Xgimi Halo+ test: a very nice battery-powered portable video projector

Xgimi has renewed its entire range of video projectors in 2024, and several welcome improvements have seen the light of day. The Halo+ unfortunately does not change its design, unlike the MoGo 3 Pro that we recently tested, but it benefits from Google TV and Netflix natively. If the basic design of the Halo+ is not its strong point, it has another argument to make: it can run on battery! A fairly rare feature since most of its competitors generally require an optional stand or an external battery.

On the technical side, we discover a slightly more high-end 0.33 inch DMD chip and greater brightness (700 ISO lumens announced) than on the MoGo 3 Pro. The definition is Full HD (1920 x 1080 pixels) and the light source uses DLP technology attached to an LED lamp. This projector offers a projection ratio of 1.2:1.

The Halo+ is sold at the recommended price of €700, but be careful, the old model without Google TV can be found for around €550. They should not be confused. It is therefore a little more expensive than the MoGo 3 Pro and around the same price as the Dangbei Atom.

All brightness and colorimetry measurements mentioned in this article were carried out with a SpectraCal C6-HDR probe and CalMAN Ultimate software.

Image quality

It is possible to project an image from 40 to 200 inches with the Halo+, but Xgimi suggests a projection area of ​​60 to 120 inches to achieve optimal results. In order to display (as usual) a 2m base image for our tests, we positioned the projector 2.4m from our canvas. The Full HD image quality is satisfactory, but it is obviously not worth the precision and finesse of 4K video projectors, which are generally much more expensive.

Remember, however, that this type of video projector is made to be taken everywhere, or even used as a secondary screen at home, in a bedroom for example. You shouldn't necessarily expect the capabilities of a Hisense C1, a Dangbei Mars Pro 2 or an ultra short throw model, such as the Formovie Theater.

As on the MoGo 3 Pro, there are only three predefined profiles on the Halo+: Standard, Office and Game. It is the Office mode which offers the best calibration out of the box with an average delta E of 5.4 and a temperature average color of 7350 K. This is well above the reference values ​​(delta E of 3 and temperature at 6500 K), but unfortunately very often the weakness of video projectors, even more high-end ones.

The result will therefore be too cold, while the red and blue tints will clearly drift. For tinkerers and those with a little equipment, it will however be possible to finely adjust the saturation, hue and luminance sliders to best calibrate the Xgimi Halo+.

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2. Average temperature 7352 K 1. Average Delta E SDR 5.4 3. Average gamma 2.27

We set the gamma to Dark to make the curve as close to 2.2 as possible. Our probe then indicates a gamma of 2.27, which is rather good, even if it lacks a little stability. The “intermediate” gamma offered in the menus is too light.

Otherwise, we measured a contrast of 390:1 which is not very high in absolute terms. The contrasts are better than on the MoGo 3 Pro which topped out at 257:1, but far from more high-end models like the Hisense C1 which climbs to 1340:1, or short focal length products which exceed 2000:1 (Formovie Theater and Cinema Edge, Hisense PL1…). It is generally on this point that the different price ranges are established.

HDR

The Halo+ is HDR10 compatible, so you can enjoy HDR with compatible streaming services or external HDMI sources. We noted a maximum brightness of 62 cd/m², again a little higher than on the MoGo 3 Pro (42 cd/m²), but well below more expensive models. You will therefore have to watch your films and series in the dark to enjoy them, or at least dim the lighting as much as possible so as not to degrade the viewing experience.

It is possible to display a brighter rendering by choosing the Standard profile rather than Desktop, but the colorimetric drifts become too significant and we do not recommend this route. We are used to it on video projectors, but the reference EOTF curve is only followed well up to 30%.

Finally, the Rec space. 2020 is covered at 62%, compared to 82% for DCI-P3 which is much more widespread in cinemas, remember. The delta E in HDR explodes to reach an average of 12, and we cannot say that Halo+ is faithful in this mode.

Construction & Ergonomie

The Xgimi Halo+ is a very compact model and easily transportable in a backpack since it measures only 17 cm high, 11 cm wide and 14 cm deep. Its weight is also quite light at 1.6 kg on the scale.

As we wrote in the introduction, the Halo+ unfortunately does not benefit from a small facelift this year, unlike most of the brand's other models. It's a shame, because the new design of the MoGo 3 Pro brings a lot compared to that of the MoGo 2 Pro, aesthetically firstly, but also on the practical side with an integrated adjustable foot. You will therefore have to make do with the (very slight) tilt adjustment offered by the small wedge located under the video projector.

Fortunately, automatic keystone correction works very well at Xgimi, and you can position the Halo+ in different places in the room without worrying about being perfectly aligned with the projection screen. Focusing is also done automatically. Here again, it's flawless.

For connectivity, you will have to make do with the few ports present on picoprojectors of this type: an eArc compatible HDMI port, a USB-A 2.0, a headphone output and… that's it, although sufficient for most users. For the rest, wifi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0 are included.

If the design has not changed compared to the previous generation, the software part is very different since we now benefit from a real Google TV interface compatible with Netflix. Big downside of the latest Halo and MoGo, this is excellent news, Netflix remaining the most widely used streaming platform. Other apps are also available, such as Amazon Prime Video, Molotov, Arte, Canal+, Disney+, etc.

Xgimi's remote control is the same on its portable video projectors and it is always well finished with some classic shortcuts to YouTube, Prime Video and now Netflix. It still lacks a backlight to better enjoy it in the dark.

Noise

Having measured barely 31.5 dB at 1 m from the projector, it therefore turns out to be very quiet. On the other hand, the breathing is not regular and we therefore notice it more than on other models.

Video game

With 60 Hz refresh and input lag (display delay) of 44 ms, the Halo+ is not really dedicated to video games, like most of its competitors currently. There will therefore be several images of delay between the moment we press a button on the controller and its impact on the screen. This may not be too disruptive for solo games, or even a Mario Kart between friends, but more complicated for online multiplayer.

Consumption

If the MoGo 3 Pro has switched to the USB-C standard with a very practical charging block, the Xgimi Halo+ makes do with a rather bulky proprietary charger. On our test pattern, this video projector consumes 58 W, which remains very light, some larger models can exceed 200 W.

A bonus battery

One of the advantages of the Halo+ compared to the MoGo and many competitors is the presence of a battery integrated into the video projector. How to watch films outdoors or without having to lug around the power supply? Not really since we saw barely 1 hour 1 minute of battery life in standard brightness mode. By unplugging the Halo, it automatically switches to Eco mode, which undoubtedly allows you to enjoy it for longer, but the brightness is greatly reduced. We can therefore watch an episode of a series quite comfortably, but forget about it. Lord of the Rings in a long version without taking the charger (oh sadness).