The lil SOLID 2.0 has one of the shortest session lengths in the category and I think it is the most interesting device in this comparison because of that. Roughly two sticks per session, and then it is done. No reuse, no second pass, no clever recovery.
That design choice makes sense in Korea, where the device is built for a market with a particular set of habits and a particular set of taxes. It makes a lot less sense if you happen to live somewhere where a stick costs noticeably more than the device time is worth.
So this comparison is really about one question: what is your session supposed to be?
The GEN2.0 figures come from our specification sheet. The lil and KT&G figures come from their published specifications.
The two devices
| Spec | HEATX GEN2.0 | lil SOLID 2.0 | lil Hybrid |
| Weight | 69 g | Not published | Not published |
| Size | 34.8 × 20.6 × 92.5 mm | Not published | Not published |
| Battery | 1800 mAh | 880 mAh | 1250 mAh |
| Charging | About 90 minutes | About 95 minutes | About 140 minutes |
| Sticks per charge | 18 | Not published | Not published |
| Heating | 360° resistive, 0–320 °C | Ceramic conduction | Dual-zone induction |
| Preheat | 30 seconds | Not published | Not published |
| Session | 240 seconds | About 2 sticks per session | Not published |
| Puffs per stick | 16 first pass + 13 second = 29 | Not published | Not published |
| Stick format | ILUMA / TEREA format | lil SOLID / SMOOOTH / CREST | lil |
| Screen | Battery, 16+13 puff count, preheat | Not published | Not published |
The third column is there because it is the comparison people actually want to make. The lil Hybrid is the interesting one. Dual-zone induction heating, 1250 mAh, and the charging time jumps to about 140 minutes.
Induction versus circumferential resistive, honestly
The lil Hybrid uses dual-zone induction. Induction heating is the more elegant method in this category, and I have written about why before, but the short version is that a coil drives a metal element inside the stick, the element gets hot, and the tobacco next to it gets hot. There is no blade in the leaf, no direct contact between a heating part and the tobacco, and no need to clean anything.
What induction asks in return is precision. The stick and the heater are designed for each other, because the heat is tuned to a specific signature. This is why the ecosystems are tight, and it is why third-party sticks in an induction device are such a gamble. It is not carelessness by other manufacturers. Nobody outside the original design team knows the exact thermal profile the firmware expects.
The GEN2.0 is a 360 degree circumferential resistive element. It wraps the outside of the stick and heats inward, across a range up to 320 °C. Resisted heat is less refined than induction and it is less tightly coupled to a specific stick. What it buys is flexibility: the device heats whatever ILUMA or TEREA format stick goes into it, which is why it is not tied to one manufacturer and why a stick can be run a second time.
The lil SOLID 2.0 sits between the two. It uses ceramic conduction heating, which means heat is transferred through a ceramic element into the stick. It is a simpler mechanism than either of the above and it is reflected in the price and the battery.
The two sticks per session question
This is where the difference stops being technical and starts being about your money.
The lil SOLID 2.0 gives you about two sticks per session. The GEN2.0 gives you 240 seconds per pass, 16 puffs on the first pass and 13 on the second, 29 puffs from one stick.
Read that again, because it took me a while to appreciate it. Twenty-nine puffs out of a single stick, and the second thirteen come from the same stick with nothing more complicated than putting it back in. The 360 degree element wraps the stick, so the heat reaches the tobacco that a single-direction heater would have missed, and because the heat comes from all sides, the stick does not need rotating, extracting or re-seating for a second run.
Against that, the lil SOLID 2.0 is not leaving half a stick unused. It is running a complete, deliberately short session on one or two sticks and finishing them.
If your sticks are cheap and plentiful, the lil approach costs you very little and the compact session may suit you. If sticks are the expensive part of your week, then the number of puffs you get out of one stick is the number that decides how much a device is worth to you, and 29 against roughly two is not a small gap.
