The new Pax Era Pro vaporizer packs a host of improvements and brings increased transparency to the user. Pop in a pod, and the smartphone companion app displays a wealth of information generally unavailable to the average user. The idea is to provide more peace of mind about what’s in each pod and this system is launching at exactly the right time.
The Era Pro uses proprietary cartridges embedded with an NFC tag. Pax calls this affair PodID, and the tags are unique to each cartridge. Once the pod is inserted into the vape, using the Pax smartphone app, users can access detailed information including oil content, strain information and potency, flavor profiles, producer information, and state-regulated test results.
What’s more, because of the PodID, the brand partner who created the pod can set a recommended temperature setting, eliminating a lot of user guesswork. If a user overrides the setting, the new setting is saved to the pod.
Pax rolled out these pods a few months ago. Different packaging and a red ring around the cartridge lets users tell them apart from the original pods. Pax tells TechCrunch they have signed up 60 so-called brand partners — the companies which produce and fill the pods with the sticky goodness.
PodID is hitting the market at the ideal time as regulators are seeking ways to increase consumer safety and clear, tangible data answers that call. I dug into the info on my test unit and it’s full information presented in an easy to read, accessible format.
But there’s a catch. Apple instituted a blanket ban on vape apps in November. Right now, the information available through PodID is only accessible on Android phones. Pax tells me they’re working on a solution to bring...