Built on the foundation HORIZON Ultra 4KXGIMI has expanded its premium offering of long-range home projectors with the new HORIZON S Pro and S Max models. With these products, the company offers an improved design with more high-end features, but the same Android TV experience.

After extensively testing the XGIMI HORIZON S Max projector for over a month, here are the good, bad, and in-betweens for one of the best XGIMI home projectors of 2024.

Specifications XGIMI HORIZON S Max

Design, connectivity and where to put it

Image source: José Adorno for BGR

It’s only been six months since I have reviewed the XGIMI HORIZON Ultra 4K projector. Still, the new HORIZON S Max feels like a natural upgrade from its predecessor. The design is similar to HORIZON Ultra, which combines eco-friendly PU leather and cover fabric. It looks like a beautiful piece of furniture and blends well with its surroundings.

XGIMI managed to make this device half the size of its predecessor by adding an adjustable kickstand. This change was important to help users find a good spot for the projector.

However, while reviewing the XGIMI HORIZON S Max, I discovered that XGIMI removed the optical zoom feature, which was great for the image to fit my wall without losing quality. So now I can only use this projector with Digital Zoom, which stops the perfect optical image I used to love (more on that later).

The company explained that it removed the optical zoom to make the projector smaller. She believes the adjustable stand offers more flexibility and possibilities for home users, so the trade-off was worth it.

It’s important to note that XGIMI has made other compromises in terms of connectivity. Wi-Fi supports Wi-Fi 5 instead of 6, and the Bluetooth standard is 5.1 instead of 5.2. To be honest, these compromises didn’t detract from my experience with the projector, but it’s strange to see XGIMI improve some areas but downgrade others.

Image quality

Image source: José Adorno for BGR

Despite the lack of optical zoom, I can’t say I’ve had a worse experience. With a 4K projection with HDR10 and Dolby Vision support, XGIMI has also added iMAX Enhanced certification to the HORIZON S Max, a first for projectors.

What I think made the biggest difference while reviewing the XGIMI HORIZON S Max was the new Dual Light 2.0 technology, which combines a tricolor laser and LED for a brighter and more accurate image. This new technology also increases ISO lumens to 3,100, 30% more than the previous generation.

This change is important to make images stand out even in low ambient light. While this home projector works best in total darkness or at night, closing the windows or even a little ambient light didn’t interrupt a cinema-like experience.

The XGIMI HORIZON S Max offers the brightest home projection I’ve ever experienced, and I still think it’s one of the best options for those who want a gigantic image projected onto their walls. The IMAX Enhanced certification feels like a cherry on top of this well-crafted product.

Sound quality

The XGIMI HORIZON S Max retains the same dual 12W Harman/Kardon speaker combo as its predecessor. In this review, I consider the sound quality of this home projector to be as good as the picture quality. Watching Queen Rock Montreal on Disney+ in iMAX Enhanced was a beautiful experience.

It was also amazing to check out my favorite music videos on YouTube. Although I previously preferred the Apple TV + HomePod mini combo in my bedroom, I often switch to the XGIMI built-in speakers because they are impressive. Even though the projector is smaller than before, XGIMI still offers superb sound quality.

Keeping Android TV was a huge disappointment

Image source: José Adorno for BGR

In my XGIMI HORIZON Ultra 4K review as an Android TV experience. It was weird, the remote didn’t respond as quickly and I often relied on the Apple TV 4K.

When XGIMI organized an event last Septemberthe company announced that some projectors will get Google TV and Netflix support. However, the new system and support for this app was only available for some entry-level projectors, like the great MoGo 3 Pro.

And guess what? Even though MoGo My letdown inPro is one of the company’s budget projectors, it was so nice to use Google TV. Setting up and finding my favorite apps was a breeze. Unfortunately, I can’t say the same about the Android TV 11 experience with the XGIMI HORIZON S Max in this review.

Even though the company has updated the projector with a better processor and 64GB of storage, it maintains 2GB of RAM, which feels like the bare minimum for Android TV to work. While the HORIZON S Max offers impressive picture and sound quality, the navigation is just plain bad.

However, I often switch from the first generation Apple TV 4K (to watch Netflix) to the XGIMI Android TV experience to get the best picture quality on Disney+, Max and Apple TV+.

XGIMI is a highly respected brand that offers premium products. It’s unacceptable that Google TV couldn’t upgrade one of its high-end projectors. This missing OS also means you have to find a workaround to have built-in Netflix support. A premium product shouldn’t work like this. Even though the company says it kept Android TV for better smart projector features like smart obstacle avoidance, eye protection, auto focus and so on, I don’t think it was worth it for customers.

Price and conclusion

Image source: José Adorno for BGR

To conclude this review, the XGIMI HORIZON S Max projector has an MSRP of $1,899, the same price as a high-end TV. If you like watching your favorite shows in the dark and want the biggest display possible, you should definitely get it.

However, if you usually watch TV in bright environments and don’t have a perfect spot for the projector, you’ll save time by buying a TV. I would still recommend a connected Apple TV for both options.

That said, don’t be intimidated by the fear of not getting the projector to work. As long as you have a blank wall, some space and time to set everything up, you’ll have a much better experience watching your favorite movies, shows and music videos. While I still think XGIMI needs to offer better software with the next iteration, I can’t complain about what it sets out to do, which is to offer the best picture and sound experience available in this home projection category and this price.