I would rather present this as a maths question than an opinion. Work out what one stick costs in your market, work out how many sessions you get per stick in each format, and then decide which of the two devices your budget actually wants.
Battery and charging, which surprises people
The GEN2.0 has 1800 mAh. The lil SOLID 2.0 has 880 mAh. That looks like a doubling and in one sense it is, but battery capacity only means something relative to how much the device does per charge.
Eighteen sticks per charge against a published figure that the lil SOLID 2.0 does not give us. I would rather leave that cell empty than estimate it, because the number depends on stick length, how hot the device runs and how the manufacturer counts, and none of those are published for the lil.
The lil Hybrid at 1250 mAh charges in about 140 minutes, which is slow. The GEN2.0 charges in about 90, the lil SOLID 2.0 in about 95, and the Ploom TECH+ in about 60. Charging speed is one of those things that never appears in a comparison table and matters every single day, because the device you are waiting for is the device you are not using.
Screen, and what the light tells you
The GEN2.0 has a three zone display. Battery percentage at the top, a live puff counter in the middle that displays the 16 and 13 segments separately so you always know which pass you are on, and a preheat indicator at the bottom. It lights up the moment a stick goes in and counts down the preheat. During heating a rotating ripple icon runs, while charging shows the Type-C symbol, an abnormal state such as over-temperature protection raises a warning icon, and dropping below 20% battery gives you a reminder.
The lil devices' display situation is not published. They are generally described as having no screen or a minimal one, and I am not going to fill in the gap with a guess.
The screen is not the reason to buy a device. It is the reason you stop wondering whether you are on your first pass or your second.
Where I would not buy either
If you want the smallest, lightest device and you are near a good stock of lil SOLID, SMOOOTH or CREST sticks, the lil SOLID 2.0 is a sound choice and the two stick session is a design that has clearly been tested in a real market.
If you want induction heating and you are prepared to stay inside one brand's stick supply chain, the lil Hybrid is the more refined machine in this group and I would not pretend the GEN2.0's resistive element is the more advanced engineering. It is a different engineering choice with different trade-offs, and the trade is flexibility for precision.
Against that, the lil Hybrid charges in about 140 minutes, which is the longest of any device in this comparison, and the ecosystem is closed.
On our side, the honest weaknesses are these. Sixty-nine grams is heavier than most of the category, and if you already own a small capsule device you know the difference between 37 grams and 69. The GEN2.0 has no app, no Bluetooth and no firmware updates, so it will be exactly this device in five years. And it does not take lil sticks, HEETS sticks or Ploom capsules. ILUMA and TEREA format only.
What I would buy
Buy the lil SOLID 2.0 if you already use lil sticks, if you like a compact session that finishes on schedule, and if the lil ecosystem works where you live. It is a well-made device and the short session is a deliberate choice rather than a compromise.
Buy the GEN2.0 if you want to get more out of each stick, if you want 29 puffs and a screen that tells you which pass you are on, if you want ILUMA and TEREA format flexibility rather than one proprietary ecosystem, and if a 90 minute charge suits you better than 140. Specifications and photos are on chillmistvape.com.
Do not buy on the battery number. Eighteen hundred milliamp hours is not inherently better than eight hundred and eighty. Buy on sticks per session, because that is the number your bank account actually feels.
Health, law and where to buy
Heated tobacco is not harmless. Avoiding combustion reduces exposure to a number of the toxicants in cigarette smoke, but nicotine is still delivered and nicotine is addictive. Nothing here is medical advice and nothing in this article claims either device is safe.
If you do not already use tobacco or nicotine, there is no reason to start. Age limits and tax rules differ by country and change frequently, so check where you live. Buy from licensed sellers only. The lil and KT&G figures used here come from the manufacturer's published specifications, and the GEN2.0 figures come from our own specification sheet. Compare the numbers, then decide which device fits how you actually use a heated tobacco device.