Vaporesso XROS 4 vs XROS 5: What's Actually Different?

If you're weighing up the Vaporesso XROS 5 against the Vaporesso XROS 4, this guide walks through what's actually changed between the two generations in 2025. The kits look almost identical sitting next to each other - same shape, same general size, near enough swappable on a shelf. The differences are where you use them day to day.

I've had both on rotation for a while. From the Vaporesso XROS vape series, the 5 brings genuine upgrades in the places that matter for daily use. Whether they're worth it depends on what's bugging you about your current setup.

Vaporesso XROS 5 Specs at a Glance

Skimming for numbers rather than the story? Here's every headline spec of the XROS 5 in one place, with the XROS 4 figure alongside where it differs.

Spec	XROS 5	XROS 4
Battery	1500mAh	1000mAh
Charging	3A USB-C, flat to full in under 40 minutes	2A USB-C, about 30 minutes
Output	5 to 30W, fully adjustable	5 to 30W across three modes
Display	0.88 inch HD colour screen	0.96 inch colour screen
Pods	COREX 3.0 included, 2ml	COREX 2.0 included, 2ml
Pod resistances	0.4 to 1.2 ohm, cross-compatible	Same range, cross-compatible
Draw	Auto-draw or button, adjustable airflow	Auto-draw or button, adjustable airflow

Each of these gets a proper look in the sections below, so keep reading for what the changes mean in use. Two things the table can't show. First, pod compatibility works in both directions across the whole family, so spares from an older kit still have a home in the newer one.

Second, the 5 remembers your last wattage setting for each pod resistance. Swap between the 0.6 ohm and 0.8 ohm pods and neither needs setting up again, and no spec sheet has a row for that.

Battery and Charging

This is the big one.

The XROS 4 runs a 1000mAh battery with 2A USB-C charging. Full charge takes about 30 minutes, and I'd get through most of a day on normal use before it needed topping up. Heavy chain vaping sessions? I was reaching for the cable by mid-afternoon.

XROS 5 bumps that to 1500mAh with 3A fast charging. Vaping360 tested a full charge at 26 minutes, which matches what I've seen. The extra 500mAh sounds modest on paper but it's a 50% increase. I'm comfortably getting a full day out of it, sometimes stretching into the next morning if I'm not hammering it.

The charging speed is where it gets silly. Ten minutes plugged in while you're making a brew gives you enough for hours.

COREX 2.0 vs 3.0 Pods

Both kits use Vaporesso XROS pods and every pod in the range works in either device. So you're not locked in.

The XROS 4 shipped with COREX 2.0 pods. Solid flavour, reliable, lasted me about a week per pod with sweet liquids.

XROS 5 introduced COREX 3.0. The Hive Mesh coils structure spreads heat more evenly and the upgraded cotton wicks faster. In practice: cleaner flavour that holds up longer before dropping off, and fewer dry hits when the liquid gets low. I'm getting a couple of extra days per pod compared to 2.0 on the same juice.

Here's the thing though - you can pick up COREX 3.0 pods separately and use them in your XROS 4. You get most of the flavour improvement without buying a new kit. The XROS 5 does seem to squeeze a bit more out of them, but the pods themselves are the bigger upgrade. Older COREX 2.0 pods still fit both kits, so spares don't go to waste.

Screen and Display

The XROS 4 doesn't have a screen. It uses coloured LED indicators - green, blue, red - for battery level and power mode. Functional but basic. You learn to read the colours after a few days.

XROS 5 has a 0.88-inch colour screen showing battery percentage, wattage, pod resistance, puff count, and six theme options. It's small but sharp. I didn't think I'd care about having a screen on a pod kit but checking exact battery percentage instead of guessing from LED colours is genuinely handy.

Power Modes and Wattage

Both max out at 30W. Both have Eco, Normal, and Power presets.

The difference: the XROS 5 unlocks precise wattage control in 0.5W steps when you slot in a 0.4Ω pod. Every other pod resistance gives you the same three presets as the XROS 4. So if you're using the 0.8Ω or 1.2Ω pods with nic salt e-liquids, the power control is functionally identical between the two kits.

The XROS 5 also holds power more consistently as the battery drains. With the XROS 4, I'd notice weaker hits once it dropped below about 30%. The 5 keeps hitting the same right until it dies.

Airflow

Both have the sliding airflow adjuster on the back. Both cover MTL through to restricted DTL.

The XROS 5's slider moves more smoothly and has more usable positions between tight and open. It's not a dramatic difference. But if you're fussy about dialling in your exact draw - and a lot of ex-smokers are - the 5 gives you finer control.

