XGIMI’s new Horizon S Max projector gets a huge brightness boost and IMAX picture quality
At IFA 2024, XGIMI has announced two members of the new Horizon S projector series, both of which are serious step-ups from last year’s Horizon Ultra
📽️ XGIMI just announced two new 4K projectors
💡 The Horizon S Max is nearly 35% brighter than before
🎞️ Both projectors now come with Netflix out of the box
💲 They start at $1,299
Popular smart home brand XGIMI has announced two new projectors as part of its new Horizon S series. The Horizon S Pro and Horizon S Max take familiar design cues from last year’s Horizon Ultra and combine it with technology from the uber-fancy Horizon Max, which debuted at CES 2024. Combined, the projectors will offer a much brighter viewing experience than what XGIMI has offered before, which will make for a fantastic home theater setup.
The Horizon S Max is the most impressive of the two, if only because it’s IMAX certified. That’s a feature the Horizon Max had capitalized on for its appeal, so it’s great to see it pop up in an even cheaper projector. You can watch movies using IMAX’s aspect ratio and enjoy a more immersive frame, as well as improved colors and clarity.
Speaking of which, XGIMI doubled down on improving the brightness of its projectors. Both models come with the company’s Dual Light 2.0 technology which uses a tri-color laser and LED for better color and contrast when watching content. You get Dolby Vision certification on each Horizon S as well, so you can enjoy all the benefits of HDR content, from its higher brightness to richer colors.
In terms of brightness, the S Pro has 1,800 ISO lumens while the S Max has a whopping 3,100 ISO lumens. Compared to the Ultra, the S Max is nearly 35%brighter. In my brief time demoing the projectors, everything looked crystal clear and bright, although that was in a controlled demo area in a fancy studio in New York. I’ll need to get these projectors into my own home to know for certain how they perform. That being said, the Horizon S projectors could make for a great display for gaming on your future Nintendo Switch 2 or PS5 Pro.
Both of the Horizon S projectors can output at 4K, and they each come with Harman Kardon speakers with Dolby Atmos and DTS support. I enjoyed the quality of the speakers on my Horizon Ultra which are also Harman Kardon tuned, and I don’t doubt that the Horizon S series sounds similarly good. XGIMI also includes its ISA 5.0 technology which can automatically frame the projection based on the wall you use, the size of the room, the distance of the projector, and more.
The Horizon S Pro and S Max look similar to the Horizon Ultra thanks to their cube-shaped designs and fabric exteriors. Both of them are better looking in person, and they’ll easily fit into the style of your home regardless of your aesthetic. They also come with built-in stands that allow them to rotate 360 degrees with 135 degrees of vertical rotation to land the perfect throw.
Oh, and both of these projectors come with Google TV pre-installed, which means Netflix will finally work properly. If you recall, the last time XGIMI shipped a projector like this, it had to include instructions on how to side-load an old version of the app if you wanted to watch any content from the streamer on your projector. This time around, that won’t be an issue. You can enjoy the full Netflix experience with the latest movies and TV shows.
Impressive specs at a solid price
When I reviewed the Horizon Ultra last year, it left me impressed with its value. Sure, it’s expensive at $1,299, but the experience you got in exchange could easily rival that of a $5,000 projector.
It’s a similar case with the Horizon S Pro and Horizon S Max. Projectors are oftentimes perceived as luxury items for specific use cases, but XGIMI is doing a solid job at redefining that expectation and creating projectors for the modern smart home, at prices you can actually afford.
I’ll be curious to see how these two stack up once I’ve been able to review them.
Pricing and availability
The Horizon S Pro will cost $1,299, while the Horizon S Max will cost $1,899. Currently, there’s no word on when each projector will ship, but I’ve reached out to XGIMI and will update this article once I have more information.