I really love my Bambu P1S Combo, it just rocks everything. It’s fast, reliable, and easy enough to recommend to someone without a ten-minute speech about calibration, maintenance, or weird little habits they need to learn. for most of what I printstill feels like one of the smartest purchases in consumer 3D printing. That’s still enough to satisfy me Bamboo Lab’s X2D made my perfectly good printer feel a little incomplete.
X2D seems to focus on the precise parts of desktop 3D printing, which still feel messy, even if the machine itself is perfect.
What’s getting under my skin isn’t simple new toy syndrome. X2D seems to be aimed at precise parts of the desktop 3D printing that still feels messyeven if the car itself is great. I can live with the waste cleanup, tougher support cleanup, and some material compromises, but I can’t say I enjoy any of it. When a new printer appears to smooth out those particular rough edges, a little jealousy starts to feel quite reasonable.
X2D still goes after the annoyances I have
It promises cleaner prints with fewer compromises
The biggest reason why X2D caught my attention is because it is dual nozzle approach. My P1S Combo already handles a lot, especially when I want multi-color prints or easier filament changes, but still has to do it all with one nozzle. This means extra cleanup, more waste, and the usual compromises that come with trying to cram multiple jobs into one hotend. X2D seems to be Bambu Labs’ answer to this problem, and it’s hard not to notice.
This is important because support material is still one of the least fun parts of printing. A print can look fantastic off the bed, then immediately turn into a cleanup project with pliers, cutters, and a low-level argument between me and a piece of plastic. If X2D really does make support interfaces cleaner and easier to debug, that’s no small quality-of-life benefit. It changes how willing I am to print more complex shapes in the first place.
It also makes the car feel more thoughtful than crazy. Many printers launch with bigger numbers and higher promises, but not all of these changes improve the day-to-day experience of living with a printer. What makes X2D so appealing is that it’s focused on reducing the hassle rather than winning the speed contest. As someone who already has a fast printer, it’s this kind of improvement that catches my eye.
It feels like a smarter next step than a simple update
Appeal is ability, not just speed
Desktop 3D printing has spent the last few years on a frenzy for speed, and I can see why. Faster prints are easy to market, easy to demonstrate, and easy to get excited about when you’ve spent years waiting forever for key parts. But once a printer is fast enough to feel modern, speed becomes less important. This is when I start paying more attention to waste, material flexibility, consistency, and whether or not the machine allows me to try more ambitious things without thinking twice.
This is where X2D starts to look like a real step forward instead of just a regular update. It’s not just about printing quickly. It appears to be designed to handle a wider variety of materials more comfortably, while also making finishing more complex prints less tedious. My P1S is still a very capable printer, but the X2D has a wider, more mature appeal. It feels like a machine designed to reduce friction, not just shave minutes off the timer.
I was also drawn to the fact that it prioritized long-term use over first-day excitement. A printer that is predictable, maintains high quality, and asks less of me over time is worth more than a printer that just makes a good first impression. The P1S already does a lot of things right in this regard, which is part of why I like it so much. But the X2D gives off the vibe of a car that takes that comfort even further, and that’s where the jealousy starts.
My P1S Combo is still quite a printer
Most probably don’t need an update
To be fair, there is a very strong argument for staying put. The P1S Combo is still one of the easiest ways to get into indoor, reliable, relatively polished 3D printing without venturing into more expensive territory. This hobby solves most of the problems that make it feel harder than it should be. I’m not sitting here frustrated with my setup or trying to avoid some broken workflow.
This is important because envy and neediness are two very different things. I don’t spend every day on heavy engineering parts that support printing, or constantly switching between materials that require more specialized handling. Most of what I print is practical, simple and already in the comfort zone of the P1S. In those moments, my current printer doesn’t feel limited at all. It feels like a sensible tool for the job.
There’s also something comforting about using a machine I already know well. I understand his strengths, I know where his compromises are, and I’ve already shaped my habits around how he behaves. A newer printer can always promise a cleaner future, but it also comes with a learning curve, a realistic price, and the usual launch window uncertainty that follows any major new product. The P1S may not make me jealous every day, but it still earns its place with very little drama.
Of course, “obsolete” isn’t always literal. A new printer can make your current printer feel old without actually making it worse. If your machine is still giving you reliable prints, the better question is not whether it’s outdated, but whether a newer model really solves the current problems. This is especially true for something like the P1S Combo, which is still a very capable printer, even if the X2D clearly shows where the market is headed.
That still doesn’t stop X2D from looking incredible
It stops feeling good enough, soon enough
However, I don’t think my jealousy is shallow or irrational. The case against the X2D basically comes down to one simple point: my current printer is already good enough. This is true, but only up to a point. Better support management, less waste, greater material flexibility, and a more targeted-looking workflow are all improvements that make me want to print things I might otherwise avoid. This makes more sense to me than another generic claim about speed.
There’s also a bigger shift going on here that’s hard to ignore. X2D doesn’t count on Bambu Labs throwing out a bland version and hoping people will cheer anyway. It feels like the company is trying to push the more advanced print features to a level that still feels accessible to enthusiasts. Once this happens, old cars don’t deteriorate overnight, but they start to feel like they’re in a previous chapter. It’s a hard feeling to shake when you already like the way things are going.
Yes, I still love the P1S Combo. It remains one of the easiest printers I’ve ever owned to simply operate and trust, and that counts for a lot. But the X2D makes me jealous because it focuses on the parts of 3D printing that I want to make less annoying. This kind of envy does not only arise from hype. It comes from experience.
Why this jealousy is completely justified
The funny thing is that my P1S didn’t really let me down. It’s still as great a printer as it was before the X2D came along, and I’d still recommend it to a lot of people without hesitation. But new hardware has a way of exposing the compromises you quietly accepted because they were the best option at the time. X2D makes these trade-offs more apparent than ever before.
That’s why it’s more palpable than the usual gadget craze. I’m not jealous that X2D is newer. I’m jealous because it looks like a printer designed to handle the exact jobs I can still tolerate on a machine I otherwise love. My P1S Combo is still great, but the X2D managed to sum up the absolutely “awesome” feeling a little less.
- Installation Volume
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256 x 256 x 256 mm
- Print Speed
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1000 mm/s
- Materials used
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Support for PLA, PETG, ABS, ASA, TPU, PLA, Support for PLA/PETG, Support for ABS, Support for PA/PET, PET, PA, PC, PVA; Carbon/Glass Fiber Reinforced PLA, PETG, ABS, ASA, PA6, PAHT, PPA, PET
- Brand
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Bamboo laboratory
