Watching the dust particles float in invisible rays of light in my living room, I feel a small flash of technological magic. The wall across from me has been transformed by a box smaller than the latest video game console into a screen larger than the front door. I feel my brain click into place, the mass of my mind settling into place. The drones of thought whisper and pause, "Everything is a screen now." Unless, of course, you're a coward."

Playing with the Xgimi Horizon Pro feels like that even a few minutes out of the box. Plug it in, point it at a wall, and this wonderful little beast goes to work. The auto-keystoning gives you the best screen experience in any location. I wanted to lie on the couch, so I pointed it at the roof, I wanted to take it to bed, so I moved it to bed, plugged it in, and away we go.

The universal mount at the bottom allows you to attach it to a camera tripod or whatever else you need. Even when I knocked it over when my dog passed by, the autofocus kicked in immediately and I got a smooth image back without having to do a thing. Truly amazing.

It's not portable like the Xgimi Halo portable projector (opens in new tab), it's a powered projector, but it's still a possibility. Wherever there is a power source, you can have a great visual experience with this 4K HDR10 resolution projector. It's a portable cinema-like experience that requires a power source.

The one thing I am a little concerned about is the included speakers. They do the job, but they are quite small and ear-splitting compared to a theater setup. However, the Xgimi Horizon Pro seems to be built like a monitor or TV, intended to be connected to one's own speakers or headphones. As such, it is not portable for use with a home setup, but I have a couple of BlueAnt X5 Bluetooth speakers (opens in new tab). Pairing these with all the Bluetooth devices I tried with the Xgimi Horizon Pro was surprisingly easy and resulted in a dangerously wicked sound setup.

The LED light source is 2,200 ANSI lumens, and the bulbs are set to last for the life of the projector. Considering that this projector is not cheap, this is a bit of a bonus. This 2,200 lumens is no joke, and I was able to play games and watch content in a fairly bright room with the windows open. In darker rooms, the image is even more vibrant and colorful. The downside is that the blacks are not as deep, especially when compared to HDR screens. Even with lights on the walls, it is not possible to make them any darker.

However, the Xgimi Horizon Pro is billed as a gaming projector, and while the latency of the Xgimi Horizon Pro is less than 35ms, which is great for a projector, it does have some drawbacks. connecting a PC or console to the back via HDMI 2 Sadly, the only way to play games on this machine is to connect a PC or console to the back via HDMI 2. It's a shame, because the built-in streaming capabilities are great, but without the HDMI 2 connection and gaming mode enabled, latency is too high. I was playing with the Genshin Impact connected, but because I did not have gaming mode turned on, I had a hard time timing the cooking mini-game, which requires a well-timed button press. This was due to the wait time, and as soon as I switched to gaming mode, I was back to cooking Adeptus' Temptation Storm.

That said, this is by far the best gaming projector I have personally ever tried (opens in new tab). Hardcore pros will notice the 35ms slowness, but I was enjoying winning and losing in Overwatch 2 just as much as always. Most of the time I'm giggling as I watch an entire wall fill up with Zarya, who is much bigger than me and about to be taken down, and I played no small amount of SpiderHeck (a stunning neon Nidhogg-style game with spiders available on Game Pass). The game often requires twitchy moves, especially when playing against other players.

If you want the best latency and deepest blacks, buy a gaming monitor or even a TV. But if you've given up on projectors and have the money to buy this not-so-cheap projector, it's a lot of fun. You can set it up in seconds and use all your video streaming services. With a wall-to-wall projector, it's easy to have a game night with all your friends or take it to a friend's house.