The Voopoo Newbie with Gene chip could be the best single battery device in its price range. However, it does have some glaring imperfections that let it down.

• Gene Chip is excellent
• Fires instantly
• Compact and comfortable to hold
• Minor play in battery door

When Voopoo released the Drag it surprised everyone on our team; there was a lot of buzz around it, and rightly so as it’s a fantastic device with a great chip, but you could say maybe a little bold in its design.

The Newbie is the polar opposite; it seems there has been no marketing behind this device, so much so that we didn’t even know it existed until it turned up at our door, and it is also far more subdued in its design.

It is a single 18650 device which uses the same impressive Gene chip as the Drag and is capable of firing up to 80W. You can buy it in a kit with Voopoo’s Newbie RBA, or just the mod by itself.

In this review, we are only going to look at the mod and see if it is aptly named and an ideal device for ‘Newbie’ vapers.

Specs

• Multiple protections, safe to operate
• Firmware upgradeable
• Supports 1pc 18650 battery (not included)
• Wattage range: 5 – 80W
• TC range: 200 – 600 Deg.F / 100 – 315 Deg.C
• Output voltage: 0 – 7.5V
• Resistance: 0.05 – 3 ohm
• Charging time: 3h
• Magnetic cover
• Material: zinc alloy

Package Contents

• 1 x Mod
• 1 x USB Cable
• 1 x English User Manual

The Newbie does feel incredibly sturdy for a single 18650 device; it’s not the lightest of small devices and is made of zinc alloy, but it is still extremely pocket-friendly. It’s a little bit smaller than an eVic VTC Mini but also just a hair taller. However, due to its curved edges, it feels much more comfortable in the hand and is one of the most comfortable small devices I’ve held. It has a pleasant ergonomic shape to it and feels good firing with either your thumb or your index finger.

On one side of the Newbie, you have the adjustment buttons and a little subtle Voopoo logo badge, the other side is completely clean. The few splashes of color on the mod come from exposed plastic on the sides via little cutouts or fins and the buttons (which also match the battery compartment). The buttons are all plastic and do have a kind of Fisher Price look to them, but they are clicky with no rattle and work just fine.

The battery compartment has a magnetic door with two strong magnets to keep it closed, I’ve had no issues with the door coming off during use. However, I did have a problem with the door moving. There is a slight bit of play with it, which aggravated me so much due to its position when you hold it. I had to put a strip of duct tape on the inner top section of the battery compartment to stop any movement; now it holds together perfectly – definitely not something you should have to do with a new device.

I also noticed the paintwork coating the zinc alloy has worn away slightly on the underside of the device where I’ve been placing it down on anything but smooth surfaces. As with the battery compartment, this might not be the case with all Newbie’s but were disappointing issues to see with our device.

As with other Voopoo devices, the Newbie has a really nice stainless steel 510 connection with smooth threads, and a gold-plated spring loaded positive pin. It’s clear that the 510 is not press fitted as you can see the two mounting screws on either side. Atomizers do sit flush on the plate. However, the plate is actually slightly smaller in size than the body of the mod so anything over 22mm will sit off of it. Voopoo has made a strange design choice here because the mod is 24mm in width, but due to the layout of the 510 section, a 24mm atomizer will leave you with a slight overhang. With the popularity of 24mm atomizers, I would have preferred to see everything sit neatly, especially to calm my OCD.

The screen on the Newbie is a good size, the same as on the Voopoo Drag; it’s not the brightest in direct sunlight, but you can adjust its brightness volume through the companion software. It’s a simple layout of information on the screen, and navigating the menu can be a little tedious with button clicks, but once you get the hang of it is pretty straightforward. I won’t go into too much detail here as all functionality and menu options are the same as with the Drag. On the face of the device just below the screen is a Micro USB port for charging and for firmware upgrades via the companion software (which only works on Windows).

The performance of the Newbie was exactly what I expected from Voopoo’s gene chip. Having been a heavy user of the Drag there were no surprises here, and it was great to have such a portable device with such a good chip.

The Newbie being a single 18650 device can only power up to 80 watts maximum, so there is no ‘Super’ mode like on the Drag. All other functions are the same; it supports resistances from 0.05 – 3.0 Ohms, can do temp control for Ni, Ti, SS, NC, and TCR, and supports curves for both power and temp control – which is great.

The Newbie also has the same insanely instant firing of 0.025-seconds and smart resistance feature, which I really like. This is where it will automatically adjust wattage when in power mode to accommodate the resistance of the new atomizer. It is an estimated level and can still be adjusted, but I think it makes for a safer vape experience….especially if you are a ‘Newbie.’

A quick note on Temp Control – if you are a temperature control vaper (which seems to be a dying breed) the Gene chip is absolutely fantastic. It is the smoothest experience outside of using a DNA chip that I have experienced, and I love to dabble in TC modes on a single coil set up, especially on lower powered devices. In fact, I can safely say that I don’t know of any other single 18650 devices in this price range that can perform this good on both TC and power modes.

One important factor on a single 18650 device is battery life. Again the Gene chip helps the Newbie stand out here. It seems to last a lot longer than many other single 18650 battery mods that I’ve used and still charges relatively quickly when using the Micro USB port (however we still advise to charge your batteries separately).

The Newbie came pre-loaded with version 1.0.0.0 of the firmware; there was an update available on Voopoo’s website, bring it up to 1.0.0.1 which did not alter performance and contained pretty much all of the same features.

I think Voopoo got the naming of this device wrong. Yes, it would be a fairly suitable device for ‘Newbie’s,’ but that’s just due to the fact it is a compact single 18650 device.

I think the Newbie has a lot of advanced features to offer and is still an ideal device for advanced vapers, like myself, who want a small portable mod that performs really well.

I am extremely disappointed in the paintwork of the device, the overhang of 24mm atomizers, and the wobbly battery door that I had to perform DIY measures on.

However, I am a big fan of the Gene chip and am a sucker for good Temp Control, and that’s why even with all it’s flaws, I’m still using the Newbie as my single 18650 daily driver.

However, I’m not really sure I can recommend the Newbie to other vapers if the build quality issues are present on all the devices. If they are not, then this could well be the best single 18650 device on the market. It is incredibly affordable so might just be worth the risk – just make sure you have spare duct tape!