The QiYi Smart Cube 3×3 comes without a charger and is instead powered by a battery that lasts up to 800 hours (according to the manufacturer). This corresponds to one hour of use every day for two years, which means that most people will not even need to change the cube’s battery during its lifetime. Should the battery run out however, then there are battery replacement instructions in the included manual.
The app used for the cube is called “Smart Player Pro”. It is the same app used for the QiYi Smart Timer, and is available to download for free for Android and iOS. The app and instructions are available in English and Chinese. For a Chinese-developed smart cube app, we are pleasantly surprised at how easy it is to use! To get started, you just need to confirm your account with an email address. You then connect the cube via bluetooth – just start turning the cube and it will come to life and try to connect to your phone. The last thing you need to do is to sync the cube with the app, which you do by clicking “solve to sync” when the cube is in a solved state.
Once you’re up and running, it’s a very good smart cube, with smart functions and a performance that won’t hold you back from getting good times. Unlike some more expensive smart speedcubes however, this variant does not have a gyroscope, which means that the turns you perform are not always displayed in the correct orientation.