And the 2022 Minsky Award for Best New Tech Goes To …

AI hit a major milestone in its integration into our lives starting with Dall⋅E2 and ChatGPT which will not only have a real impact on creative industries, but is causing angst and change to the entire educational system as all "essays" are immediately indeterminate. Lensa turned everyone into a better looking avatar but did get deserved pushback for over-sexualizing women's images. On the hardware front, new phones from Apple and Samsung represented incrementalism versus radical improvements, although Samsung's fold phones seem to have picked up momentum. Google's Pixel 7, which was definitely a contender this year for the Minsky award, cemented their place in breaking the ten-year plus duopoly that Apple and Samsung have had on the premium smartphone market. In VR, this year has to be summed up as disappointing, and I am specifically talking about the headsets, not Metaverse. Globally, ByteDance released the PICO 4, but sales have been underwhelming. The Quest 2, which is the true leader in consumer VR, actually underwent a price hike mid-year, following investor pressure on Meta's overall loss. This was, in my opinion, a big mistake. If Zuckerberg wants to scale Horizon Worlds (their version of the Metaverse) they must get headsets into the hands of as many consumers as possible. The magic cost number in the U.S. for mass consumer adoption is between $150 - $250 for tech, and the current price is $349.

Now, Meta did offer a fairly good holiday deal bundling in the most popular VR game, Beat Saber, along with well-reviewed zombie hunter game,Resident Evil 4, which effectively countered the price hike, but a price cut likely would have sold far more Quest 2s. Meta released the Quest Pro for Enterprise in 2022. That should have been a contender for the Minsky, It was priced at a ridiculous price point of $1,500 given the improvements in facial recognition and headset design were nice, but not a $1,000 greater value than the Quest 2. Adding insult to injury the battery life is two hours at best; not nearly strong enough for Enterprise.

There are certain life milestones that open up possibilities. And by possibilities, I mean the ability to acquire new tech without the guilt or angst of your spouse/life partner berating you for spending money on said tech or as I like to call it, the "YOU SPENT HOW MUCH??" effect.  And one of these milestones, let's say a daughter's Bat Mitzvah, may have come into play this year (we love you, Ava!) opening the window for me to use the excuse of the rite of the montage for a thoroughly unnecessary, but very much desired techno-splurge. I mean when you're spending thousands of dollars on canapes, DJs and giveaways, who's really going to make a stink over a few hundred dollars to ensure that the first 12 years of your precious child's life is seen in 1080p Full HD HDR and Dolby Digital Audio. This year's winner of The Minsky Award (named for my grandfather Abe Minsky z"l, who bought me my first Apple II computer) is ….drum roll…XGIMI Halo+ Portable Projector.

For years, my brother-in-law has been trying to convince me to switch from a television set to a projector, but I was and still am in favor of a nice LED/OLED screen over projector for everyday use. But as the pandemic wore on, I really did want to get something to show movies outside, and the Bat Mitzvah needed to provide the perfect trigger. I did not want to spend over $1,000, but I also wanted quality. I looked at the Samsung Freestyle, which was buzzy during CES, but reviews online were decidedly mixed. After literally hours of online research, I happened upon a company called XGIMI, a brand I'd never heard of prior. Based in Chengdu, China with an office in San Francisco, XGIMI has a wide array of projectors ranging from 4K Ultra Short Throws to small 'fit in your bag' versions. The Halo+ is in the mid-range, priced around $850, but it punches way above its weight. With built-in Android TV and Chromecast, the Halo+ boots directly into a streaming video paradise with Google recommending what you may want to watch across your various apps. The device projects at 900 ANSI lumens (don't go by lumens when choosing your projector. They aren't representative of the overall power and brightness of a projector to the degree that ANSI lumens are) which is definitely on the high end for a portable projector, yet to be clear not bright enough to be seen well in daylight.

One of my favorite features is the auto keystone. With most projectors, it's almost impossible to get that perfect rectangle from the get-go. The keystone effect, where one corner is off-kilter or higher than another can truly be annoying. With projectors that only provide a manual keystone adjustment, you can fidget for a while to get it close to right. The Halo+ has an auto-keystone adjustment that works remarkably well and an additional automation that fits the size of your image to the size of your screen. Finally, there is an auto-focus feature as well, but I have found myself adjusting that manually on more than one occasion.

In terms of audio, for a unit so small, it is fantastic with DTS HD and Dolby Audio. It's certainly more than adequate for a standard size room in a home or even showing movies outdoors in a private backyard. However, if you take it into a larger social setting, say a large party room, I would absolutely recommend additional Bluetooth speakers

While we've most definitely enjoyed it for movie-watching, we have found uses that we never thought of before. For example, there are nights where we'll project live streams from YouTube of various ocean scenes or live underwater cams which really is incredibly calming and a great way to fall into a sound sleep. The built-in Chromecast makes this a go to projector for anyone in the VR space who wants to project their gaming onto a large screen for others to watch at VR demos, parties or events.

Finally, the icing on the cake, that ensured that XGIMI would win this year. I dropped the projector in the first week. Yup, totally an accident. I had placed it, in what I thought was a secure position on the table, that turned out not to be so secure and in slo-motion I saw it fall to the floor. Thankfully, it was carpeted and did not truly damage the Halo+, however the external casing did dent slightly and popped out a little bit. I tried, but was unable to get it to pop back in.

XGIMI's customer support was the epitome of what customer support and service should be. Southwest Airlines take note. XGIMI sent the simple instructions on how to send the unit in, emailed me after a few days to ensure that I was still interested in swapping out the unit, and then kept me well updated once I had sent it in, even after the new unit arrived to ensure that the new unit worked. It was just superlative service.

Portable media players with built-in app ecosystems are a fairly new category, but one that will continue to expand the apertures for media consumption in non-traditional venues.

Great product, great customer support and the ability to open up new ways of thinking about video is why this year's winner of the Minsky Award for Must Have Technology is the XGIMI Halo+.

But Wait, That's Not All…

So, what is coming for 2023? We will see an explosion of AI built into devices, many of them in the digital health area for self-diagnosis and non-invasive monitoring of any number of issues from sleep deprivation to diabetes to cardiac and mental health. Meta Quest 3 has been confirmed to release in 2023 and will likely have some of the facial movement capabilities of the Quest Pro. PlayStation's PSVR 2 will release in February and although it will still have a cord, it will also benefit from PS5's incredible processing power. We'll likely see, at long last, the introduction of Apple's long-awaited entry(ies) into the world of Mixed Reality. That announcement should occur in the early part of 2023. In televisions, we will see a plethora of NextGen TV sets and dongles to allow you to receive the two-way over-the-air capabilities which allows broadcasters and marketers to create interactive content on broadcast media. Will NextGen TV take off or be the next HD Radio? We will see, but 2023 will be the first year that consumers really will have the opportunity to experience it in the real world. While yes, there are overall economic concerns about 2023, I choose to remain optimistic and focus on the great tech that awaits us in the coming year.

I wish you all a Happy, Healthy and Successful 2023!

Note:This is NOT a sponsored piece of content and I have received no compensation from XGIMI for this piece.

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The opinions expressed here are the author's views and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillage.com/MyersBizNet.