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Has Moyu Lost Its Way?

I do not think cubing hardware has peaked. Moyu by releasing many cubes in the market is creating artificial hype and confusing everyone into buying stuff yo.
I agree. I heard people saying cubing tech has plateaued... I feel that as long as people are willing to spend more money, there should still be plenty of room for improvements, in performance, as well as in other desired properties, eg in convenience (setting adjustment), in enjoyment (noise, feel), in customisation (modular construction and swappable parts), and certainly in more computer and AI aided features (not for competition, but for learning, drills, and online fun etc.

Here's one idea for smartcubes, to use the spinning force to generate power, so that it's not necessary to ever recharge the smartcube. No more chargers, power pods, or battery changes, and the smartphone is always ready even if not used for months. After all, the are many magnets spinning around, and assuming we can get some coil or spring design worked out inside the ball core and pieces, perhaps this is possible.

Another idea - to have variable magnet strength based on turning speed. I think the centrifugal force of a turning layer can be utilised with some design to push the corner magnet assembly of a Tornado V2 closer to the surface. So, the faster you turn, the stronger the magnetic force. I assume here more magnetic force can help control when turning fast.

Or maybe, if power can be generated by fast turning, then the corner magnet strength can be.. increased by electro magnetic force, using coils around those corner magnets.

One more, weight distribution in the layers can be changed depending on turning speed, if some spring loaded weights inside the layer can be moved closer to or further away from the core, depending on spinning speed. This may help control at speed, or, help the layer turn easier when speed is lower, to start the turning. (Changing the moment of inertia).

OK, silly ideas on a slow day, but that's the kind of things that de Bono taught me. 😉😃 They may be totally useless but you can see there may be other possibilities if not these. The cubes we use today are very basic and low tech IMO.
 
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I agree. I heard people saying cubing tech has plateaued... I feel that as long as people are willing to spend more money, there should still be plenty of room for improvements, in performance, as well as in other desired properties, eg in convenience (setting adjustment), in enjoyment (noise, feel), in customisation (modular construction and swappable parts), and certainly in more computer and AI aided features (not for competition, but for learning, drills, and online fun etc.

Here's one idea for smartcubes, to use the spinning force to generate power, so that it's not necessary to ever recharge the smartcube. No more chargers, power pods, or battery changes, and the smartphone is always ready even if not used for months. After all, the are many magnets spinning around, and assuming we can get some coil or spring design worked out inside the ball core and pieces, perhaps this is possible.

Another idea - to have variable magnet strength based on turning speed. I think the centrifugal force of a turning layer can be utilised with some design to push the corner magnet assembly of a Tornado V2 closer to the surface. So, the faster you turn, the stronger the magnetic force. I assume here more magnetic force can help control when turning fast.

Or maybe, if power can be generated by fast turning, then the corner strength can be.. increased by electro magnetic force, using coils around those corner magnets.

One more, weight distribution in the layers can be changed depending on turning speed, if some spring loaded weights inside the layer can be moved closer to or further away from the core. This may help control at speed, or, help the layer turn easier when speed is lower, to start the turning. (Changing the moment of inertia).

OK, silly ideas on a slow day, but that's the kind of things that de Bono taught me. 😉😃 They may be totally useless but you can see there may be other possibilities if not these. The cubes we use today are very basic and low tech IMO.
$$$
 
Just watched Shawn's video asking the same question. (What were they thinking?) Since my posts here, Moyu has again released more cubes, the Super RS3M V2 cubes, still with no magnet adjustment, still with the same old spring tension adjustment mechanism, and still not offering Ball Core unless you get Maglev.

I buy on average 5 cubes every year. However, I have not bought any of the 13 Moyu cubes they released in the last 8 months, ie any of their cubes from the Super RS3M and on. I like quality, not quantity. I can afford expensive cubes, and I am interested in new cube technology (having bought 5 smartcubes), but I don't want to just buy them unless I am convinced they are worth it. Well, I found that things are not making sense. None of Moyu's recent cubes can compare with the Tornado V3 IMO, when you consider prices, features, as well as performance. Moyu's flooding strategy does not work for this consumer. 😆 I did order Pi Cubes' special edition of the V9 though. It has Ball Core and springs. None of the crazy fast Maglev, funny auto-homing stuff for me. Those features are probably good for the extremely good cubers, but they are likely just 1% of the consumers.

(I don't hate Moyu. I bought 12 Moyu cubes already and I really like the WRM 2021, Weilong AI cube, the RS3M 2020, and WRM Maglev 2021. I hope they will focus on what is important for their customers and also what is good for their business, ie what can compete with others' products. I know there are dumb consumers, parents and grandparents, and seeing Moyu everywhere may get some more business, but in general they would just buy Rubik branded cubes. 😉 If Moyu are raisimg their prices just because they have to maintain a big inventory of different similar products, I say good luck to them.)

The Tornado V3 and the Moyu V9 (ballcore maglev blah blah blah) are worth getting.

the rest,.. not really. I don't care what they charge for the new RS3 it's always going to seem like a budget cube to me. And making a budget cube very expensive is just really weird. It's like they just released 6 cubes that are all pretty much the same with different prices.

