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I bought the Gan iCarry 2 with UV coating when I saw reviews that Gan had fixed some of the flaws from V1. I had wanted a smart cube to analyze my solves but wanted a cube that was close in feel to my mains. Regular price for the iCarry 2 is $50, but SCS had a killer Black Friday sale so I got this cube for $30. I performed over 1000 solves on this cube using Cubeast before posting this review. I purchased SuperNova service from SCS and have added Lunar lube when needed. I have the cube set up on center travel "3" and tension "1"
PROS
Smooth and quiet during metronome exercises or twisting up to about 4/5 speed. At slow speeds and at rest, corner cutting is okay but not great at tension "1". It will forward corner cut a little less than 45 (40?) and backward cut up to about 22 degrees. I prefer UV coating on stickerless cubes, and Gan has one of the best coatings out there. Removing the center caps is easy to do without tools, though adjusting center travel and tensions does require a tool, such as the provided SIM ejector tool. Each center under the caps has a colored retainer to designate which side is which color since the cube needs to know the proper color of each side. Magnets are a little more aggressive than average, though not overly so, and they provide an audible 'bump' during turns. The plastic feels nice and twisting is forgiving up to a point. The price I paid for a Smart cube of this level is about right, perhaps even being a good value. I've not yet had to replace the battery, which is supposed to have 100s of hours of life. I definitely prefer this to having to recharge every hour!
CONS
The cube gets significantly louder when pushing TPS, largely due to the catches when the turns aren't clean. On my mains, I can feel the cube helping me carve the corners. Although the corner cutting on this cube appears good enough at slow speeds, it really doesn't like to be pushed fast with my turning style. When pushing fast solves on algs that are very smooth, fast and effortless on any of my Gan 12, Gan 15, Moyu WRM V9, X-Man Tornado V3, or even Guhong Pro, causes frustration when soft locks and catches occur, taking me out of my rhythm. My times using this cube are noticeably slower than my mains, largely because I slow down to try to keep the catches/locks from happening, which defeats the purpose of having a smart cube in the first place. The provided Gan app, Cubestation, is less than ideal and provides no additional value to the cube. On top of the mess of a UI, it requires location be enabled on your phone, and other terms in the Terms and Conditions that shouldn't be necessary to play with a twisty toy. Luckily, this cube is supported by both Cubeast and CSTimer, though it does take some work to get it connected.
VERDICT
As a speed cube alone, I would gauge this as mid, not even as good as the Guhong Pro, probably on the level of the Diansheng Solar S3M with maybe 2/5 stars? If it didn't have additional technology, I probably would put it on the display shelf and rarely, if ever, touch it again. As a smart cube though, it is pretty good up until you try to push the TPS. Because it is a smart cube, the value proposition changes due to the technology required. At the sale price, this lifts it up to somewhere between 3 and 4 stars. However, at the MSRP, the value drops back down since you're almost up to the Gan 12 UI by that point. Would I recommend it? There are things I really like about it, and for someone that just enjoys solving at 4/5 speed, this is a pretty clean cube. For ultimate twisting speed though, it comes up short, especially at this price point. In comparison, I prefer to twist with the new QiYi when I want to play with a smart cube. It is an average cube, but I am rounding it down to 2 stars since it's not quite high enough to round up to 3.
Got to say, this speedcube was great. Wven though its the first one I had, it exceeded all of my expectations especially the bluetooth connection. It is also very smooth to handle :]
I've done over 2500 solves with this cube now in the associated app. Handles great, no corner popping, magnets work well, and the Bluetooth is responsive. Haven't had to change the battery yet. Really happy at this price point, I'd recommend if you're looking for a smart cube. As others mentioned, the app isn't perfect, but they actively update it and it's been usable in my experience.
I have no complaints about the cube itself. Right out of the box, the turning is good for the price and easily adjustable with a single included tool. The battery life is incredible, and for all the features packed into this cube, the weight is comfortable too. Notably missing, however, is a gyroscope. But the real miss here is the CubeStation app. I don't know how much better it is on iOS, but the Android version is a miserable experience. Much of it is in Chinese, bugs litter every section of it, the interface looks and like it was ripped from some bad mobile game, and most of the features of the iOS version are nowhere to be found. Fortunately, if you just want the timing functionality and solve replays, there are alternative websites like Cubeast or csTimer. Either of those is a significant step up from GAN's own app. Overall, the GAN 356 i Carry 2 is a great cube which is held back by its terrible excuse for an app. Don't let that keep you from picking one up, though. I've been regularly practicing with this cube after I picked a better app to pair it with.
This is a great cube, and the app is somewhat decent, butt that won't affect the rating of the cube. The turning isn't the best, but it's not bad either. It's probably something I can adjust with the spring system. As someone who doesn't have nails (I bite then), it's really hard and can hurt to take the caps off to adjust the springs. It's not that big of a deal, though it' a bit tedious. The app has you do 12 solves to rank you so you're competing with someone your level. The section for learning algorithms is cool, but it's a bit tedious also. Overall, it's a great cube and I would recommend it if someone wanted a bluetooth cube.