Are GAN Cubes really overrated?

[Caleb Valenzuela]

I’ve seen many people say that GAN cubes are overrated, but I really think otherwise. Sure, the prices of the cubes are sky-high upon release, but you’re paying for the quality of a cube. Let’s take a look at other manufacturers. QiYi/X-Man has had two of their flagship cubes encounter consistent breaking issues with their TV3/TV4, MoYu has also had complaints with core-snapping with their WRM V10, WRM V11, and RS3M V5( even the 18th anniversary edition had breaking issues!), and GAN? They haven’t had cubes that have a track record for breaking. In rare occasions they do break, but let’s be real, at the end of the day it’s still plastic. What’s the point of having a good value cube if it breaks anyway?
GAN also has had consistently competitive flagship puzzles, especially in 3x3. From the GAN SM to the GAN 16, they’ve had reliably good cubes, except for the 13 and 14 (even the GAN sponsors don’t like them). In the other events, their 2x2, 5x5, Skewb, and Megaminx are all great puzzles that world-class solvers use. They do take a while to release other puzzles aside from 3x3, but when they do, it usually hits the market hard (some could even say the 460 V2 and the GAN Pyraminx were good, but those are a bit mixed).
Some people say that GAN didn’t innovate as much as they used to, but let’s be honest, GAN isn’t the only one who’s like that. Just look at MoYu, they’ve released multiple cubes with a nearly identical mechanism, then they just rebrand it as: “MoYu Aolong V5” or “MoYu Super Weilong V2”. That’s worse than GAN’s “product duplicating” in my opinion. X-Man also hasn’t innovated so much in their 3x3s as well, since the TV3, TV3 Premium, TV4, and TV5 are all very similar to each other, with only the TV5 having a major difference.
GAN takes a lot of time with R&D, which is why they take so long to release other puzzles (maybe Square-1 is an exception, but who knows) compared to MoYu, who’s been in the market for around 19 years! Compare that to GAN, who’s only been here for around 12 years. MoYu already has experimented with dozens of different mechanisms and puzzles for those 19 years or so, while GAN has been grinding 3x3 releases and only dipping their toes into other puzzles just in recent years.

TDLR; I think GAN is NOT overrated, but neither is it underrated. Their prices are reasonable for the quality puzzles they provide.

What do you guys think?

 

[Tabe]

X-Man also hasn’t innovated so much in their 3x3s as well, since the TV3, TV3 Premium, TV4, and TV5 are all very similar to each other, with only the TV5 having a major difference.

Their newest puzzle has "a major difference" but they haven't innovated so much?

Huh?

 

[Tabe]

Gan's flagships are consistently the most expensive puzzles across all events but the performance doesn't live up to that price, hence the criticism of them being "overrated". Yiheng switched to Moyu and became faster. Their puzzles are consistently $20 and $30 more than others in the same tier but don't deliver significantly better performance or quality for that price. The Gan sq-1 is nearly 2x as much as the MGC v2 and is apparently mid. The Gan 460 v1 and v2 were both a lot more than their contemporary 4x4s and are trash. The Gan 562M is $45 more than the Moyu single-track 5x5 while being a single track 5x5 itself. And on and on and on.

 

[Jared Burkhart]

The Gan 562M is $45 more than the Moyu single-track 5x5 while being a single track 5x5 itself. And on and on and on.

Really?
I thought it was double track (I thought the magnetic core counts as a track, maybe not.) But it does feature double shell stability. This is what most 5x5s lack. This innovation is revolutionary and in my opinion makes it worth what it is.

