Lumio Arc 5 review: Understood the assignment

There's something fundamentally absurd about the idea of carrying a 100-inch screen in a backpack. Yet here we are, in an era where a device smaller than most speakers promises to transform any blank wall into your personal theatre.

The Lumio Arc 5 takes an entirely different approach to portable projection.Most projectors feel like they were designed by engineers for engineers: bristling with ports, demanding perfect conditions, and requiring a PhD in optics to set up properly. The Arc 5 takes the opposite approach, betting that sometimes the best technology is the kind you forget is there at all. At 1.3kg, barely larger than a hardcover book standing upright, and priced at Rs 19,999—it’s the kind of gadget that makes you question why we ever accepted that big entertainment required big equipment and big budgets.

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The Arc 5's vertical tower design solves a fundamental space problem that most projector users face daily. I've spent years shuffling laptops, books, and coffee mugs around flat projectors that sprawl across surfaces like mechanical pancakes, demanding precious real estate on coffee tables and nightstands. The Arc 5 simply stands up in the corner of my bedside table, reducing its footprint by 40% while managing to look intentional rather than awkward.

Honestly, I had two hard days believing I could just keep it on my side table without it taking up the entire space. And when I carried it in metros between Delhi and Gurgaon, tucked away in my backpack, I had to double-check what I was actually carrying.The build quality feels reassuring without venturing into premium territory. Running my fingers across the matte finish, it resists the fingerprint smudges that plague my laptop, though tapping on the predominantly plastic construction reminds you this isn't trying to be a luxury object.

The integrated fold-out stand is one of those small revelations—no more stacking books under projectors or hunting for random boxes to achieve the right angle.

Still, picking it up after handling my friend's hefty traditional projector, the plastic construction occasionally feels less substantial than you might hope, especially when you're used to the solid heft of traditional home theatre equipment.It's one thing to design a good projector (or a TV), and it's another to make a good remote.

Well, more on that a few paragraphs down, but Lumio has seemingly cracked the remote code with its Minion remote. This one's called Minion Noir though, because—you guessed it—it's black. The remote is clean, with dedicated Netflix and YouTube buttons that actually launch the proper apps. Voice search through Google Assistant works reliably, though you'll still find yourself reaching for the directional pad for precise navigation.Lumio has managed to pack some meaningful functionality into this compact form. After using it for a week, the built-in speakers prove they're positioned to work with the device's orientation, firing sound directly toward your viewing position. Even during three-hour movie marathons, the heat management remains whisper-quiet, never developing that annoying fan whir that made my old projector sound like a desktop computer under stress.

200 lumens walk into a darkened room…

You might think, just 200 lumens? That's very low, it's not going to compete with your living room lights. Well, that's not entirely the case, and as someone who tests at least one projector a year for a living, even I wasn't well-educated on this initially. There's a whole lot of confusion here. Many projectors advertise inflated "LED lumens" or "light source lumens" that can be 3-4 times higher than actual ANSI measurements—the industry standard that reflects real-world brightness you'll actually see.

Lumio knows this, and rather than pretending otherwise, it's providing the real numbers.Understanding this context makes the Arc 5's honest 200 ANSI lumen rating both refreshing and practically significant. That first evening when you flip off the lights reveals the device's true potential—those modest lumens transform your bedroom wall into something genuinely captivating. This isn't competing with your afternoon TV watching; it creates an entirely different viewing experience that requires environmental cooperation.The difference becomes clear within minutes of your first movie night. Colours pop without that oversaturated cartoon look that plagues cheaper projectors, while subtitle text remains sharp enough to read comfortably from across the room. You realise this is what native 1080p actually looks like, not the upscaled blur you've grown accustomed to from budget alternatives.Three months in, the ArcLight engine's sealed design starts making practical sense.

While your friend's conventional projector develops those annoying dust spots that look like permanent dead pixels, the Arc 5 maintains the same crisp image quality it delivered on day one. The 3-inch LCD panel might sound small on paper, but in practice, it delivers a viewing experience that feels genuinely cinematic rather than like watching content through a magnifying glass.The smart features work beautifully—until they don't. Place the Arc 5 on your nightstand, and it automatically adjusts the keystone and snaps into focus within seconds.

It's genuinely magical when it works seamlessly. But move it to that awkward corner spot near your textured accent wall, and suddenly you're manually fine-tuning settings like it's 2015 again. The obstacle avoidance cleverly shifts the image away from that annoying light switch, but gets confused by the mirror across the room, requiring some trial and error.Space planning becomes a real consideration after living with the device.

That 9-foot distance for a 100-inch image works perfectly in most bedrooms, transforming movie nights into proper events. But in cramped dorm rooms or studio apartments, you'll find yourself settling for 60-80 inch images—still impressive, but not quite the cinematic experience the marketing promises. The sweet spot emerges around 80-90 inches, where the brightness feels adequate and details remain crisp enough to lose yourself in the content.The projection quality is fine, but it doesn't matter what you see if you can't hear properly. Yes, you can pair a Bluetooth speaker or wire up an external speaker—surprisingly, it has a 3.5mm audio jack—or if you're an audio enthusiast, plug in a whole sound system through the eARC port. But what if you're lazy and don't want to do any of those things? Well, in that case, the 5W speaker is quite loud. If you're a couple watching a drama in a small room, it's perfect.

But if you're group into action flicks, you'll want to pair up a speaker. Fun fact: the Arc 5 can also double as a Bluetooth speaker.

Finally, someone gets it

The software experience is perhaps the Arc 5's strongest differentiator. Rather than the typical Android-adjacent nightmare that plagues most budget projectors, you get the real Google TV—the same interface that powers smart TVs nowadays, including Lumio’s own. The difference in daily usability cannot be overstated.Netflix works. Not through side loading, not with workarounds, not with external dongles—it’s there and it just works. The certification means proper HD streaming with HDR support, eliminating the frustrating compromises that define most projector experiences. The Google Play Store provides legitimate app access, while Google Cast integration makes sharing content from phones seamless.Lumio made a big deal about the lethargic speed of smart televisions when it launched its own TVs a couple of months ago, marketing heavily that their products weren't anything like traditional smart TVs.

They delivered on that promise. While they don't make such bold claims here, the experience from that development shows. I'm not saying it's blazingly fast, but it's quite fluid. That said, being Google TV, it occasionally feels slow to respond during heavy multitasking.TLDR, Lumio's custom content aggregation platform, from the first time I used it half a year ago, is being improved and now feels like a more thoughtful addition than before.

The music integration pulls from YouTube Music effectively, while the sports section provides genuinely useful live updates and highlight access.

Perspective matters

What makes the Arc 5 compelling is its clear understanding of its own identity. Rather than chasing home theatre specifications, it embraces the role of a lifestyle-first projector where ease of use trumps technical maximalism. The 200-lumen output isn’t going to woo the audio-visual club nerds, and at its price you don’t really see many options, not the ones that looks like this and even not with such numbers.

So, there’s definitely going to be a hesitation among first time buyers.

But for its intended use case—bedroom movie nights, dorm room entertainment, travel presentations, or casual backyard screening—the Arc 5 delivers an experience that feels genuinely magical. The combination of legitimate Google TV experience that lets you properly do Netflix & chill, and thoughtful design details creates a device that simply works without drama.For Rs 19,999, the Arc 5 isn’t competing with traditional home theatre projectors nor it is trying to take on those bargain projectors that have flooded the market—it creates an entirely different category. It’s the projector you recommend not because it's the best at any single thing, but because it removes the friction that typically makes projector ownership a technical hobby rather than a simple entertainment choice.For many users, that distinction makes all the difference.

Our rating: 4/5