Xgimi announced the Horizon 20 Max flagship projector at IFA 2025, as the brightest 4K projector in its range at the time. The company said it was “perfect for viewers who want immersive visuals even in daylight or high-ambient light environments,” as this level of brightness is usually found on projectors designed for large spaces that cost more than double the price. Earlier this year, I put these claims to the test by using it as a TV replacement in the living room.
A few months later, I haven’t looked back. It is still my go-to movie-watching device, and thankfully, it’s now down to $2,199 for the Amazon Prime Day sale. That’s a hefty $800 off from the launch price and a comfortable $500 discount over the typical sale price of $2,699.
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I love it for the size and picture quality
My living room doesn’t have the space to place a wide short-throw projector, nor do I want to permanently mount one to my ceiling. The Xgimi Horizon 20 Max is geared toward people like me, who want a non-permanently mounted home-use projector, so it is movable when needed.
The Xgimi projector has a built-in gimbal system, which allows me to place it where I want and adjust the horizontal and vertical alignment from there. It features both horizontal and vertical lens shift, alongside motorized zoom (with a range of about 3 feet between its minimum and maximum throw). These features combine to offer a fast and easy setup for movie nights.
Inside the Horizon 20 Max sits a triple-laser 4K DLP optical engine architecture to deliver a claimed brightness of 5,700 ISO lumens, which is very bright for its size. It supports Dolby Vision, HDR10+, Filmmaker Mode, IMAX Enhanced, and DTS:X for a more immersive feel. It runs Google TV, which allows you to install any streaming service you want. And unlike the previous-generation Horizon S Max, you also get native Netflix support.
But what’s all that brightness if the colors aren’t accurate? Fortunately, in this case, the Xgimi projector delivers a pleasing contrast ratio (claimed 20,000:1) and accurate colors, resulting in a delightful experience for the most part. It offers easy access presets for both bright and dark room setups.
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For example, the Movie preset (great for dark rooms) gives you a warmer tone as compared to the High Brightness picture preset, which can make things excessively bright, sometimes washing out the colors. While I did notice the rainbow effect in certain scenes, it wasn’t distracting enough to spoil my movie nights. On the other hand, the Vivid preset adds decent saturation, whereas the Standard mode keeps the color tone subtly flatter. Both of these modes look vibrant in dark rooms.
It also has a low-latency gaming mode with a claimed 1ms input lag, a 240Hz refresh rate, and VRR. I’m not a gamer and don’t own a console, so I couldn’t put these claims to the test. Notably, its 1ms input lag is limited to 1080p at 240Hz, which increases to 2.2ms in 1080p at 120Hz and 3ms in 4K at 60Hz output.
It can get slightly noisy in full throttle mode.
Prakhar Khanna/ZDNET
The I/O options on the flagship Xgimi projector include 2x HDMI ports (one with eARC support to connect a soundbar), 2x USB ports, an optical digital audio output, and a 3.5mm audio line out. Its excellent picture quality is paired with 24W Harman/Kardon drivers for audio, which sounded impressively loud for my decently-sized living room. The bass is better than before, which is to say, it is deeper and free of distortions. I only noticed muffled dialogues on deep male voices on a few occasions, but apart from that, the speaker system remains reliable.
At the original $3,000 price, the Xgimi Horizon 20 Max was an expensive projector, which I wouldn’t have recommended as easily. However, with a $500 discount over the current sale price of $2,699, it is a more tempting deal. For $2,199, you’re getting a projector that’s as bright as a TV, delivers accurate colors with good contrast, and has flexible placement options, thanks to a built-in gimbal. This deal is now live and available till June 30, 2026.
How I rated this deal
According to our deal-rating system, this 19% off deal should be rated 2/5, but since it is an impressive projector with a sale price lower than its initial early-bird offering ($2,399), I gave it a 3/5 deal you don’t want to miss out on.
When is Amazon Prime Day?
Amazon Prime Day runs this week until the end of Friday, June 26. However, we usually see lingering deals a day or two after the event, but don’t count on seeing remaining discounts on big-name brands after the event ends.
When will this deal expire?
XGIMI says this deal will run through June 23 – June 30, 2026. However, it depends on the stock availability. If it gets sold out before June 30, the deal will expire earlier.
How do we rate deals at ZDNET?
We aim to deliver the most accurate advice to help you shop smarter. ZDNET offers 33 years of experience, 30 hands-on product reviewers, and 10,000 square feet of lab space to ensure we bring you the best of tech.
Last year, we refined our approach to deals, developing a measurable system for sharing savings with readers like you. Our editor’s deal rating badges are affixed to most of our deal content, making it easy to interpret our expertise to help you make the best purchase decision.
At the core of this approach is a percentage-off-based system to classify savings offered on top-tech products, combined with a sliding-scale system based on our team members’ expertise and several factors like frequency, brand or product recognition, and more. The result? Hand-crafted deals chosen specifically for ZDNET readers like you, fully backed by our experts.
May 25, 2026