I’ve seen many people say that GAN cubes are overrated, but I really think otherwise. Sure, the prices of the cubes are sky-high upon release, but you’re paying for the quality of a cube. Let’s take a look at other manufacturers. QiYi/X-Man has had two of their flagship cubes encounter consistent breaking issues with their TV3/TV4, MoYu has also had complaints with core-snapping with their WRM V10, WRM V11, and RS3M V5( even the 18th anniversary edition had breaking issues!), and GAN? They haven’t had cubes that have a track record for breaking. In rare occasions they do break, but let’s be real, at the end of the day it’s still plastic. What’s the point of having a good value cube if it breaks anyway?
GAN also has had consistently competitive flagship puzzles, especially in 3x3. From the GAN SM to the GAN 16, they’ve had reliably good cubes, except for the 13 and 14 (even the GAN sponsors don’t like them). In the other events, their 2x2, 5x5, Skewb, and Megaminx are all great puzzles that world-class solvers use. They do take a while to release other puzzles aside from 3x3, but when they do, it usually hits the market hard (some could even say the 460 V2 and the GAN Pyraminx were good, but those are a bit mixed).
Some people say that GAN didn’t innovate as much as they used to, but let’s be honest, GAN isn’t the only one who’s like that. Just look at MoYu, they’ve released multiple cubes with a nearly identical mechanism, then they just rebrand it as: “MoYu Aolong V5” or “MoYu Super Weilong V2”. That’s worse than GAN’s “product duplicating” in my opinion. X-Man also hasn’t innovated so much in their 3x3s as well, since the TV3, TV3 Premium, TV4, and TV5 are all very similar to each other, with only the TV5 having a major difference.
GAN takes a lot of time with R&D, which is why they take so long to release other puzzles (maybe Square-1 is an exception, but who knows) compared to MoYu, who’s been in the market for around 19 years! Compare that to GAN, who’s only been here for around 12 years. MoYu already has experimented with dozens of different mechanisms and puzzles for those 19 years or so, while GAN has been grinding 3x3 releases and only dipping their toes into other puzzles just in recent years.

TDLR; I think GAN is NOT overrated, but neither is it underrated. Their prices are reasonable for the quality puzzles they provide.

What do you guys think?

I am about to find out!
Just bought the Gan v100 and waiting for it to arrive (generally takes a week or so)
I will decide then whether they are overpriced or not.
I do have the Gan Mini M Pro. It got me my first sub12 iirc.

 

[Caleb Valenzuela]

Their newest puzzle has "a major difference" but they haven't innovated so much?

what I meant is “major difference” is small in itself, which is the same for most brands

Gan's flagships are consistently the most expensive puzzles across all events but the performance doesn't live up to that price

personally disagree with this, although I do think they are a bit overpriced for the performance, I think the quality/durability of the puzzle is what makes GAN cubes stand out from the others. I’ve constantly avoided recent flagships from MoYu and and QiYi because i’ve heard that there were core-snapping issues. The GAN V100 is also a great cube for the price.

 

[Caleb Valenzuela]

Yiheng switched to Moyu and became faster

but was it really because he switched cubes? We don’t know if he would have gotten the same results with a GAN cube.

 

[Tabe]

Really?
I thought it was double track (I thought the magnetic core counts as a track, maybe not.) But it does feature double shell stability. This is what most 5x5s lack. This innovation is revolutionary and in my opinion makes it worth what it is.

I am about to find out!
Just bought the Gan v100 and waiting for it to arrive (generally takes a week or so)
I will decide then whether they are overpriced or not.
I do have the Gan Mini M Pro. It got me my first sub12 iirc.

You're right - the 562 would be double track.

 

[Tabe]

but was it really because he switched cubes? We don’t know if he would have gotten the same results with a GAN cube.

He immediately got faster as soon as he switched. I think he set a WR his first comp using Moyu. Not 100% on that.

 

[Tabe]

I’ve constantly avoided recent flagships from MoYu and and QiYi because i’ve heard that there were core-snapping issues. The GAN V100 is also a great cube for the price.

The core snapping thing is wildly exaggerated. There's been a couple. I've seen Gan cores snap, too.

 

[Fred]

As a non 3x3 main, I think most 3x3s are overrated. You can get some very good cubes in the $15-$25 range. With the v100 and Super Swift Maglev thingy, Gan is at least comparable to Moyu now in 3x3 pricing, but Moyu is also silly sometimes.

Gan's 5x5 on release was the best in the world and worth the price increase over the Hong for most big cube mains. Then the Aochuang v6 came out and made the Gan overpriced. The Gan 5x5 can have some core stripping issues too, but I didn't experience that problem.

In other events, Gan has some expensive and not worth it cubes (4x4, pyraminx), but also some expensive and worth it cubes (2x2, skewb, maybe squan?). The megaminx is also good, but it has competition that's a lot cheaper.

