Considering that they sell one of those, I’m going to assume they’ve heard of it. ;)
It’s very likely existing smart soldering pens were the inspiration.
iFixit even mentions they didn’t include a screen like the Pinecil because most people don’t actually mess with the settings that much when they are on the go.
What they probably meant is they didn’t include a screen because this way they can sell their overpriced battery pack.
Those look pretty cool.
But I’m confused about the marketing around the cpu/ram, etc. Does that really matter for a soldering iron? (Serious question, not being snarky).
I get they’re using that tech to make it adjustible/smart, but it’s a soldering iron, not a pocket computer.
Is there some way those specs genuinely matter? Or is it just to say “we’re using the latest tech to provide controls”?
Smart soldering irons have been around a while, so yes. It is now like a PC and specs matter a little.
One advantage smart irons have is being able to give you a readout of the exact temp of the tip of your soldering iron, something a traditional iron cannot do.
It also needs chips and sensors to do things like auto-off when it is set down.
So the quality and speed of chips affects performance.
Sounds like marketing foo.
I have a 10+ year old Weller station with digital temp adjustment, and I don’t recall it having a cpu and ram.
Have they not heard of the TS100 or the Pinecil?
Of course they have.
An iFixit co-founder has been responding to questions over on Hacker News:
I love my Pinecil V2. It was cheaper than my 40W entry level Weller station and heats up way faster. I run it off my Anker USB power supply and also my Anker USB power bank. The power bank only outputs 30 or 40 watts though so I might upgrade that in the future. High wattage power banks are expensive though :/
That Pinecil has a 30 day warranty? Not a lot if confidence in the longevity of their product.
It very much sounds like ifixit are actively asking influencers/reviewers to compare it to at least one of those in the videos.
Which is a little odd to me, since I don’t think it compares favorably vs either. Maybe against the ts80p because it’s significantly lower wattage and more expensive than the other two.
The TS80P is lower wattage, technically, but the heating element is right up at the very tip, instead of having a heating element inside the handle with a long metal piece transmitting the heat. It gets hot way faster than you’d expect, it doesn’t feel like 30W at all.
It punches way, way above its weight. Unless you’re soldering pipes, comparing the wattage to traditional irons is misleading. Love that tiny thing.
Only problem is that this design necessitates proprietary tips that are relatively expensive. Not a fan of that, coming from the no name Global South Especiale 2$ firestarter irons that are the norm where I am. Not the end of the world, but worth keeping in mind.
The one I bought came with a USB-C cable that couldn’t handle the current though. That was the only real red flag. Shame too, that cable seemed like it was silicone coated and would have been ideal.