But Tornado V3 and Moyu V9 are good though. V3 is better, V9 is just... sort of wild. It auto completes a turn and it's just a really weird and unique feeling. It's worth getting just because it's actually something different feeling, in a time when so many cubes feel and sound the same.
 
All the new cubes - they are good, in theory, but they are just blatant cash grabs.

What made the rs3m so good was because it was amazing value for money, and a great base cube.

Moyu have seen was Gan have done, getting all the people to think that they are a super amazing brand, and hiking up the cube prices. Plus, 3 versions for every cube?

Moyu is no longer a good value-for-money brand, its a value for a lot of unnecessary money brand.
 
All the new cubes - they are good, in theory, but they are just blatant cash grabs.

What made the rs3m so good was because it was amazing value for money, and a great base cube.
...
I sometimes wonder whether it was unintended and just accidental - the amazing RS3M 2020. Moyu or their marketing may have second thoughts about how good to make and/or how much to charge for their basic cubes. 🤔😄
 
Moyu seems to have gone the opposite way about something I care about - modular construction or standard part sizes/shapes. I was so happy when I swapped pieces from WRM 2021 to the Moyu Weilong AI smartcube, to give that cube magnet adjustment. The result, in performance and functionality, was fantastic. Maybe Moyu realised their "mistake" of making their WRM pieces practically the same shape since 2020. That obviously means less costly manufacturing and should be good, I thought. So, they started some new shape from now on, apparently for a tiny gain in corner cutting that may be of questionable value to 99% of cuber buyers. I never thought WRM had issues with corner cutting. I can't swap pieces now to get magnet adjustment, or to get a black cube (with pieces from a 2020 WRM). You most likely have to buy each cube to get some specific features, and only if Moyu decides to offer it in the next release. So, we have this slow specific release of features and proliferation of models. This round, you are given UV even in base models. Next time, you may get magnet adjustment, and so on. I may be unfair, but it is hard to explain it or understand what they are doing. 🤔
 
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Honestly, I have a gut feeling that Moyu is trying to see what the breaking point is for their cubes as far as pricing goes. I haven't come across any of their cubes in the releases from the past 8 months that've been "bad". Actually they are very very good. Preference sets them apart more than performance. I'm not sure how the average person can try all of these cubes to see which one "feels" the best to them. Where can one go (besides maybe a comp, but not everyone goes to comp or can go) to test all of these cubes to make an informed decision? I own quite a few Moyu cubes. I have at least one from every series they release, but this latest one kind of makes me wonder what they are doing exactly. Sure, we could say its for money but I don't think that is the whole story.

Incoming rant: Qiyi (X-man), didn't need 15 cubes to make a flagship like the Tornado V3 and Gan didn't need that many to make the Gan 13/12. Both of those are world record level cubes used by the best. Moyu is garnering a lot of attention with the release of so many cubes in a relatively short amount of time. Good marketing? Sure. Seems like they need to narrow their focus a bit though. I couldn't imagine if I just started cubing yesterday and saw all of these cubes and tried to make a choice. Its laughable that they have this many cubes out right now with similar feels and the same adjustment system. I don't blame them for dropping their adjustable magnet system, it was horrendous on the previous WRM's. Don't' get me wrong, the old WRM's are great cubes still, just the edge magnets adjustment is poor. The pricing is all over the map and the designs are very similar. The price per cube doesn't matter so much to me, but I would definitely like to be able to look at a company's line up and say, "this is their top performing cube, I'm buying that one". I don't think we can do that with Moyu at the moment. I also don't believe that Moyu's UV coatings deserve the adder that Moyu gives them as far as price goes either. UV isn't that expensive, girls put it on their nails all the time at the salon and in the engineering world, we apply it cheaply to process parts. I think they are testing the waters to see how high they can send the price; which is their prerogative, but I truly believe they are afraid to set one cube up as their true "flagship or highest performer". It would serve them well to have one top dollar cube that is the "flagship". Make all the cubes you want Moyu, but make a definitive flagship and label it and live by it :D. It's really confusing and annoying to bring out the top tier WRM V9 BC, then release RS3M V2 BC that cost more not to mention that it's the budget line. Even the testers on YouTube are having trouble coming up with a way to properly describe the feel and performance of the cubes in a way that is really informative. Basically, it's new so buy it.


Moyu does have nice marketing videos though! :p
 
If I have a change to talk to Moyu's management, I will suggest these ideas:

1. A cube for older cubers. There are millions and millions of old people idling everywhere, and many can benefit from finger exercises and a new hobby to share with the grand kids that they look after. Lighter (weak or even arthritis fingers), better Yellow colour to distinguish from White for old eyes (Mustard), more stability than absolute speed, 54mm, and a good smooth feel (like Tornado V2 or WRM Maglev 2021). Promote it at the right venues, sponsor activities and this could be a huge new market, and I think better than trying to push existing buyers to buy more cubes by making numerous similar cubes. There are millions of them and they can afford goods cubes.

