Is this XGIMI Halo True 800 ANSI portable mini projector good for gaming or workout classes? XGIMI has worked together with the experts to enhance the acoustics of the dual speakers, providing exquisite and crisp high-end sound quality. The spectacular audio will make you feel more immersed when watching movies and can make you forget about your surroundings when listening to your favorite playlist. It has True 3D and Full HD projection with native resolution of 1080P and 800 ANSI lumens of brightness, Halo provides Full HD image which is 225% clearer than mainstream 720p projectors. Get more in XGIMI Halo True 800 ANSI portable mini projector review.
Pros & Cons – XGIMI Halo True 800 ANSI portable mini projector
Pros
- Long-life LED light engine
- Battery-powered
- Full HD 1080p resolution
- Great portability
- Android TV streaming platform
- Harman Kardon speaker system
- Effective auto-focus
Cons
- Software letdowns
- Slow to start
- No Netflix app
- Dark scene issues
Specs – XGIMI Halo True 800 ANSI portable mini projector
- Native 1080p resolution
- 800 ANSI lumens (600 ANSI lumens on battery)
- Lamp type: LED
- 2 x 5W Harman Kardon speakers
- Throw ratio: 1.20:1
- Android TV 9.0 OS
- 5400mAh battery
- +/-40-degree 4-point auto vertical keystone and manual horizontal keystone
- 10,000-point whole-screen autofocus
- Projector technology: DLP
- Inputs/outputs (I/O): 1 x HDMI, 1 x USB, 1 x 3.5mm audio output
- Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
- 3D support for watching 3D Blu-rays
- Dimensions: 4.47 x 5.71 x 6.75 inches
- Weight: 3.52 pounds
- Hardware: AMlogic T950x2 SoC, 16GB ROM, 2GB RAM
- In the box: Xgimi Halo projector, remote control, power cord
Price – XGIMI Halo True 800 ANSI portable mini projector
At $799, this XGIMI Halo won’t stand out as a budget product, though it’s actually on the affordable end for native 1080p projectors. There are a few other portable 1080p models on the market, but they pale in comparison to the Halo’s 800-lumen max brightness (which, admittedly, drops to 600 when running on battery).
The XGIMI Halo is available now for $799 in the US, £729 in the UK, and AU$1,399 in Australia. You can find it on XGIMI.com or Amazon.
For higher-specified models, you may want to consider the XGIMI Horizon, an HD beamer with a $1,099 / £1,099 price tag – or the Horizon Pro 4K projector for $1,699 / £1,699.
Power consumption
The Halo consumed a maximum of 70 watts of power at full blast and 0.5 watts while idle. This adds up to an annual electrical bill of about $15 if it’s used for 8 hours a day for 200 days a year and you pay the national average of 13 cents per kilowatt hour of power.
Compare XGIMI Halo True 800 ANSI portable mini projector vs MoGo Pro+
| Model | MoGo Pro+ | Halo |
| Light Source | LED | LED |
| Brightness | 300 ANSI Lumens | 600-800 ANSI Lumens |
| Contrast | 1,000:1 | 1,000:1 |
| 3D | Yes | Yes |
| Display Chip | 0.23″ DMD | 0.33″ DMD |
| Speakers | 3W x 2 | 5W x 2 |
| Weight | 1.98 lbs | 3.52 lbs |
| Warranty | One (1) Year | One (1) Year |
XGIMI Halo True 800 ANSI portable mini projector review
Build
It’s built out of hard plastics, the color scheme and shape can almost pass for something more premium in build, particularly with the grille design wrapping around the front and sides of the device.
Design
Shaped like a rectangular tower, the 4.5 x 4.7 x 6.8-inch projector easily fits into a backpack. However, it comes without a handle, travel pouch or lens cap that you might find with other portables.
Roughly, it is half the size of a typical shoe box. In that space, XGIMI has fit a Full HD DLP projection system, an autofocus sensor, a pair of Harman Kardon-tuned 5W speakers, a battery, and all the smarts necessary to run Android TV along with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity. The whole device weighs just 1.6 kilograms, making it readily portable.
Distance
Able to deliver a 44-inch image from 46-inches away, or an 80-inch image from 7 feet, the Halo tops out at a 25-foot image, according to XGIMI. It’s really suitable only to about 8 or 9-feet, which is actually quite good for such a small projector.
Connectors
The Halo has an adequate assortment of connections with an HDMI input, USB Type A port and a headphone jack that can be used to drive external speakers. It lacks an SD card slot, a feature that’s common among late generation pico projectors, but its USB port can show videos and images or play audio files.
Lumens
Don’t let its rated 600 to 800 ANSI lumens of brightness scare you: the Halo still puts out more light than most pico-projectors and works well on all but the sunniest days with the blinds up. In other words, few pico-projectors put it all together in such an appealing, graceful and useable package as the Halo does.
XGIMI Halo ANSI Lumens
| OFFICE | VIDEO | ENERGY SAVING | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bright | 536 | 432 | 113 |
| Standard | 642 | 498 | 132 |
| Soft | 451 | 376 | 94 |
| Office | 582 | 470 | 113 |
| Gaming | 620 | 479 | 122 |
DLP
The light beams are bounced off a 0.33-inch Digital Light Processing (DLP) imaging chip, through its output lens and onto the screen. With lighting components rated to last 30,000 hours, the projector will never need a new lamp and doesn’t have a dust filter, making the Halo ultra-reliable and cheap to use.
Contrast
Contrast is generally good, with plenty of detail across the picture, although blacks can verge towards being grey. And, it’s easier to watch something dark and moody when it’s darker, as you can lose some detail when lighting is brighter.
