XGIMI Aura review 2024: excellent performer

When Samsung released their Premier series of projectors in the late year 2020, it was a big breakthrough for ultra short throw projectors like the XGIMI Aura. This range was designed to seriously shake up the internet’s top projectors for gaming listings. A big 4K picture that was only a few inches from the surface was a significant step forward for projection.

In the 18 months that have passed since then, other top projector manufacturers have released rival products, and there is now a robust selection from which to pick. The XGIMI Aura projector is on the more affordable end of the range of the top 4K projectors. It is an excellent ultra-short-throw projector that demonstrates not only how revolutionary these new devices are, but also some of the tiny restrictions that the technology still has at the moment.

XGIMI Aura Specifications

XGIMI Aura: Design

The XGIMI Aura stays true to the established laser TV form factor. It’s a massive slab weighing 11kg (24.25lbs), 24 inches broad, 16 inches deep, and 5.5 inches tall. However, it has some good design flourishes that set it different from the competitors. From the front, there’s a modest convex curve and an unusual pyramid-shaped speaker grill.

At first sight, there’s hardly nothing there, yet it’s one of those small details that adds curiosity and urges you to look closer. It’ll look excellent in your home theatre beside your other pointlessly curvacious yet completely sexy tech gadget, the PlayStation 5. You can buy this XGIMI Aura from its official website

XGIMI Aura: Features

When it came to video games, none of these issues were a problem at all, and the Aura made titles such as Halo: Infinite and Forza Horizon 5 appear incredible, with outstanding HDR effects and even more of that ridiculous level of detail. It is important to keep in mind that the response times are not anything out of the norm, and there are no high refresh settings or gaming-specific features, so if 4K gaming is your primary concern, you should seek elsewhere.

XGIMI Aura: Image Quality

Images are shown through a hole in the top of the chassis. They can be as big as 150in (from a throw distance of 17.3in), but Xgimi says a maximum size of 120in is better for image quality. As with most UST projectors, the Aura doesn’t have zoom, so the size of the picture depends on how close you put it to your wall or screen. There is an eight-point keystone correction system to help you straighten things out if your installation makes the picture look like it is tilted.

XGIMI Aura: Performance

Sometimes, the quality or refresh rate isn’t the most important part of how well something works. As we walked around my living room, there was no shade because the throw was so short. We didn’t have to move out of the way of my wife’s boss fights, and she didn’t have to wait for the ball to go out of play when we were watching football so she wouldn’t block the screen. After using a projector as our main source of media for five years, this move is almost revolutionary.

The box for the Aura says “4K,” but this is not native 4K, as is often the case. It makes a “faux-K” picture with the help of Expanded Pixel Resolution (XPR). If you need pure 4K in an ultra-short throw, you’ll have to pay a bit more than the Aura’s price, but in modern projectors, the difference between native resolution and pixel shifting is getting smaller and smaller.

Final Words

The XGIMI Aura is very good at capturing details, and if you want a projector that can show every layer in a 4K video frame, you won’t find a better one without spending a lot more money.

The sound is also very good, better than most TVs and on par with many soundbars that cost less. But if you want a more cinematic show that doesn’t look like it was made with a computer, there are other projectors with more cinematic-looking movement and a richer, warmer colour palette.

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