2. Make use of AI to help people learn and practise algorithms. Gan robot is a good start, even better if it can scramble what users specify, and help to get repeat practise from specific positions, eg making a yellow cross, specific or all OLL cases, or starting from when 2 blocks are already built and other Roux cases etc. Also analyse user solve cases. Don't just report TPS, steps times or plot graphs. Suggest ways of improvement, areas to practise recognition or turning, ... Measure user solve data over more than one solve, check progress and make intelligent recommendations. All it take is some data of solves for those cases done by experts on a server and comparisons, and analyses. This could even become another revenue generator, potentially very lucrative for the future of the business (as it involves little resources, material and work after the initial development), besides selling cube hardware, ie coaching service. Millions will be attracted to cubng is it could be made easier to learn and to improve.

Hardware manufacturing has its limits, in terms of continual growth and profits, for relatively low tech business requirements. I hope the makers have more vision. Moyu unfortunately have not been able to even release after more than 3 years an updated model of its smartcube, which was in fact a really nice one at the time.
 
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I have since the above messages bought the special Pi Cube edition of WRM V9. It is working really well, and it gives me what I could not get from Moyu before - a lightweight flagship grade Moyu cube with the latest Ball Code and UV features, but without their hard to control Maglev and it's unconventional turning behaviour. The extra weight is due to all the Maglev and edge magnets in their current top cube.

More and more, it seems to me that the new Super RS3M V2 is Moyu's way of correcting their mistake in their top cube, their flagship, when I look at the price, design (eg bigger torpedo to avoid corner twisting?) of the latest new cubes. What a mess, this new release created.

I think it would have been better, if they had wantedto have a good flagship again, to just release something similar to the Pi WRM edition but with whatever latest design features to avoid corner twisting, and with a capped piece design, to provide support for magnet adjustment similar to what's in the WRM 2021. The capped design will also mean prettier internal colours. At this time, after all the releases, Moyu still does not seem to have a really good flagship that can compete well IMHO.
 
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Update on Oct 4, 2023.

When I started this discussion, I said in my first post that Moyu had released 10 cubes within 6 months. All 3x3 cubes. Now, 4 months later, Moyu has doubled down and released another 10 3x3 cubes, including the Pi SE V9, various versions of the Super RS3M V2, the cheap AI Cubes, and the RS3M V5.
 
I would say that the number of cubes is unnecessary. They have released multiple "flagships" and are now making another cube. I think that the WRM line and maybe one or two other cubes a year is enough.
MoYu should really look into the saying "quality over quantity". I’m not saying their cubes are bad quality, but they really need to dial down the quantity of cubes.
 
Update on Oct 4, 2023.

When I started this discussion, I said in my first post that Moyu had released 10 cubes within 6 months. All 3x3 cubes. Now, 4 months later, Moyu has doubled down and released another 10 3x3 cubes, including the Pi SE V9, various versions of the Super RS3M V2, the cheap AI Cubes, and the RS3M V5.
It does give you some options, but I think instead of 10 cubes they could have stuck with 1 or 2 because a lot of them just have the same features
 
MoYu should really look into the saying "quality over quantity". I’m not saying their cubes are bad quality, but they really need to dial down the quantity of cubes.
Perhaps their "strategy" right now is, apart from the profits, to be more well know. For example, maybe MoYu thinks that, if they make a ridiculous amount of cubes, then, mainly for new cubers, people will think "well, so many cubes are from this company, MoYu, so it must mean they're the best, or one of the best", so then they buy from MoYu and not other companies such as QiYi or GAN. Perhaps that is the reason for all of these cubes.
 
The good news is that there is finally a great, though overpriced, flagship cube among them, the Pi SE V9. By removing the maglev and edge piece magnets, and according to one reviewer, by also using shorter core magnets in the corner pieces to reduce their strength, this cube is considered the best of Moyu's 3x3 by many reviewers. It still doesn't have adjustable magnet strength. Speaking of pricing, or value, I hope they will follow QiYi in their strategy, and not Gan. I hope they are not coming out with a 2000 setting cube next.

I'm still waiting for an updated Weilong AI cube.
 
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Perhaps their "strategy" right now is, apart from the profits, to be more well know. For example, maybe MoYu thinks that, if they make a ridiculous amount of cubes, then, mainly for new cubers, people will think "well, so many cubes are from this company, MoYu, so it must mean they're the best, or one of the best", so then they buy from MoYu and not other companies such as QiYi or GAN. Perhaps that is the reason for all of these cubes.
For cubers new or too lazy to research, and just happy to buy products from a more famous brand, they or their parents (?) probably will just buy Rubik brand. 😆 At least they will save some money.
 
The good news is that there is finally a great, though overpriced, flagship cube among them, the Pi SE V9. By removing the maglev and edge piece magnets, and according to one reviewer, by also using shorter core magnets in the corner pieces to reduce their strength, this cube is considered the best of Moyu's 3x3 by many reviewers. It still doesn't have adjustable magnet strength. Speaking of pricing, or value, I hope they will follow QiYi in their strategy, and not Gan. I hope they are not coming out with a 2000 setting cube next.

I'm still waiting for an updated Weilong AI cube.
Is the Pi SE V9 different than just the Pi V9?
 
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