New vape kit | how to judge what really changed

Every season brings a new vape with a bigger number on the box and a technology name in capitals. On the spec sheet, everything looks new. In the hand, some of those changes alter nothing, while others tie you to a particular pod or coil for years. So the kiosk has drawn up a grid and applied it to four launches whose makers publish their own figures, previous generation included.

What makes a new vape kit genuinely new

A new vape kit earns the name when it changes at least one of four things you can measure on the maker’s spec sheet, namely its pod or coil family, its battery capacity, its weight and size, or the settings actually on offer. A technology name, a colourway or a screen animation changes nothing in use unless a figure moves behind it.

The rule sounds simple, yet every tweak gets sold as a new generation. Vaporesso, for instance, took its Xros Mini from 1,000 mAh (Xros 4 Mini) to 1,500 mAh (Xros 5 Mini) without changing pods, which is a genuine gain. The grid below does not rank devices against each other. It helps you read a launch before replacing kit that still works.

One screen more or less, the two Xros 5 models

Vaporesso splits one generation into two devices. The Xros 5 has a 0.88-inch screen, a fire button on top of draw activation and adjustable power. The Xros 5 Mini makes do with four lights that show the charge in 25% steps. Both share the 1,500 mAh battery and the Xros pods.

That screen has a measurable cost. According to Vaporesso, the Xros 5 is 120 mm long and weighs 73.7 g, against 110.5 mm and 65.2 g for the Mini. The fine adjustment that justifies the screen, from 15 to 30 W in 0.5 W steps, is only listed with the 0.4 ohm pod.

If you never plan to use that pod, the full-size model mostly adds 9.5 mm and 8.5 g, in exchange for three power modes and 3 A charging instead of 2 A. The whole duel is laid out in our Vaporesso Xros 5 Mini versus Xros 5 comparison.

Battery and weight, the figures that really move

When a generation brings a real gain, it shows first in milliamp-hours and grams, two figures that retailer listings often copy wrongly.

At Voopoo, the Argus G2 is rated at 1,000 mAh and the Argus G3 at 1,500 mAh, half as much capacity again for the same 5 to 30 W range. The G3 Mini sits at 1,350 mAh. A listing that gives the Argus G3 1,000 mAh does not describe either version of that generation.

Weight reads the same way, provided you add everything up. Voopoo gives 156.58 g for the Drag 5 mod and 65.76 g for its tank, so 222.34 g before the two batteries, which are sold separately. The mod on its own weighs about what the Drag 2 mod did (158 g without batteries, according to Voopoo). What you feel in the hand is what gets added to it, the tank and the batteries.

Pods and coils, the change that commits you

A new screen is something you look at, while a new pod is something you keep buying. This is the change with the longest tail, and it can be checked on the list of compatible coils each brand publishes.

Smok gives a clear example. The Nord 4 takes two coil families, RPM and RPM 2, each in its own pod. For the Nord 5 and Nord GT, Smok only lists RPM 3 coils, and the Nord 6 moves to RPM 4. Swapping a Nord 4 for a Nord 5 therefore means new consumables under the same range name.

Voopoo does the opposite with its Argus pods, declaring the cartridges compatible with every device in the Argus Pod family. On the Drag 5, the refresh is about the tank, UFORCE-X instead of UFORCE-L, with PnP X coils replacing the Drag 4’s PnP coils.

Chips and technology names, reading behind the label

Makers give every improvement a name. The name alone does not tell you whether anything changed, so look for the figure or the feature underneath.

The Drag 5 keeps the Drag 4’s chip and its 177 W. Its new electronics come down to two visible features, a system that tells you whether the batteries are still fit to use and a flame animation you can switch off. The switch that locks the power or the fire button was already on the Drag 4. None of it changes the power available.

Vaporesso puts percentages on its COREX 3.0 heating technology, 40% for aroma reproduction and 30% for stability, while stating that the data come from its own lab. Voopoo claims “30-day cleanness” and 100 ml of endurance for its iCOSM CODE 2.0 cartridges, without setting out the method on the product page.

Those figures are not false for all that. They describe a maker’s test, not an independent measurement, and they do not compare from one brand to the next.

Six questions to put to any new vape

Here is the full grid, which works for any launch, with where to look for each answer and an example taken from the makers’ pages.

Question to ask	Where to check	Example found
Do the pods or coils change?	Compatible coil list	Nord 4 on RPM and RPM 2, Nord 5 on RPM 3
Does the battery gain capacity?	Spec sheet, in mAh	Argus G2 at 1,000 mAh, Argus G3 at 1,500 mAh
Do the weight and size move?	Dimensions and weight, tank included	Drag 5 at 222.34 g without batteries
Do the available settings change?	Modes and power range	Xros 5 adjustable, Xros 5 Mini with no power adjustment listed
Is there a figure behind the technology name?	Mention of method or lab	COREX 3.0, Vaporesso lab data
Is the UK version the same?	Contents of the 2 ml edition	2 ml pods instead of 3 ml

A yes on any of the first four lines is enough to call it a change in use. A launch that only ticks the last two is mostly new paintwork.

What to check on the UK version

Two checks remain, one before you buy and one after. They apply to every brand, and launch announcements tend to skip both.

The 2 ml edition

Makers publish several editions of the same kit. In the UK, the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016 cap a refillable tank at 2 ml, and nicotine e-liquid at 20 mg/ml in refill bottles of no more than 10 ml, so the box contents change with the edition. The 2 ml Xros 5 Mini comes with a single 0.6 ohm pod and the Xros 5 with two (0.6 and 0.8 ohm), while the Argus G3 has two 2 ml cartridges and the G3 Mini only one.

Your rights if it turns out faulty

A faulty new kit is a matter for the retailer, not the manufacturer. Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, you have a short-term right to reject faulty goods within 30 days, and a fault that shows up within six months of delivery is presumed to have been there at delivery, unless it is shown otherwise. The warranty calculator on our front page works out when the warranty on your paperwork ends, counting from the day the kit was delivered.

FAQ

The questions that tend to come up when a launch reaches the shops, beyond the grid itself.

Does a new generation make the old one useless?

No, as long as its consumables are still made. The point to watch is the pod or coil family, because if the new generation changes it, the old one depends on existing stock.

How do I know which edition a listing describes?

The maker’s page often lists several editions of a kit, marked TPD, US or UK. The one sold legally in the UK is recognisable first by its pods, which hold 2 ml at most.

Is it worth waiting for the Mini version?

A Mini is not the main device made smaller. It usually drops the screen and the power adjustment, while its battery may stay the same or shrink. It only makes sense if you would not use the settings on the full version.

Is a new colourway a new generation?

No. A finish sometimes changes the weight, the Xros 5 Mini varying by 15 g depending on its version according to Vaporesso, but it touches neither the pods nor the settings.

Where can I find a device’s original spec sheet?

On the manufacturer’s website, on the product page, which gives the dimensions, the battery and the list of editions. Retailer listings copy it, sometimes with figures from another generation.

Reading a new vape like a spec sheet, not a poster

The four launches put through the grid show it, from the Drag 5 refreshing its tank to the Nord 4 keeping two coil families. What changes in use shows up in pods, battery, weight and settings. The rest, technology names, animations and colourways, deserves a separate look. Before replacing a device that works, putting the grid’s six questions to any new vape takes a few minutes and places each launch within the range it comes from.

Also at the kiosk

Kiosque à Songes publishes editorial content for adult readers only. Vaping products usually contain nicotine, which is addictive, and nicotine vaping products are not for sale to under-18s in the UK. This piece describes kit and is not a buying recommendation.