3D capabilities in XGIMI Halo True 800 ANSI portable mini projector
While 3D capabilities are common on most home theatre projectors, it’s a rarity among portable projectors. However, the Xgimi Halo includes 3D support for watching 3D Blu-rays. I hooked up my PlayStation 3 game console and popped in a 3D Blu-ray of “Captain America: The First Avenger.” Watching through a pair of Boblov 3D glasses, I was pleased with visual quality. Although the video does get dim, that’s universal for active 3D. I didn’t notice any crosstalk. You can select from several different 3D modes including side-by-side, top-and-bottom, and two different 3D to 2D modes for converting 3D Blu-rays to 2D. Virtually any active shutter DLP Link 3D glasses should pair perfectly with the Xgimi Halo.
Audio
Sound is a genuine consideration when buying a portable projector. While we’d always recommend upping the ante with a soundbar, headphones or wireless speaker, the 2x 5W Harman Kardon sound system in the Xgimi Halo is largely well appointed and makes an acceptable stopgap for AV and music listening needs.
The Bumblebee soundtrack is a pleasure to listen to through the projector alone. Steve Winwood’s Higher Love provides a real moment of joy as Charlie drives away in her first car, thanks to the decent dynamic ability of the system. There’s plenty of weight and a clear tonal balance that never threatens to get too bright even when we push the volume towards its limits.
Resolution
The 16:9 output has full HD resolution of 1920×1080, rather than the 1280×800 or 1280×720 (720p) resolution found on many other high-def portables. It also works with 4K HDR input signals but converts the material to its native resolution.
Keystone
The projector also supports automatic vertical keystone adjustment along with manual control for both horizontal and vertical keystone, up to 40 degrees, and digital zoom to shrink the image. Throughout our testing, we never notice issues with our manual focus changing during use.
Remote
The remote has buttons for turning the projector on and off, opening the Menu, changing the input, adjusting the volume or focusing the image. If you like, you can use Google Assistant to speak commands directly into the remote control, like “mute” or “turn up the volume,” but I found its response to commands like “pause” or “play” a bit spotty.
The Android TV Remote app worked even better. I loaded it on my Samsung Galaxy Note 20 phone, connected with the projector’s Bluetooth and had full control. The app allowed me to navigate within Android TV and enter data with the thumb keyboard on the phone’s screen.
Battery
There’s a battery built-in, which gives between two and four hours of playback, depending on what you’re watching and the projector’s settings. I found it good enough to get through an average-length film, but realistically you’ll need a power supply to watch multiple things or even something a bit longer.
The battery inside will give you up to 4 hours of video content or up to 8 hours of music listening. So you won’t be watching movies all throughout a camping trip, but you will get at least one in or simply a lot of music listening.
Gaming – XGIMI Halo True 800 ANSI portable mini projector
Putting the Xgimi Halo into its game mode provides its lowest input lag which clocks in around 35 to 40ms. That’s not ultra-low latency gaming suitable for hardcore gamers, but it’s fast enough for casual offline or online single-player and multi-player games. I fired up some Red Dead Redemption and had no issues with latency. With no noticeable input lag, gaming on the Xgimi Halo is immersive.
Apps
Halo’s Android computer has access to more than 5,000 apps from the Google Play store that range from education and entertainment to business and sports. It, however, lacks apps for Netflix and viewing my local TV stations on Cablevision. I used Amazon Prime Video, BBC America, YouTube, Kanopy, Curiosity Stream, Hulu, MLB.TV and others without a problem.
Settings
The Image Settings include Bright, Standard, Soft, Office and Game, although the final setting only works with an HDMI source, not Android apps. There’s also a customized setting for making the projector your own with adjustments for Brightness, Contrast, Saturation, Sharpness, noise reduction and color temperature. It lacks individual color level controls.
XGIMI Halo True 800 ANSI portable mini projector customer review
SO happy with my Halo!
I did so much research trying to find the perfect projector for indoor use in my basement as well as for a large inflatable projector for our pool outdoors. The XGIMI Halo is hands down one of the best investments! It is so portable, great quality, very user friendly, and extremely pleased with the brightness of the screen even with moderate light in the room. If you’re in between the Halo and the MoGo, I highly recommend making the extra splurge and investing in the Halo. You won’t be disappointed! Oh and I would also recommend getting the XGIMI X-Desktop Tripod. I was debating whether we needed it, but it makes positioning the projector so much easier. Thanks, XGIMI!
By Jenna Quinn at XGIMI
Great little projector
I love this thing. It’s smaller then I thought it would be. The UI is okay, I am running a chromecast through it and turned the wifi off. I wish the speakers were better. Very treble based and not Bassy. I wish there was an equalizer for the sound. I would like to adjust that for my room. And the keystone correction is impressive but you definitely lose resolution when you do it. Also it has a zoom in function which its great but it still projects the full frame so you end up with a letterboxed effect which is not awful just slightly annoying. All in all though I truly believe this to be the most advance projector in its class. I wish there was a way to check the brightness as well and play with it in lumens. More setting options would be great. 4 stars though, no regrets.
By Michael at XGIMI
Editor’s recommendations
- XGIMI Halo vs MoGo Pro difference – can you watch Netflix?
- YEHUA mini projector review – can you watch Netflix?
- MVV 1080p WiFi projector review – how to setup Bluetooth projector for iPhone?
- VIVIMAGE Explore 2 mini WiFi projector review – how to setup and connect to WiFi?
- TMY WiFi projector with 100′′ screen reviews – does it connect to iPhone?
