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I swung by the XGIMI booth at IFA 2026 as a bit of a spur of the moment thing, squeezing a quick demo in between finishing writing about the Dell 14S and running to another meeting. But I wish I’d had a bit more time to ogle it, because having seen the Aura X3 Max ultra short throw projector in action, I’m seriously considering buying one for my own living room.
As I toured the XGIMI stand, I turned a corner and there it was, packed into a discrete box wrapped snugly in Atari 800-style wooden ribs, projecting an astonishingly bright 120in, distortion-free image from a distance of only 20cm. I couldn’t take my eyes off it.
Not only was the image bright, it was also super sharp, something I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised about given the specifications. This is, according to XGIMI, the world’s first 4K 120Hz ultra-short-throw projector and it backs that up with a whole tranche of impressive looking specifications.
It’s capable of kicking out up to 5,700 ISO lumens with a contrast ratio of up to 8,000:1 , hence the eye-boggling brightness levels. Its RGB triple laser light engine is supported by anti-RBE technology, which reduces the rainbow effect that DLP projectors are often afflicted by, and I certainly couldn’t discern any of the dreaded multi-coloured striping when I was eyeballing it on the stand.
Other features include dynamic dual iris tech to improve contrast, Google TV , VRR and ALLM support, an 80W Harmon Kardon audio system built in and a huge maximum screen size of 200 inches.
Perhaps the most impressive thing about the demo I was shown, however, was the matching 120in projector screen that was placed behind it. Instead of rolling down from the ceiling, this ingenious screen rises up from a slim box placed on the floor behind the projector itself.
Dubbed the XGIMI Ascend (for obvious reasons), this box is clad in the same elegant wooden strips as the projector and is suspended on four slender legs. When rolled away, it looks a bit like a long, low, slim sideboard. I can really see this as the centrepiece of my living room, and it might be the only way I could ever fit a 120in screen into my house.
The Aura X3 Max won’t be cheap with the eventual retail price set to be north of $4,000, but if you’re keen you can secure one on Kickstarter now by putting down a deposit of $50, which reduces the price to a frankly barking mad $2,199 (£1,628 at the time of writing). Alas, there’s no price yet for the XGIMI Ascend.
