QiYi AI 3x3 (Magnetic, UV Coated) - Bluetooth Smart Cube

Smooth and fast and quicker. Brand new cube.

I was skeptical when buying this because of the low price, however, when I got it the cube was great! The app is decent and I only really use the practice feature to time my solves but for this price point you aren’t gonna find an AI cube like it.

I got the Qiyi smart cube as an alternative to my Gan 356 I carry and Gan 356 I carry 2. Out of the box, this cube was quite sandy but that was fixed with a streak of FZ stealth. It had a great adjustment system which was like the Tornado's but without a mini handle. This cube preformed just like a regular speed cube with smooth, somewhat clicky feeling and had luxurious UV coating. I have never owned a Qiyi M pro 3x3 before but this is what I imagine it to be like.(it could corner cut 45 degrees)

When you start turning the cube, it starts lighting up red. That does not mean it has low battery. Going on to the app, I did not have the common email complications. I assume this was fixed with a recent update. The app greets you with 3 main choices which are app timer, physical timer, and smart cube. If you have the Qiyi smart timer you can use it simultaneously with your smart cube. I, only having the smart cube continued with clicking the choice that applied (smart cube). Below the 3 main buttons there is 3 main buttons you should focus on which are devices(connect your cube here), times(stats), and settings. Connecting your cube is relatively easy and self explanatory. In the smart cube section there are many fun games including making patterns and 1v1 battles. In the 1v1 battles unlike the Gan's app it is 1 solve instead of best of 3. The practice area is quite good with great stats including accuracy and TPS per step.

In conclusion, this cube has insane value for its price and is great for educated cubers but not for beginners due to the Chinese layer by layer tutorial and lack of beginner friendly sections. Some good sections for beginners are practice (if you know notation) and guidance. If you are stuck between this and the Gan, I would say to choose this If you prioritize performance and a simple cubing atmosphere.

Really amazing to have so much information and capability to learn for such a cheap price. I honestly really like the app for recording all my solve times and seeing the breakdown of how long each step of the solve took. Cube doesn’t have screws, just tension settings from 1-7. Mine came set at 5 on all sides(7 is tightest) and it still felt a little too uncontrollable. I put all sides at a 6 and added a lube to help balance the speed with a little extra control. Its not quite as good of a feel as my rs3m v5 but its still very adequate. Very much worth the price.

I got this for a friend to learn the cube and it helped him really well. The downside is that the tutorial is 3rd party and on a different note, my package was shoved into my mail box and the lube I got with it spilled and ruined the box. Not the cube or the lube’s fault.

I’m not the best 3x3 cuber, I get around 20 second averages. For someone not super advanced, the app is good and calibrates your skill well within 10-20 matches. There is no real algorithm guided practice, but the timer is nice, and after a couple weeks I haven’t experienced a drop in connection while cubing.
I would say a little more than half my matches, however, are against obvious ai opponents, which is unfortunate. However, for the price, I still like the cube overall.

Yes! This cube is a good speed cube as is. Add to that, the app is very streamlined. This cube is amazing! (And super cheap!)

I don't know what else is different besides the uv coating, but it is a great step up from the past bluetooth ones. I got some great pb's, and it is really fast.

I bought the QiYi AI Smart Cube with UV coating after purchasing and using the Gan iCarry 2 for a few weeks. I had wanted a smart cube to analyze my solves and wasn't happy with the catches I was experiencing with the iCarry 2, which caused me to slow down, making my solves non-representative of solves with my main cubes. I pre-ordered the QiYi with UV for $25 as soon as it became available at SCS. I performed at least 1,000 solves on this cube in the last two weeks before posting this review. I purchased the SuperNova service from SCS and have added Lunar lube when needed. I have the cube set up on tension "1".

PROS
Smooth and quiet during metronome exercises or twisting up to about 2/3 speed. At slow speeds and at rest, corner cutting is amazing at tension "1". It will forward corner cut all the way until it starts to cut backward. The UV coating gives a nice grip to my fingertips. Removing the center caps and adjusting tensions is easy to perform without tools. Each center under the caps is colored in transparent plastic to designate which side is which color since the cube needs to know the proper color of each side. Magnets are semi-strong and provide a nice 'bump' during turns. The plastic feels nice and twisting is forgiving up to a point. The price for a Smart cube of this level is about right, perhaps even being a good value. The app is very good. Connecting the cube is seamless, and getting into practice sessions or 1V1 races is intuitively easy. The analysis, statistics and replays are very well done and provide a great way to see where you might be losing time including adding up the total inspection time across all stages of the solve. It analyzes several different solve methods, including Roux. 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 very good 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. Finally, this cube isn't yet supported by Cubeast, although it is on CSTimer.

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 offered price, this lifts it up to somewhere between 3 and 4 stars. Would I recommend it? There are things I really like about it, and for someone that just enjoys solving at 2/3 speed, this is a pretty clean cube with a very nice app to go with it. This is probably one of the highest value smart cubes on the market right now, but for ultimate twisting speed though, it still comes up short, but at this price point is probably the best smart cube right now. I am rounding it down to 3 stars, so definitely above average for smart cubes, but not quite high enough to round up to 4.