The IVG Pro V2 arrives as the latest update to IVG’s popular pre-filled pod system, bringing a sleek new touch screen and a slightly more polished device design. On the surface, it looks like a step forward. But when you dig a little deeper, the changes feel surprisingly thin. Same pods, same overall performance, and very little that genuinely improves the vaping experience. For retailers and regular users alike, it raises a simple question: is this real innovation, or just another device added to an already crowded shelf?

Every so often a new vape device lands on the desk and you pick it up hoping to see something genuinely different. A clever design tweak. A smarter system. Something that actually moves things forward.

Then sometimes you pick something up and realise it’s basically the same thing you already had… just with a screen.

That’s where the IVG Pro V2 sits for me.

The original Pro 12 system did exactly what it was designed to do. Rechargeable battery, pre-filled pods, simple operation, strong flavours. It’s part of the whole post-disposable shift the industry has been leaning into for the last year or two. Straightforward device, slot a pod in, charge it when it needs it, job done.

The V2 version arrives with what is supposed to be the upgrade: a touch screen.

Now, to be fair, the screen itself is nice. It’s clean, responsive and it gives the device a slightly more polished feel in the hand. No complaints there. But the real question is whether it actually changes the vaping experience.

And honestly… it doesn’t.

You’re still using the same style of pre-filled pods. You’re still drawing on the device exactly the same way. The performance feels identical, despite talk of “optimised power”. If there’s a meaningful difference there, it’s certainly not jumping out in real-world use.

So what we’re left with is essentially the same system, wrapped in a slightly flashier shell.

That raises the obvious question: why does this need to exist as a whole new device?

From a retailer’s point of view, launches like this don’t just appear neatly on shelves. They create clutter. Another box. Another SKU. Another product customers have to figure out when they’re already standing there asking what the difference is between the first one and the second one.

“Is it better?”

“Does it last longer?”

“Do the pods taste different?”

And the honest answer most of the time is… not really.

The industry talks a lot about moving away from waste and towards more responsible hardware systems. Rechargeable batteries instead of single-use devices. Reusable platforms instead of constant throwaway products.

But every time a brand releases a barely changed “V2” device, we end up circling back to the same issue. More hardware. More packaging. More plastic that ultimately didn’t need to exist.

All because the new one has a screen.

This isn’t just an IVG thing either. It’s happening across the whole market. Tiny cosmetic upgrades being pushed out as new releases when the original product was already doing the job perfectly well.

Real innovation in vaping doesn’t come from bolting a display onto a device that didn’t need one. It comes from improving the parts that actually matter: flavour delivery, pod longevity, material quality, and systems that last longer than the marketing cycle.

Until then, devices like the IVG Pro V2 feel less like progress and more like noise.

And if you’ve ever tried to squeeze just one more product line onto an already crowded vape shop shelf, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about.