XGIMI has started selling the standard AURA 3 laser TV in China, with the 100-inch bundle priced at 18,999 yuan, the 110-inch at 20,999 yuan and the 120-inch at 24,999 yuan. Sales opened on 29 September, according to IT Home, and XGIMI’s own Weibo account lists the same three figures as limited-time launch prices, adding that demo units have reached 114 of its stores. Every bundle includes an ambient-light-rejecting screen. The same machine family opens on Kickstarter in the United States on 20 October.
The Chinese sheet describes a 4K ultra short throw with a 0.16:1 throw ratio, enough to put a 100-inch image on the wall with the back of the cabinet 12.8 cm from it. XGIMI quotes 7,000:1 native contrast, rising to 70,000:1 with its dynamic black enhancement switched on, behind a two-blade iris it calls DynaEye that steps continuously between f/2.0 and f/7.0. Processing runs through an X-Vision picture chip that XGIMI says it co-developed with Anlogic, the Shanghai FPGA maker. The input side is HDMI at 4K/120 end to end, with VRR from 48 to 240Hz, ALLM, AMD FreeSync Premium and a claimed 1ms of latency. Sound is the familiar 80-watt Harman Kardon system, here specified with an AK7755 DSP, a 2,000cc cabinet and bass to 45Hz. Format support covers Dolby Vision, HDR10+, HDR Vivid and IMAX Enhanced, plus Dolby Atmos and DTS:X.
XGIMI bills it as the first laser TV with native 4K/120 support. In Western markets the company has been making essentially the same claim for the Kickstarter models since early September.
The China model lines up with the Pro, not the Max
China now has two AURA 3 tiers on sale. The AURA 3 Max went first, launched at XGIMI’s 29 April event and sold in 100-inch and 150-inch bundles. Notebookcheck’s Chinese edition recorded it in early May at 10,000:1 native contrast and 1,000 nits. The standard AURA 3 that went on sale last week is the second tier.
The Western range has the same two-tier shape, but different numbers. XGIMI’s American deposit page lists the AURA 3 Pro at 4,100 ISO lumens and 7,000:1 native contrast, and the AURA 3 Max at 5,700 ISO lumens and 8,000:1. So the contrast figure on the Chinese standard model matches the Western Pro exactly. The two Max models share a name, but their native contrast ratings are 2,000:1 apart.
That also answers a question we left open in August. When the Western Max specification first appeared, we noted that XGIMI had sold AURA 3 in China on a claim of five-figure contrast, while the sheet heading to Kickstarter said 8,000:1. Both turn out to be true, but for different products. The five-figure figure is the Chinese Max’s native rating and the standard model’s dynamic one. Neither of those numbers appears on the machines XGIMI is offering American backers.
Turning nits back into lumens
China rates brightness differently. XGIMI China quotes the standard AURA 3 at 850 nits of “full-screen stable brightness” and does not print a lumen figure. A nit measures light coming off the screen, so the result depends on the screen. XGIMI’s bundled screen claims 1.5x gain.
If you take XGIMI’s own numbers at face value, they can be converted back. A 100-inch 16:9 image covers about 2.76 square metres. At 850 nits on a 1.5-gain surface, that works out to roughly 4,900 lumens leaving the lens. The same arithmetic applied to the Chinese Max’s 1,000 nits gives about 5,770 lumens, which lands almost exactly on the Western Max’s 5,700 ISO rating. That fits the idea that both markets are describing the same optical engine in different units.
The standard model is less tidy. A 4,100-lumen Pro on the same screen would produce about 710 nits, not 850. Gain is a peak figure measured at the centre of the screen, so reading a full-screen nit claim back through it flatters the projector somewhat. The cautious reading is that the Chinese standard AURA 3 is at least a match for the Western Pro and may be rated a little hotter. XGIMI has not published an ISO figure in China that would settle the point.
The price gap, with the screen counted
The Chinese price includes 13 percent VAT; American prices are quoted before sales tax. Take the tax out of 18,999 yuan and convert at the current rate of about 6.72 yuan to the dollar, and the 100-inch bundle comes to about $2,500. The 110-inch bundle works out to roughly $2,765 and the 120-inch to about $3,290.
XGIMI’s American Kickstarter prices are $2,199 for the Pro and $2,399 for the Max, each $200 lower for people who placed the $50 deposit. Those figures cover the projector alone. On paper, then, the Chinese buyer pays about $300 more than the Western Pro’s campaign price and gets a 100-inch rejecting screen in the box. An ultra short throw needs that kind of screen to perform properly in a lit room. XGIMI’s US store has no equivalent to sell. The only 100-inch screen it lists is a $129 fixed frame that the company describes as tailored for its long-throw projectors.
The more telling numbers sit on XGIMI’s own deposit graphics. They promise savings of up to $2,000 on the Pro and up to $2,800 on the Max against prices that start at $1,999 and $2,199. Add those together and the implied list prices after the campaign are about $3,999 for the Pro and $4,999 for the Max. XGIMI has not published retail prices, so these are only what its marketing implies. If the company holds to them, a Western buyer who misses the campaign would pay roughly 60 percent more for a Pro than a Chinese buyer pays for the standard AURA 3 bundle, screen included, after tax is removed.
The previous generation shows how far the price has moved. The Aura 2 went on preorder in China at 17,999 yuan for its 100-inch bundle, so the new standard model costs 1,000 yuan more for a big step up in brightness, a 4K/120 path and a second iris. XGIMI’s US store still lists the Aura 2 at $2,699.
Where it leaves the category
This year XGIMI’s MIRA 4K and both AURA 3 tiers have all reached Chinese shelves well ahead of their Western equivalents. The pattern has become routine enough that the Chinese launch now works as a preview of the Western one. Western buyers get a strong hint of the price band, the trim structure and how the numbers will be presented.
The 4K/120 claim also has company. AWOL’s LuxVision makes the same claim at $5,999 and opens for purchase in November. For anyone comparing it with the rest of the field, our 2026 ultra short throw guide covers the machines already shipping.
What China cannot answer is how the iris-driven contrast numbers hold up on a meter. Chinese owners will have the standard AURA 3 in their living rooms weeks before the Kickstarter closes. The first independent measurements of 7,000:1 are therefore likely to come in Chinese, and well before any American backer receives a unit.
