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Android’s reign in Europe goes far beyond mobile phones, and we’ve seen it in areas like Android TV. This operating system designed specifically for televisions also falls into a sister category, such as projectors, and in recent months we have been testing various models.
One of the brands that we have put forward the most is Xgimi. The Chinese projector manufacturer had already surprised us with its exceptional Halo model, and we really wanted to know what they are capable of in their most ambitious models.
We’ve spent the last few weeks testing its two best projectors yet, although today we’re focusing on its most ambitious model, called the Aura. Unsurprisingly, Xgimi claims it’s so powerful that it could be your next TV, a statement that didn’t leave us indifferent at all. Will it live up to expectations?
A projector that aspires to be the center of our living room
When we analyzed the Xgimi Halo, we highlighted its small size as one of its key factors, as it was easy to pick up with one hand and carry and take it anywhere. The Xgimi Aura is directly at the other extreme, and its size and weight make it very difficult to transport.
Measuring 606 x 401 x 139.5mm and weighing 14.93kg, it is a projector designed to be left in one place in the house and to be its location almost permanently. In that sense, it’s not much different from the TVs it intends to replace, beyond giving your home a cleaner style if you have sleek white walls. It even looks diaphanous, but the look of the projector itself doesn’t lend itself to that.
On the front we appreciate its powerful sound system.
In a combination of black and silver, the Xgimi Aura stands out right out of the box, and it’s not easy for everyone to identify it as a spotlight until you turn it on. This is partly due not only to its size and shape so different from that of a traditional projector.
That’s because it’s an ultrashort-throw monitor. But what does this mean exactly? Well, instead of having to place the projector several meters from the wall like a traditional projector, you have to keep it close to the wall where you want to project the image.
Official Xgimi Aura Dimensions Guide
The farther away the projector is from the wall, the greater the projection will be. The crucial difference is in the distance required to achieve a suitable size. At 10 centimeters from the wall we will have an 80 inch screen, while if we move it 44 centimeters away we will reach a size of 150 inches.
With keystone correction, we can make an adjustment that is suitable for our wall.
The short distance offers key benefits, such as the ability to achieve gigantic screen sizes in very small rooms, easier adaptation of the furniture to a movie theater experience, and the freedom to walk through anywhere in the house without cutting off projection, one of the classic drawbacks of long-standing projectors.
As the light is emitted from the base towards the wall diagonally, it is possible that if we get close (for example, to connect something to the HDMI) we receive a flash of light which can damage our eyes. The Xgimi Aura has a system capable of reducing the light emitted if you place yourself on it to avoid injuring the eyes.
User experience: quality and connectivity
As for the image quality, it did not convince us as much as we hoped. While testing more modest projector models, we noticed that we needed rooms with poor lighting to have a good viewing experience. And we were hoping the Xgimi Aura could put an end to the myth that spotlights are designed to be used exclusively in the dark.
With the promise of wanting to replace our next TV and an ANSI 2400 nits brightness, our expectation was that we could use the projector in our living room without ever missing the TV, and luckily that didn’t.
While any kind of colorful content looks really good in well-lit rooms, as we switch to traditional TV content like watching news, it becomes difficult to watch at a TV-like color level. . In order for Xgimi to comply with the replacement meaning of television, we consider it essential that it comply in all cases of equal or greater use of television, and having to lower the blinds during lunch to be able to watch. television is not a scenario in which it stands out.
When night comes, we notice how the Aura forces begin to shine. Thanks to 4K, we can have gigantic screen sizes without appreciating the loss of definition, occupying almost the entire wall without loss. The colors look great for a movie theater experience, but we enjoyed a sort of halo of light around bright images in dark scenes (e.g. letters from subtitles), something is okay, but it takes it away from excellence.
The famous gotele walls are not ideal for ultrashort projectors.
During the projection, we noticed that it is essential to have a smooth wall. It seems obvious, but the Gotele painting style continues to be prevalent in millions of Spanish homes, and while in a traditional projector it is slightly noticeable and does not cause much discomfort, the projection angle of the ultrashort projector makes it each grain of the wall leaves a shadow which makes the projection annoying. If your house has walls like this and you go for a model like this, you will need a projection screen surface.
In terms of sound quality, we would say this is the most powerful aspect of the Xgimi Aura. We’ve got four 15W Harman Kardon speakers that put the finishing touches on a cinematic experience. In terms of power, we have more than enough to cause a scandal even in large rooms, although if we prefer to go with our personal audio system, we also have a choice.
In addition to Bluetooth connectivity, we have a 3.5mm jack and optical audio output. These are some of the output ports, an aspect the Aura doesn’t miss out on, as it also comes with an Ethernet port, three USB 2.0, and three HDMI 2.0.
Thanks to the game mode, playing 100 inches without latency issues is a reality.
Each of the HDMI has its own configuration built into the system, and that is if we connect, for example, the console to the HDMI 1 port and select game mode as the display mode (which eliminates all types of processing to reduce the latency and which makes it comfortable to play) said mode will be used only in this port and will revert to cinema mode when we switch to another HDMI port.
Android TV with a significant absence
In Android TV we have options like 3D video (for which you will need glasses)
The Xgimi Aura is a projector that integrates Android TV into the device, as well as a MediaTek MT9629 processor, 2 GB of RAM and 32 GB of internal storage to install all the apps you want. Android TV version is 10.0 and supports Chromecast built-in so we can send content from mobile.
To control the system we have a control that stands out for its build quality, being made of aluminum. We have the classic Android controls, as well as direct access to quick settings.
The system works great, but we have one key limitation and that is that it is not certified for Netflix. Using an application known as Desktop Manager, we can install the mobile version of Netflix inside the projector which is manageable but does not give us the experience of the suitable version for TV. . This limitation only conflicts with Netflix and its content delivery network, so if you don’t subscribe to this service, the other alternatives work just fine.
In my case, Android TV tiptoed, and I ended up going with a Fire TV.
But what solutions do you have if Netflix is important to you? Well, beyond using this version of the app, you can use third-party devices (in my case I’m using an Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max for its integration with Alexa), but that raises a question. Is there any added value in Android TV if later you are going to connect a third party system via HDMI? The absence of Netflix and this type of solution opens up a range for us to try projectors of a more traditional nature which also benefit from this type of dongles.
Why choose between a television and a projector when you can have both at a lower cost?
The Xgimi Aura is a projector that costs 2,500 dollars. After weeks of extensive testing, this is a price that’s hard to justify. Being a short throw product has great advantages, like being able to have a gigantic screen in small rooms, as well as its sound system.
If having a 100-150 inch screen with no loss of quality in any room is your top priority, the Xgimi Aura becomes an important product to consider.
However, 2,500 dollars is a lot of money and it has come a long way. With them you can have an OLED TV, the Xgimi Halo that we loved so much and we would still have money left over, without having to debate whether a projector can replace a TV and have the best of both worlds.
- Xgimi Aura on its official website.
- Xgimi Aura on PC components.
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