As a scrambler, Gan 3x3s are definitely overrated among beginners. I sometimes even see a nonmagnetic Gan, as if the logo is more important than magnets.

 

[Michael Wimberly]

Gan's flagships are consistently the most expensive puzzles across all events but the performance doesn't live up to that price

I would have to disagree. The GAN16 Max is one of my favorite cubes, it has broken my PB's multiple times, and it consistently gives me times that I like, all while being one of my favorite feeling cubes.

 

[Jared Burkhart]

A cube is a cube.
What matters most is price-quality ratio. I think Rubik's and Yuxin are overrated. But Yuxin just gave me a poor 6x6 and probably does well with their other models.
But why buy a Rubik's Cube? Sure they originally designed it but it is a horrible design.
I think you can even buy MAGNETIC CUBES FOR CHEAPER PRICES
Talk overrated, talk Rubik's.

 

[-Cube Kid-]

But why buy a Rubik's Cube? Sure they originally designed it but it is a horrible design.
I think you can even buy MAGNETIC CUBES FOR CHEAPER PRICES
Talk overrated, talk Rubik's.

Yes, you can! 2 of these even have UV! Rubik's is trash compared to these (which cost LESS!), but new cubers don't hear about these untill afterwards.... sad.

QiYi Warrior M 3x3 (Magnetic, UV Coated)

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YuXin Little Magic 3x3 V2 (Magnetic, UV Coated)

YuXin Little Magic 3x3 V2 (Magnetic, UV Coated) includes new features and design changes that are a huge win over the previous version. UV Coating Super glossy plastic, high grip

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MoYu RS3 M 3x3 V5 (Magnetic) - Dual-Adjustment

MoYu RS3 M V5 magnetic 3x3 with dual-adjustment tuning for independent spring and tension control. Authorized dealer, ships same-day from Las Vegas.

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[-Cube Kid-]

So Imo @Caleb Valenzuela is right, GAN is fine, but definitely not for some people (like me) because of the GAN tax (which for some cubes can be justified, but sucks all the same), and the fact that cheaper cubes can perform just as well.

 

[CrossPetrus]

I think that Gan is very overrated. Imo Gan is hype with a huge price tag. Especially for the v100, I think it’s way overrated. To me it’s straight up worse than my Rs3m V5 SE, which is like $10 cheaper. Gan cubes also have a weird scratchiness/clickiness that just feels awful to turn with. Gan is lowkey the definition of overrated imo.

 

[Caleb Valenzuela]

I think that Gan is very overrated. Imo Gan is hype with a huge price tag. Especially for the v100, I think it’s way overrated. To me it’s straight up worse than my Rs3m V5 SE, which is like $10 cheaper. Gan cubes also have a weird scratchiness/clickiness that just feels awful to turn with. Gan is lowkey the definition of overrated imo.

Maybe it’s because you turn a bit slower, but i barely feel any “scratchiness” in my GAN V100. I do feel a bit of a click when it auto-aligns, but that’s only when i’m actually trying to feel the cube. It disappears when i add lube.

I personally think MoYu is a bit overrated when it comes to 3x3s. Almost everyone praised the RS3M V5, but i thought it was heavy, slow, and it felt more “cheap” compared to other cubes. I even set the spring compression to the loosest possible setting but it still felt significantly slower than my other cubes. I tried the V10 and V11s a few times at a comp, and they just felt like cheaper-feeling GAN cubes.

 

[abunickabhi]

Yes they very much are

I can't afford a single Gan cube yo

 

[Jared Burkhart]

Gan is overpriced in my opinion...but I will know soon enough if I will want to buy from them again. v100 COMING SOON!

 

[Cubing_Grandson]

Gan cubes are the cubing equivalent to iPhones. They are overpriced for just a slightly better cube but everyone still wants them anyway.

 

[-Cube Kid-]

Almost everyone praised the RS3M V5, but i thought it was heavy, slow, and it felt more “cheap” compared to other cubes. I even set the spring compression to the loosest possible setting but it still felt significantly slower than my other cubes. I tried the V10 and V11s a few times at a comp, and they just felt like cheaper-feeling GAN cubes.

Once word. Stardust.