Smartphones are an indispensable accessory for content creators everywhere, and even though some premium smartphones come with OIS, most of the time, you NEED a gimbal to help you get smooth footage. With that in mind, we will do a hands-on review on AOCHUAN SMART X and AOCHUAN SMART X PRO to inform you about their qualities and features and help you make a purchasing decision.
AOCHUAN SMART X or AOCHUAN SMART X Pro
Going straight to the unboxing, the packaging is pretty slick and clean, with proper descriptions given on the box regarding the specs of the gimbals. The pro, obviously, comes with a few extra features, but we’ll go to that in a second. Let’s get these gimbals out, shall we?
Design and Weight
When compared side-to-side, the appearance feels quite similar with no noticeable differences, yet. The package also contains a tripod, a charging cable, and a user manual. It gives a strong and solid first impression. Visually, the gray shield made out of ABS plastic appears clean with a nice and satisfying touch to the grip itself.
But despite all that, the gimbal is relatively lightweight, where the Smart X weighs 295 grams and the Smart X Pro weighs 310 grams. Before you say it, yes we admit, these are NOT the LIGHTEST gimbals in the market, nor the most compact, but from our testing, we can assure you’ll feel little to no hand strain on prolonged usage. The gimbals can also be folded, which adds bonus points for portability and compactness.
Different Modes
Both gimbals also have support from a fully dedicated app which helps you achieve more shooting functions. The app functions similarly to a smartphone camera which includes video samples for different shooting modes. We tried the modes by ourselves and had a lot of fun playing with shooting modes like Hitchcock Zoom, Panorama Photography, and Active Tracking. From what we can tell from our extended usage, both of the gimbals do a solid job in terms of stabilization. And being compatible with almost every phone on the market, there’s almost no hassle in terms of connection.
Display
One of the perks of owning the pro version is it comes with an OLED display instead of the indicator lights from the standard version that indicate battery life, Bluetooth status, and other important statistics. The PRO version also comes with a dedicated focus control wheel on the side right here, while the standard version rocks a ¼-inch thread. The funny thing is, the thread’s comparatively more impactful since you can combine multiple accessories with it.
Battery
Here’s one of the best features that you’ll be getting with the pro variant, wireless charging, It’ll charge your phone while it’s using the gimbal! Pretty handy when you realize the only drawback for filming on phones is the battery life, and the AOCHUAN SMART X Pro deals with that smartly, which might be a big reason why you’d want to go for the pro version. And, acting as the cherry on top, you’ll be getting a magnetic battery cover, which becomes an incredibly convenient feature since the battery is removable. Both the gimbals come with removable batteries, which gives you the advantage to using external batteries as a backup option when your gimbal runs out of charge. Considering both of these gimbals share almost the same battery life, except the Pro, obviously, runs for 3 extra hours when compared to the standard 7-hour battery life of the standard version.
Our Takeaway
Both the AOCHUAN SMART X and AOCHUAN SMART X PRO gimbals are almost equal in terms of specs, we’d suggest you go for the pro variant if you prefer wireless charging, an OLED screen, and a comparatively longer battery life. But, if you want to sacrifice a few of these fancy features for the price, you can definitely go for the standard variant since it won’t take a hit on your overall video quality.
