Xgimi’s latest 4K projector is super bright for the price

Home projector upstart Xgimi just announced its new Horizon Ultra model, dubbed the “world’s first 4K long-throw projector with Dolby Vision.” While I wouldn’t hold out too much hope for the device to produce an image with jaw-dropping HDR, it’s certainly a very bright all-in-one Android TV 11 projector for well below $2,000.

The Horizon Ultra uses a new “Dual Light” laser and LED hybrid light source to produce 2,300 ISO lumens. That’s a 77 percent increase in brightness compared to the reasonably bright (1,760 ISO lumens) Xgimi Horizon Pro projector I reviewed a few years ago. Of course, that brightness is measured at the bulb, and the image brightness falls off considerably the farther away you move the unit in order to grow the display to its 200-inch suggested maximum. That, in addition to lacking the ability to turn off individual pixels to create true blacks, is why you should be skeptical about HDR offering any noticeable improvements on projectors, especially in this price range.

Nevertheless, it’s a very bright home theater projector for $1,699, which should help it better cope in average living rooms that suffer from lots of ambient light creeping in around windows. It also looks great, in my opinion, especially when compared to projectors from industry stalwarts like Epson and BenQ.

As Xgimi’s flagship projector, the Horizon Ultra features updated Intelligent Screen Adaptation 3.0 tech, which can automatically optimize the image (brightness, contrast, color, focus, keystone, and zoom) when the projector is moved and as the ambient light changes throughout the day and night. It can now also adjust the image based on the color of the wall itself. In fact, the company says that Horizon Ultra offers the company’s “best color accuracy to date.”

And because it’s Xgimi, the Horizon Ultra is fitted with a pair of 12W Harman / Kardon speakers. Other specs include an operating noise level of less than 28dB, power dissipation of less than 280W, automatic eye protection, a Bluetooth remote, dual-band Wi-Fi 6 support, optical audio out, and a pair of HDMI ports (one with eARC). A gaming mode offers 18ms latency with support for 4K at 60Hz.