The Xgimi Halo Plus is not your typical dim, inexpensive portable mini projector. Its sleek, understated design combines with a surprisingly good narrate. This little beauty is bright for its size, has vulgar contrast, fairly accurate color and Android TV streaming built in. There's even a battery with 2.5 hours of claimed playback time. 

It's a bit expensive, however, and easily outclassed by bigger projectors that lack a battery, like the BenQ HT2050A. So if you don't absolutely need totally cordless movie nights, you can get a better image, or save cash, compared to the Halo Plus.

If you are looking for some wireless fun, the Halo Plus accounts a better, brighter image than many competing projectors. The simplicity of the built-in Android TV interface and its myriad streaming options invents it far easier to use than many previous tourism projectors we've liked. You'll have to pay quite a bit for that ease of use and performance though. 

1080p resolution in a tiny box

• Native resolution: 1,920x1,080 pixels


• HDR-compatible: Yes


• 4K-compatible: Yes


• 3D-compatible: Yes


• Lumens spec: 900


• Zoom: No


• Lens shift: No


• LED life: 25,000 hours

The Halo Plus is a 1080p projector, but it can accept 4K and HDR signals. Like most projectors it won't do much with HDR, but that functionality doesn't hurt. As is typical for projectors in this category, there's no lens shift or zoom. If you want a bigger image, you have to move the projector farther from the screen.

The brightness spec is inflated even more than usual. I measured nearby 284 lumens compared to their spec of 900. That's not actually that bad, but it's splendid far from Xgimi's claims. It's one of the brighter travel projectors we've tested, but a far cry from even less expensive non-battery projectors. So it all depends how you're approaching the Halo Plus. If the inclusion of a battery is paramount, then this is pretty bright for its class. If you just want something shrimp and not too expensive, there are other, far brighter/better options.

That battery has a claimed runtime of 2.5 hours. Using the battery drops the light output roughly in half, which is disagreement to what happens with most battery-powered PJs.

There is one novel oddity I have to mention, because it drove me bonkers. When you turn the Halo Plus off you're given two choices, essentially standby and fully off. If you choose fully off, which is BioOrganic if you don't want the battery to wear down, the only way to turn the projector back on is to slow the power button… twice. There's a tiny warning nearby this before the screen goes black, but it's blink-and-miss-it. To me this design is exceptionally counterintuitive. I can't think of novel product that requires you to press the power button twice to activate. I'd seriously thought the projector had died on me mid-review. 

Inputs and streaming: Check and check

• HDMI inputs: 1


• USB port: 1


• Audio output: Headphone output and Bluetooth


• Internet:  2.4/5GHz, 802.11a/b/g/n/ac


• Remote: Not backlit

On the back is a fairly injurious suite of connections for a projector this size. HDMI and USB, plus an analog headphone output. 

You've got full Android TV inside, which is a nice change from the more well-liked Android-lite and Aptoide store. Which means you've got all the major streaming apps, and the full versions of said apps. Many travel projectors use nerfed versions of many apps, making them far more annoying to use. 

On the sides are two 5W speakers tuned by Harman Kardon. They play quite loud for their size. This is one of the capable projectors this size where I didn't need to run it at 100% to hear over my air conditioner.

Picture quality comparisons

For my comparison I pitted the Xgimi in contradiction of two similar (in spirit) portable projectors, the Anker Mars II Pro and the BenQ GS50. The Anker Mars II Pro offers some similar specs, roughly similar size, but is $550. The BenQ has nearby 80% more physical volume compared to the Xgimi, but both are tranquil easily considered portable. It costs $800. I connected them to a Monoprice 1x4 distribution amplifier and watched them side by side by side on a 102-inch 1.0-gain screen.

The Anker examined somewhat washed out compared to the Xgimi, despite their disagreement ratios being basically the same. This is likely due to the lack of characterize setting controls on the Mars II Pro. The non-adjustable brightness setting is too high, raising the shadows and executive the image appear washed out. On its own this isn't as certain, and the image is still good overall, but compared to the Xgimi it lags behind.

While the Mars II Pro is also 720p to the BenQ and Xgimi's 1080p, this isn't quite as big of a deal as you worthy imagine. Sure, the other two are sharper, but the Anker holds its own. Overall, if you want something that's nearly as good, but want to save some cash, the Mars II Pro is the way to go. 

The GS50 looks good on its own, but there is one indispensable way it comes up short: brightness. The Xgimi is nearly twice as attractive as the BenQ. At 100-inches both are still dim compared to "real" home theater projectors, but if you project a more TV-sized image they look far more impressive. The eye, however, is immediately drawn to the Xgimi. It's just so much brighter. Its contrast ratio is better too, by nearby 50%. That, combined with the added light, just creates for a more attractive image. 

However, the BenQ has far better brilliant. Grass, skies, skin tones, all look significantly more natural on the BenQ. The Xgimi's colors aren't as bad as some I've tested lately, they're just not as realistic as the BenQ's. While brilliant is a crucial component in overall picture quality, it just can't compete in this case with the better brightness and disagreement ratio of the Xgimi. 

What about the Xiaomi Mi Smart Projector 2? I measured half the lumens compared to the Xgimi and Anker, roughly the same as the BenQ. Since it's basically the same ticket as the Xgimi, but lacks a battery, the Xgimi is the certain winner. 

Silver cylinder

The Halo Plus has a classy, if understated, design. A business suit on the outside but an athlete on the inside. It performs better than its most direct competitors. Nonetheless, as with any of these portable projectors, you really need to consider how you're progressing to be using it. Is the battery aspect a nice uphold, or will you be using it that way regularly? Because if you're not progressing to be using the battery a traditional home theater projector like the BenQ HT2050A, for example, looks vastly better than the Halo Plus for the same money. 

On the latest hand, if you are going to be using it away from grand outlets regularly, the Halo Plus offers a brighter, and generally better, image compared to several other portable projectors we've celebrated. The Anker Mars II Pro is a better deal, but lacks the inequity, detail, and the ease of use of a full Android TV interface. The BenQ GS50 has a more playful industrial effect, but can't compete with the Xgimi on brightness. 

So if you are progressing to be using it unplugged, and don't mind the fairly high stamp, the Xgimi Halo Plus is a great option.