RELX Phantom Launch

On December 8, RELX quietly launched a new product. “Quietly” is only relative, of course, because compared with the huge pre-launch hype around the JVE 1.2 Brilliant Series released at about the same time, the RELX Phantom kept a much lower profile.

That said, despite the low-key and mysterious rollout, it didn’t really deliver the kind of wow factor you’d expect from lifting the veil off a beautiful new product. Aside from changing the breathing light into the so-called tidal light and finally making the pod design compatible with the previous generation, the rest feels largely insignificant. Of course, that’s just a personal view. Let’s take a closer look below.

Tidal breathing light

The RELX Phantom changes the breathing light from the small ring light on the RELX 4th Gen Infinity into a 4-bar LED strip. The so-called “tidal” effect means that every puff makes the light flash in a wave pattern, while the number of illuminated bars reflects the remaining battery level. Each bar represents 25% battery. All 4 bars lit means a full charge, while only 1 bar lit means the battery is below 25%.

And then... that’s basically it. Yes, just that. The design change does make it more convenient for users to check the remaining battery level at any time, and visually it adds a bit of a tech feel. But is that really such a big deal? 

Pods compatible with the previous generation

Although RELX Phantom launched with around 9 so-called Phantom pod flavors, the flavors themselves have not really changed much and are almost no different from the previous RELX Infinity generation.

The Phantom pods claim to feature a self-developed labyrinth airflow channel with as many as 11 layers in the maze structure, effectively blocking condensation while allowing airflow and separating e-liquid. According to experimental data, its leak resistance is improved by 40% compared with the first-generation RELX. Yes, you read that right—it is being compared with the first generation.

Anyone familiar with the first-generation RELX has seen how bad the leaking problem was—it was pretty terrible. By the time the 4th Gen Infinity came out, that issue had basically already been improved and eliminated. In other words, the leak-resistance marketing for the RELX Phantom is more or less optional. If the 4th generation already didn’t leak, can this really count as a standout upgrade?

The one thing truly worth mentioning is that RELX, the industry giant and market leader, has finally started trying cross-generation compatibility within its own product line. The pod slot opening on the Phantom is the same as the Infinity, which means the pods for these two generations are interchangeable. Now that is what really deserves attention—consumer-friendly and absolutely worth a double thumbs-up. Of course, it’s only something to applaud because this kind of compatibility came much later than it did for brands like LAMI and JVE.