VAPORESSO XROS 4 & XROS 4 Mini Review: Featuring COREX 2.0 Technology

Product intro and specs

VAPORESSO has launched the XROS 4 and XROS 4 Mini, the two latest entries in its long-standing XROS pod line. VAPORESSO has done a great job with the XROS pod vapes, and much of it has to be attributed to the COREX coil tech. The COREX-powered XROS pods are some of the most flavorful and long-lasting on the market, and the vapes of the line are easy recommendations for beginner vapers.

The first XROS came out in 2020 and was labeled a "Caliburn killer" by many reviewers. The Caliburn is still alive and well, but these two product lines have been going hand in hand ever since, with many products coming out each year in various shapes and sizes.

The XROS and XROS 4 Mini are compact, beginner-friendly pod systems. Both devices have an internal battery listed at 1000 mAh and include the newer pods with the larger 3 mL capacity. They are also compatible with the older XROS 2 mL pods, but the new pods are powered by the COREX 2.0 coil tech.

Keep reading to find out if the fourth edition of the XROS/XROS Mini combo lives up to its predecessors' high standards.

Price: $29.99 (XROS 4 at Element Vape), $19.99 (XROS 4 Mini at Element Vape)
Colors: Ten options for each model

Build quality and design

The XROS 4 and XROS 4 Mini are extremely similar devices. There isn’t much to point out, so I’ll let you know the differences upfront. The XROS 4 Mini is smaller and doesn't have a button or any adjustment ability. Meanwhile, the XROS 4 is a little taller and has the ability to turn off and adjust the power output. 

Both are stick-style pod systems, and they have a silver cover over the LED/display on the front. An air slider on the back allows you to adjust your airflow. Both have a USB-C port—the Mini has it on the bottom, while the XROS 4 has it on the side. The XROS 4 has its "do everything" button on the front under the silver panel over the LED.

In typical VAPORESSO fashion, color options are plenty on both devices, with a ton of basic colors as well as a few fun ones. The XROS 4 sample I used was the pastel palette, and it reminds me of Easter, boasting a mixture of pink, yellow, and light blue. It’s really a great-looking design, and the strong aluminum body shows no wear on it despite a few test drops. It should hold up great in everyday usage. 

The XROS 4 Mini sample I used was the camo red, which is a little more hot pinkish than red but looks great with its camo design. All in all, there are plenty of color options to find one you like, and it’s a well-built and solid device that feels familiar.

Getting started

Both the XROS 4 and XROS 4 Mini are beginner pod systems, but the XROS 4 Mini is the easier of the two since it’s simply just "fill and inhale to fire." However, the XROS 4 is more than easy enough, with only one button and limited settings. Still, it offers some fine-tuning of your vape, which is nice.

There isn’t much to go over with the Mini when it comes to usage—just make sure it has juice and inhale to fire. You can adjust the air with the slider. 

The XROS 4, though, has a few more features. Click the fire button five times to turn it on and off, click it four times to lock/unlock the device (can still be inhaled to fire while locked,) and click it three times to adjust the power level. After clicking three times, the flame symbols will be lit and blinking to show you the level (one is soft, two is normal, and three is hard.) Click the button to cycle to the level you want. Then let it sit for two seconds, and it’ll lock it in. 

On both devices, you can check the battery level by popping the pod in and out. Filling is easy and can be done without removing the pod from the device. The pod itself is magnetic and just pops in and out with little effort. To fill it, just push the flat side of the mouthpiece to remove the cap. This will expose the large fill hole. After filling, just push the mouthpiece back on the top and it will click into place. 

The pod is pretty much fully visible (about 90%) so seeing the level is very easy, and the pods are thankfully fully clear with no tint. Overall I'm very happy with the simplicity and usage of the device.

Performance

The XROS 4 and XROS 4 Mini use the same COREX-powered pods, which are cross-compatible with the entire XROS line. There are three new 3 mL options:  0.4 ohm (first introduced with the XROS PRO,) 0.6 ohm, and 0.8 ohm. The new pods feature the updated COREX 2.0 tech, which promises even better flavor and coil life. 

The XROS 4 Mini only comes with one pod (0.4 ohm in the version I was sent), while the XROS 4 comes with two (0.6 ohm and 0.8 ohm.) The draw can be adjusted via the air slider on the back of each device for a restricted DL down to a solid MTL vape. Personally, I prefer them as low-wattage MTL vapes for high-nicotine ejuice.

I’ll go over all three pods. I found the 0.4-ohm pod to be a bit much with high-nic juices, and it does get a bit hot. I prefer higher-resistance pods that keep the power output at up to 20 watts. Once you get over 20 watts, the high-nicotine juice feels too harsh. But the coil itself is good, and if you want to vape lower nicotine and do a restricted DL with it, you certainly can.

On the XROS 4, both the 0.6-ohm and 0.8-ohm pods performed great. The flavor was great, as was coil life, easily getting 30 mL of juice out of each. I preferred them on the normal setting, and both worked great on the non-adjustable XROS 4 Mini as well. The 0.4-ohm pod was okay on the XROS 4 on low, but I still preferred the other two options. Overall, the new pods are great, but I think that the 0.4-ohm pod just isn’t the best fit for these devices.

Battery life and charging

The internal battery on both devices is listed at 1000 mAh. The XROS 4 boasts a listed charge rate of 2A, and the USB-C port is on the side, while the XROS 4 Mini has a listed charge rate of 1A, and the USB-C port is on the bottom. When I see specs like this, I expect at least 800 mAh and a charge rate of 1.6A or higher for the XROS 4 and 0.8A or higher for the XROS 4 Mini (most companies round up, and usable mAh is about 20% less than listed in most cases.) So, to be fair to everyone, I'll only ding companies for being worse than expectations.

I tested all this, and for the XROS 4 the max charge rate was 1.79A, so great job there. I timed a full charge at 35 minutes, so it does an excellent job of quick charging. Most pods charge in 30-60 minutes, so it’s on the better side of that. For battery capacity, I got around 850 mAh usable. That fits into my expectations, so no complaint there. 

On the XROS 4 Mini, the max charge rate was 0.95A. So, again, good job. Charge time is about 60 minutes, so it’s on the higher side but still in the normal range for pod systems. Battery capacity is around 850 mAh usable, same as the XROS 4. 

Both devices support passthrough vaping. To check battery level, you can look at the LED when vaping or just pop the pod in and out. Both use color LED as battery indicators. It’s a three-stage LED:

• Green: 70-100%
• Blue 30-70%
• Red 0-30% 

It’s pretty standard to have three levels but I personally prefer four. Not sure why companies don’t use four steps divided evenly at 25% each, but that's not a big deal.

Pros / Cons

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