ILUMA i One vs i Standard vs i Prime: which to buy

What is identical across all three

Heating method, temperature, and therefore taste. Every ILUMA i device uses the same induction system to heat a TEREA stick, so no model makes the tobacco taste better than another. Anyone who tells you otherwise is selling something.

All three take the full TEREA range and none of them take HEETS.

The comparison

	i One	i Standard	i Prime
Format	One piece	Holder + charger	Holder + charger
Body	Plastic	Plastic	Aluminium
Sticks per charge	Around 20	Around 20	Around 20
Top up on the move	No	Yes	Yes
Touch screen	No	No	Yes
Pause Mode	No	No	Yes
FlexBattery	No	No	Yes

Pick the i One if

Your day is home to office to home, and you are rarely out for more than a few hours at a stretch. It is the lightest, cheapest and simplest of the three, with nothing to pair and nothing separate to lose. Around 20 sticks per charge is plenty for a normal day.

Pick the i Standard if

You are out from morning until late. The holder refills from the pocket charger in a couple of minutes, so instead of rationing one battery you keep topping up. This is the difference between smoking at 8pm and not, and it is the reason most heavy users end up here rather than on the i One.

Pick the i Prime if

You want a better object and will use the extra features. Pause Mode holds a part-smoked stick for up to eight minutes, which matters if your day is full of interruptions. FlexBattery trades daily runtime for longer battery life overall. The aluminium body is noticeably more solid in the hand.

What it does not give you is more sticks per charge. If your reason for upgrading is runtime, the Prime is not the answer.

The honest recommendation

Most people should buy the i One first. It is the cheapest way to find out whether IQOS suits you at all, and if it does, its limitation shows up quickly enough that you will know within a fortnight whether you need the i Standard. Buying the Prime as a first device is spending money on features you cannot yet judge.