You ever thought the Rubik's Cube needs a 21st-century iPad kid glow up? Me neither, and yet the $299 WowCube is now officially available to preorder.
The Rubik's WowCube comes with 24 LCD screens and an AI-based application that tracks the time you've spent playing with it, alongside the number of twists you've made. The official website says the WowCube is "the most advanced toy you can gift", claims it is "10 x better" than the standard Rubik's Cube—which you'd expect, given it's 20 x more expensive.
Alongside this, the website is pitching a WowClub Pass, which comes with the Mindhub AI app, a monthly games catalogue, extra widgets for the cube, an app for building apps, and member discounts on future cubes. It sounds like Rubik's is all but shipping a battle pass with this new electronic device.
This is not the first WowCube to exist. Cubios (the company behind it) announced a WowCube before at the same price point, but this is a collaboration with Spin Master, which paid $50 million for the Rubik's Cube brand at the start of 2021. It seems like the basic cube idea is the same (slap 24 screens to a Rubik's Cube).
I paid $200 for Panic's Playdate, a tiny yellow device that lets you play games with a crank, and yet I can't quite see the appeal of the WowCube. Having only four grids per side, it has 24 grids total, which is 30 fewer than that of a standard Rubik's Cube. That means, if you want to do a traditional Rubik's Cube puzzle, the WowCube will be significantly less complicated (and costs 20 times more).
The WowCube doesn't actually seem designed to appeal to those who like Rubik's Cubes, as those who like Rubik's Cubes are likely looking for an actual challenge. It comes with support for games like Cut the Rope, 2048, a crossword game, and a handful of others. This is distinctly a grouping of games I remember playing on an iPod over a decade ago, and not something I'd pay quite so much money for now. Here's hoping something more original is in the pipeline on the software side.
The website boasts an all-day charge (from a 3600 mAh battery), built-in microphones, eight speakers, and it claims the WowCube is "not a console" and that it is instead "a whole new thing". It comes with eight processors, eight gyroscopes, and eight accelerometers, alongside a neat little dock.
Reviews of the last iteration of the WowCube weren't hugely positive, claiming it was overpriced and niche, with a weak battery. Those latter points could change with this new refresh, but the price point is the same. Still, if you're interested in dropping $300 on all those screens, ordering now will see it arrive in time for the holidays.
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