The Xgimi Halo portable projector has made me want to watch movies in the park or play games while barbecuing in the yard. However, you may be wondering who Xgimi is in the first place: the company has been manufacturing projectors since 2013 and already offers a wide range of products.

The Halo portable projector is in the middle of Xgimi's product line and compared to what is offered on the market. While it may not have the connectivity, resolution, or refresh rate that a high-end non-portable projector has, it is a good contender when it comes to similarly priced 1080p projectors.

First of all, its design is both pretty and sleek. It is easy to hold in one hand and is made of high-quality materials. The perforated aluminum shell looks like a portable speaker and performs well as a stand-alone Bluetooth speaker. However, the sound produced by the two gorgeous 5W Harman Kardon speakers confirms that the Halo is more than just a portable speaker.

If you want to use the Xgimi Halo fully as a projector, it takes about 40 seconds to boot up and come into focus. This may seem like a long time when you are itching to play the latest games, but once powered on, it is responsive and takes advantage of the user-friendly Android 9.0 interface.

One annoying drawback is that the autofocus feature, which works with a small camera on the front, has a habit of seemingly refocusing randomly. Thankfully, the focus can be set manually by navigating the UI or by switching the plus and minus buttons on the remote control from volume to focus.

When the device is angled at an angle from the surface being projected, it is possible to play with the vertical and horizontal keystone settings. However, this feature has its limitations and unfortunately does not work at all in game mode. To project a game, one must find a perfectly parallel location. However, it helps that it can be attached to a universal mount, and it also has small extendable feet to stand it on a flat surface so the angle can be adjusted correctly.

Thanks to its obelisk-like shape (as opposed to the squashed appearance of many competitors), the Xgimi Halo can also be laid on its back and projected on the ceiling. Because of its rounded edges, it shakes when someone taps on its surface. Because the exhaust vent is located on the back, it is not recommended for long-term use.

The exhaust fan runs quiet enough, but does generate some heat at full load. Once turned off, however, the Halo continues to cool itself, helping to extend the lamp's rated 30,000-hour life. Not bad considering that similar products are rated between 4,000 and 20,000 hours.

Halo's 0.33" DLP displays use red, green, and blue LEDs through a fixed lens to achieve a projection ratio of 1.2:1. This allows for images from 30 to 300 inches (76.2 to 762 cm), but the pixels are quite coarse at 1080p. Still, viewing in a 100-inch wall space means that Halo only needs to be placed about 2.67 meters (8.7 feet) away, so a cinematic experience can be achieved in a relatively small space.

The projector's colors are vibrant and not washed out, and Halo allows you to fully adjust the image settings to suit you. Several preset image modes can also be selected, including a "gaming" mode that prioritizes input latency. If you are so inclined, you can also set custom brightness settings and rename them. It plays media in 3D and can arrange images side-by-side or top-to-bottom, which is a bit of a novelty.

Brightness, at up to 800 ANSI lumens, is not the brightest, but Xgimi says it is the brightest 1080p portable projector available. Whether or not that is true, it is bright enough for outdoor viewing, even in daylight. Battery life is about three hours in standard mode (the brightest mode), which may not be enough to watch an extended version of "The Lord of the Rings," but it is long enough to watch at least one standard-length movie. After a few hours, however, the monitor goes into energy-saving mode, the brightness is significantly reduced, and the colors turn yellowish.

As a smart Android device, Halo can connect and stream over Wi-Fi from all kinds of services. In other words, you can watch what you did last time wherever you are, as long as you have an Internet connection. Sadly, the Netflix app is not yet supported, but thanks to Halo's Chromecast feature and Kodi compatibility, this problem can be worked around. These may not be the most practical workarounds, but until Xgimi manages to procure a license, Netflix will not be available natively.

USB devices can also be connected, so the Amazon Fire Stick will work fine. There are also numerous media players in the Android Store, so you can watch whatever you've already downloaded; the Halo's small aluminum frame has 16 GB of storage space, so you can store movies on it.

Now, most importantly, I tested Halo to see if input lag would be an issue, assuming I would be playing games on it. With gaming mode turned on, there is a lag of about 40 milliseconds. This is better than its little sister, the MoGo Pro, but still not ideal for online multiplayer battles where every millisecond counts.

This verdict is underscored by Halo's baseline 60Hz refresh. Compared to the 120Hz of the similarly priced Optoma GT1080HDR, it looks rather anemic. However, this is not to say that the Xgimi Halo does not offer a great gaming experience. It is fine for most single players, but don't expect intense competitive games.

However, if image fidelity is your primary concern, Halo's resolution is 1080p. And while it supports 4K input, output is limited to FHD. Therefore, no matter how far away the projector is placed, it will not provide the same level of detail as a true 4K projector. However, 1080p is a good resolution for a portable beamer in this class.

Comparing the Halo to other portable 1080p projectors, such as the Epson Home Cinema (about $800 in the same price range), it becomes clear what Xgimi focused its design efforts on: adaptability, portability, brightness, and durability.

Against the 4.2ms latency, 240Hz, and 4K resolution of the higher-end Optoma UHD38, you can see what you get for a few hundred dollars more. But spending money on a higher-spec projector would sacrifice the practical portability of a Halo.

The Xgimi Halo is the perfect projector for anyone who wants to play light games in any space, watch movies from odd angles, or listen to music on a portable sound system. This projector is a bright, dependable little machine that can adapt as needed and won't break down in a year or two. Sure, you may not get the speediest gaming experience, but it's worth the $800 price tag as long as you don't play competitive games.