The DaVinci IQ is here, and it’s the device that finally makes the brand feel grown-up. The headline bits: four Smart Paths that ramp the temperature through a session, a ceramic zirconia air path that DaVinci is calling the flavour chamber, a forty-dot LED display on the front, and a phone app that gives you precise control if you want it. It runs on a removable 18650 battery, which on a portable in 2018 is a small relief.
This is a snapshot from launch. We’ve had units on the bench for a couple of weeks now, so this is early impressions rather than a six-month verdict.
What’s actually new here
DaVinci’s last portable, the Ascent, was fine but it had a glass vapour path that cracked if you looked at it wrong. The IQ throws that out. The whole air path is now ceramic zirconia, including a hollow “pearl” that sits in the mouthpiece and shortens the path so the vapour cools less on the way out. The result is a warmer, tastier draw than the Ascent managed, and nothing in there to shatter in your pocket.
The other genuinely new thing is the display. Forty little LEDs in a grid on the front, and they’re not just decoration. They show your temperature, your battery, and a battery-style boost meter when you hold the button. It looks the part and it reads clearly outdoors, which the old screen-less DaVincis never did.
Smart Paths, explained
This is the feature people will ask about. Instead of setting one fixed temperature, you pick one of four Smart Paths, and the IQ climbs through a range over the course of a session.
Smart Path 1 runs roughly 177 to 188°C, gentle and flavour-led. Path 4 sits up around 199 to 215°C for thicker clouds. The idea is that a session naturally wants more heat as the bowl gives up its goodness, so the device does that ramp for you. It works. Most people will park on Path 2 or 3 and never think about it again.
If you’d rather just set a number, you can. Hold the button and use the boost mode, or open the app and dial in any temperature you like in single degrees. Both options are there, which is the right call.
The app
The companion app pairs over Bluetooth and lets you set precise temperatures, build your own custom Smart Paths, adjust the screen brightness and the auto-shutoff timer, and check how much battery is left. It’s the kind of app you’ll use twice in setup and then forget about, and that’s fine. The point is the IQ works fully without your phone. The app is a bonus, not a crutch.
What to know before you commit
A few honest notes from the first fortnight.
It runs warm in the hand at the higher paths. Not alarming, but you’ll notice it on Path 4. The draw has a touch more resistance than a Mighty, partly because of that narrow zirconia path. And the oven is on the small side, which suits a solo session better than passing it around a group.
The flavour chamber is lovely but it adds a step at cleaning time, because zirconia holds onto residue and wants a regular wipe-through with isopropyl to keep tasting clean. Budget a couple of minutes for upkeep and it stays sweet.
Who it’s for
The IQ suits someone who wants a pocketable, good-looking vaporiser with real flavour and doesn’t mind a little fiddling. If you loved the Ascent but hated the fragile glass, this is the obvious upgrade. If you want the absolute easiest big-cloud session with no thought required, a desktop or a Mighty is still the comfier pick.
For the full DaVinci line and where the IQ sits against the Ascent and the smaller MIQRO, have a look at our DaVinci collection. And once you’ve got one, keeping the air path clean is most of the battle, so the general advice in vaporizer maintenance applies here too.
That’s the IQ at launch. A confident, well-built portable that earns its name, with flavour as the headline and only minor quibbles. We’ll update our thoughts once it’s had a proper run.