The Five Things the XROS 5 Actually Gets Right

Strip away the generational comparison for a moment and judge the new XROS 5 purely on its own terms. Plenty of pod kits tick one or two of the boxes below.

What made this one the default recommendation in the range is that it ticks all five at once, without asking you to learn anything a disposable didn't already teach you.

1. A battery you stop thinking about. 1500mAh in a kit this slim turns charging into a once-a-day habit, and 3A charging means a short stop on the cable puts most of a day back in the tank.
2. COREX 3.0 flavour that lasts. The Hive Mesh structure isn't marketing fluff. Pods keep their first-day taste noticeably deeper into their life, which is exactly where cheaper kits fall apart.
3. A screen that earns its place. Exact battery percentage, resistance and puff count at a glance, where the earliest XROS kits left you guessing from an LED dot.
4. Three power modes that pull their weight. Eco stretches the battery, Smart reads the pod and sets the wattage itself, and Pulse adds a short boost for warmer, stronger flavour.
5. A draw you can actually tune. The airflow slider has enough usable positions to go from a tight cigarette-style pull to a loose, airy one, which matters more to ex-smokers than any wattage figure ever will.

What's not on the list is telling too: no fiddly menus, no proprietary cable, no settings you have to touch if you'd rather not. The features that stand out are the everyday ones, which is rather the point.

None of these is revolutionary on its own. Together, they're why the 5 is the version of the XROS formula we'd hand to someone who just wants a kit that behaves.

If you want the full walkthrough of modes, buttons and setup, our XROS 5 setup guide covers every control in detail.

XROS 4 Mini vs XROS 5 Mini

The Minis follow the same pattern as the full-size kits but stripped back. No screen, no fire button, draw-activated only.

Same 50% battery jump. Charging is faster on the 5 Mini too, though not as quick as the full-size XROS 5 since it uses 2A instead of 3A. If you want the simplest possible vape with no screen and no buttons, the Mini range is where to look.

Where Does the XROS Pro 2 Fit?

If battery life is your main thing, the XROS Pro 2 is worth knowing about. It has a 2000mAh battery into a body that weighs just 65g thanks to a magnesium alloy shell. That's the biggest battery in any stick-style pod kit I've seen.

It charges at 2A (slower than the XROS 5's 3A) and takes about 50-60 minutes for a full charge. But you're charging less often, so it balances out. It has a 0.96-inch colour screen, the same COREX 3.0 pods, and Vaporesso added puff tracking with daily and weekly charts if you're trying to keep an eye on your usage.

The Pro 2 is positioned above the XROS 5 in the range. If you don't want to think about charging for a full day or more, it's the one to look at. If the XROS 5's battery gets you through the day comfortably, save yourself the difference.

XROS 5 Colours and the Leather Edition

The XROS 5 comes in 14 finishes across four families: Standard, Silk, Opal and the Leather Edition. The first three are painted shades on the same aluminium frame, from sober blacks and greys through to brighter blues and greens.

Then there's the Leather Edition, which wraps the grip panel in textured leather-style trim for something that looks more like a slim lighter than a gadget.

Finish makes no difference to the internals. Battery, screen, pods and airflow are identical across every colourway, so choose with your eyes. There is one practical angle: the leather trim adds grip if a smooth painted body feels slippery in the hand.

Availability shifts with each production batch, so check the XROS 5 colourways currently in stock, including whether the leather version is on the shelf. If you're stepping up from a disposable, the leather edition is the one people mistake for something far dearer than it is.

Which Should You Buy?

Upgrading from XROS 4? If the battery annoys you, the XROS 5 fixes it. If the XROS 4 does the job and you want better flavour, just pick up COREX 3.0 pods for it and save the money.

Since this comparison was written a sixth generation has arrived above them both, and our XROS 6 vs XROS 5 breakdown tells you whether stepping past the 5 altogether is the smarter move.

First refillable pod kit? The XROS 5 is the smarter starting point. Better battery, better pods in the box, the screen is useful, and it'll age better. The XROS 4 is still a solid kit if you find it on sale.

Want maximum battery? XROS Pro 2. Nothing else in this form factor matches 2000mAh at 65g.

Prefer no screen, no fuss? XROS 5 Mini. Same battery as the full XROS 5, simpler operation.

If you'd rather weigh up the whole Vaporesso XROS pod kit range in one place, the family page lays the four current kits and both pod generations side by side.

For the latest specs and pricing, see the Vaporesso XROS 5 and Vaporesso XROS 4 product pages. Every XROS pod works in every XROS kit, so whichever you pick, you're buying into a system that isn't going anywhere.