For years, the great projector dilemma has been a story of compromise. You could have a massive screen, but you had to surrender to the darkness, drawing curtains and killing lights to get a picture that wasn’t a washed-out mess. They were for dedicated theater rooms, not for casual afternoon viewing or a spontaneous gaming session. The dream has always been a projector that behaves like a television: bright, sharp, and ready to go whenever you are, regardless of the ambient light pouring through your windows. It’s a simple ask, yet it has remained one of the most difficult engineering challenges in consumer electronics. A device that can throw a vivid 150-inch image in a sunlit room felt like a far-off fantasy.
It seems XGIMI was listening to our collective sighing, because they just walked into IFA 2025 and dropped a potential solution on the table with the Horizon 20 series. The star of this new lineup is undeniably the flagship Horizon 20 Max, a projector that reads less like an incremental update and more like a complete reimagining of what a consumer-grade projector can be. This isn’t just about making things a little brighter or a bit faster. The spec sheet suggests a device built to eliminate those long-held compromises, packing technology that aims to make the projector a legitimate centerpiece for any living room, day or night. XGIMI is making a bold statement, and it looks like they brought the hardware to back it up.
Designer: XGIMI
That staggering 5,700 ISO lumen figure is what really defines the Horizon 20 Max. For anyone unfamiliar with projector metrics, that is an immense amount of light output for a home unit. To put it in perspective, its predecessor, the already respectable Horizon S Max, topped out at 3,100 ISO lumens. This near-doubling of brightness is achieved through a potent combination of an RGB triple-laser light source and a newly developed X-Master Red Ring lens. In practical terms, this means the projector can cut through significant ambient light, producing a vibrant, saturated image even when the sun is out. It fundamentally changes the use case from a “special occasion” device to an everyday screen for movies, sports, and casual viewing.
Of course, a bright screen is only half the battle, especially for gamers. This is where the Horizon 20 Max throws down its second gauntlet: a claimed input lag of just one millisecond. Projectors have historically been a poor choice for competitive gaming due to their slow response times, but a 1ms figure puts this device in the same league as high-end gaming monitors. This ultra-low latency, combined with its sheer brightness and 4K resolution, creates an incredibly compelling package for console and PC gamers. The ability to play fast-paced titles on a massive screen without perceivable delay is a holy grail for many, and XGIMI appears to be delivering it in a single, well-designed box.
Visual fidelity extends far beyond raw brightness and resolution. The Horizon 20 Max is a true 4K projector, but its comprehensive support for modern imaging standards makes it a cinephile’s tool. It natively supports Dolby Vision, HDR10+, Filmmaker Mode, and is IMAX Enhanced certified. This ensures it can correctly interpret and display the latest content from streaming services and 4K Blu-rays, preserving the director’s original intent with accurate colors and dynamic range. To bolster this, the projector boasts a dynamic contrast ratio of 10,000:1 when its dynamic black level enhancement is active, promising deep blacks alongside its powerful highlights. This level of format support is critical for future-proofing and getting the most out of premium media.
XGIMI also packed in several thoughtful design features that elevate the user experience. The entire unit sits on a rotating gimbal, allowing for easy physical adjustments. More importantly, it incorporates both optical zoom and motorized lens shift. These are premium, professional-grade features that allow you to resize and reposition the image perfectly on your screen without physically moving the projector or resorting to digital keystone correction, which inherently degrades image quality. By keeping the adjustments entirely within the lens optics, the 4K image remains bit-perfect and sharp from corner to corner. Combined with XGIMI’s competent auto-framing software, it makes achieving a flawless setup remarkably straightforward for experts and novices alike.
The system is powered by Google TV, providing a familiar and robust smart interface with access to a universe of applications. Crucially, the Horizon 20 Max comes with Netflix pre-installed and officially supported, sidestepping a common and frustrating licensing hurdle that plagues many other Android-based projectors. For audio, a pair of 24-watt Harman Kardon speakers are integrated to deliver 360-degree sound. While it won’t replace a dedicated surround sound system, it’s more than capable for casual viewing or for use in rooms without a complex audio setup. This all-in-one approach reinforces its role as a streamlined entertainment hub.
Coming in at a retail price of $2,999, the Horizon 20 Max is certainly a premium product. However, when you consider its capabilities, the price begins to look quite reasonable. It is a device that functions as a high-end 4K home theater projector, a competition-grade gaming display, and a bright, user-friendly smart TV all at once. The early bird pricing of $2,399, which includes a floor stand and a game code, makes it even more tempting. For those who crave the scale of projection but have been waiting for the technology to overcome its traditional weaknesses, the Horizon 20 Max appears to be a powerful, thoughtfully engineered answer. It’s a legitimate contender for the center of a modern living room.
The post XGIMI’s New Projector is So Bright, It Might Make Your TV Obsolete: Hands On at IFA 2025 first appeared on Yanko Design.