise, Supported Resolutions, HDR Format Support, 3D, Input Lag, and Audio Passthrough boxes as a result of our latest test bench. We've also added a Gaming usage in the Verdict section.
- Updated Oct 03, 2025: We've converted the review to Test Bench 0.10, which updates our Design tests, and adds a whole new suite of Inputs tests. We also added new gaming-oriented usage scores in Our Verdict. See the 0.10 changelog.
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Updated Aug 27, 2025:
We mentioned the newly reviewed Anker Nebula Mars 3 and added a mention of it in the Portability section.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We tested the XGIMI Halo projector, which succeeds the XGIMI Halo. The newer Halo Plus has a higher brightness rating than its predecessor, has MEMC motion smoothing technology, and can passthrough DTS-HD and DTS-Studio Sound through its eARC port.
| Model | Brightness | MEMC | ARC/eARC |
|---|---|---|---|
| XGIMI Halo+ | 700 lumens | Yes | eARC |
| XGIMI Halo | 600 lumens | No | ARC |
You can see the label here.
Popular Projector Comparisons
The XGIMI Halo Plus is unremarkable for watching movies but is a good choice at its price point as it's better than other similarly priced portable projectors like the Samsung The Freestyle 2nd Gen or the Anker Nebula Capsule 3. Still, if you don't need an integrated battery, the XGIMI Elfin is almost as good and a bit cheaper.
Check out our recommendations for the best portable projectors, the best outdoor projectors, and the best home projectors. If you'd prefer to shop for another product in the same price range, look up the best projectors under $1,000 instead.
The XGIMI HORIZON Pro is slightly better than the XGIMI Halo+, although the Halo+ is the more portable projector due to its lighter weight and integrated battery. Outside of portability, both projectors have similar characteristics, although the HORIZON Pro projects a sharper image due to its pixel-shifting technology. The HORIZON Pro is also brighter than the Halo+, but the Halo+ has slightly better contrast.
The XGIMI Halo+ is a bit better than the XGIMI Elfin, but unfortunately, the Halo+ really needs to be calibrated if you care about image accuracy, as it is inaccurate otherwise. Still, the Halo+ has better brightness and contrast than the Elfin, a slightly wider color gamut, and is even more portable due to the inclusion of an integrated battery.
The XGIMI Halo+ is better than the Samsung The Freestyle 2nd Gen. The XGIMI is much brighter and has better contrast than the Samsung, so it projects a much more vibrant image. The Samsung is, however, vastly more accurate than the XGIMI, so you might prefer it if you care about image accuracy.
The Epson EpiqVision Mini EF12 and XGIMI Halo+ have different strengths. They're both small and light projectors, but the XGIMI is even smaller, and it has an integrated battery, making it more portable than the Epson. Regarding image quality, the XGIMI has better contrast and a wider color gamut than the Epson, but the Epson is the vastly more accurate projector. Thus, the XGIMI is better suited for contexts where image accuracy doesn't matter as much, like projecting on the side of a van when camping. The Epson is better if you can access an outlet and project on a good-quality screen.
We've independently bought and tested over 60 projectors, and we've published all the detailed results for each so you can decide which one to buy. These have all been tested under the same standardized methodology, allowing you to compare them side by side. We still have all these projects in our lab so we can continually go back and compare them to ensure our reviews are still accurate. All our test methodology is also public on our website, so you can validate the results yourself.
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Test Results
The projector's peak brightness is mediocre. It's bright enough to look good in a dark room, but it's too dim for a pleasant viewing experience when a few lights are present. It has fantastic brightness uniformity, so the sides of the projection don't show any noticeable differences in brightness when compared to the center. If you're not satisfied with this level of brightness, check out the brighter XGIMI HORIZON instead.
This projector has an okay contrast ratio, leading to a somewhat pleasant viewing experience in dark rooms, although it does have visibly raised blacks. The contrast on this unit is much better than on the Epson EpiqVision Mini EF21, but if you'd like even better blacks, consider the LG CineBeam Q instead.
This projector has poor pre-calibration color accuracy. Most colors have extremely noticeable accuracy errors, sometimes even looking like totally different colors than they should be, and the projector's white balance is completely off; reds and blues are overrepresented in all shades of gray, more so in the whites. The projector's color temperature is good, although it is too warm out of the box.
The XGIMI Halo Plus only has 1-point white balance calibration, but it's enough to significantly improve the projector's color accuracy. After calibration, colors still show many accuracy errors, but the white balance is fantastic, and the color temperature is almost right on target.
The projector has a wide color gamut. It covers nearly all of the Rec. 709 color space used with SDR content, although its blues, purples, and reds are inaccurate. It also does a decent job with the wider Rec. 2020 color space.
This 1080p DLP projector uses an LED bulb as its light source, and it is rated for up to 25,000 hours by the manufacturer, so you likely won't ever have to worry about replacing it.
The projector has a fixed 1.20:1 throw with no zoom or lens shift and only Auto Focus and Auto Keystone. Here are some lens-to-screen distances to help with your setup:
- 80" screen: ~6.97 ft
- 100" screen: ~8.72 ft
- 120" screen: ~10.5 ft
The projector has a fairly lightweight design and has an integrated battery, so it's easy to carry around. It has full auto keystone correction, autofocus, intelligent screen alignment, and obstacle avoidance, so you don't need to do manual image corrections on this projector, making it easy to set up. The projector has two 5W Harman/Kardon speakers, so you won't need to worry about connecting it to a soundbar or audio system when bringing it with you.
If you like this unit's portability but would like it to be more robust, check out the Anker Nebula Mars 3 instead.
The XGIMI Halo+ is reasonably quiet for a small LED portable. The fan is audible at full brightness in a silent room, but it fades under normal TV/game audio at typical seating distances.
The XGIMI Halo Plus also supports Bluetooth 5.0/BLE and has Wi-Fi 5.
The projector accepts 4k signals but scales them to 1080p. Although the EDID advertises RGB at 1080p @ 60Hz, text looks fuzzy, so it isn't rendering true 4:4:4 chroma.
The projector's input lag is subpar in Game Mode, so it isn't optimal for gaming. Still, in a pinch, it's fine for some single-player titles, but serious gamers should look elsewhere.
The XGIMI Halo+ has a single HDMI port with ARC. You can plug a soundbar/AVR into that port, and the projector will send audio from its built-in Android TV apps back over ARC. There's no way to connect an external HDMI source to the projector and have its audio forwarded to the soundbar, as there isn't a second HDMI input to route through, and the ARC link doesn't relay third-party inputs. In our tests, ARC from the internal apps output stereo LPCM; multichannel/lossless formats didn't pass.
The projector supports 3D, with Side-by-Side, Top-and-Bottom, plus 3D-to-2D conversion for both.
