GAN 11 vs GAN 12 vs GAN 13 vs GAN 14 vs GAN 15 vs GAN 16 vs GAN 17: How GAN's Flagship 3x3 Has Evolved

GAN has released a new flagship 3x3 almost every year, but the progression from the GAN 11 M Pro to the new GAN 17 has been anything but straightforward.

We've seen GAN introduce the magnetic core with the GAN 11, add MagLev with the GAN 12 and then move towards increasingly complicated adjustment systems, culminating in the 1,296 possible setups of the GAN 14. Just one generation later, GAN suddenly stripped much of that adjustability away with the incredibly lightweight GAN 15. Since then, the focus has shifted increasingly towards elaborate magnetic systems, eventually resulting in the 196 magnets of the GAN 17 MagDrive.

I remember attending the 2023 World Championships in Seoul and seeing literal billboards advertising the GAN 14 and its 1,296 possible adjustment combinations. At the time, this enormous level of customisation was one of GAN's headline selling points. Just one generation later, GAN went almost completely in the opposite direction.

But perhaps one of the most interesting things about GAN's recent history is that newer and more complicated hasn't always meant more popular. Some of GAN's longest-lasting cubes have actually been the simpler models.

Before the Numbered Flagships – GAN 356 X and GAN 356 M

Before GAN started naming its annual flagships GAN 11, GAN 12, GAN 13 and so on, the company's premium 3x3s carried the GAN 356 name.

One of the most important was the GAN 356 X, released in 2018. It introduced an easily adjustable magnetic system that allowed cubers to change magnet strength rather than being stuck with one factory-selected option. At the time, this level of customisation was a major development in premium speedcubes.

The GAN 356 X was followed by the updated GAN 356 X S, but there is another cube from this generation that has arguably had an even more surprising legacy: the GAN 356 M.

The GAN 356 M was effectively a more affordable and simplified alternative to the 356 X. It retained the classic GAN mechanism and magnetic positioning but removed the X's easily interchangeable magnet-strength system.

That should have made it a transitional product that disappeared as newer GAN cubes arrived.

Instead, it just kept selling.

Years after the GAN 356 X and X S ceased to be particularly relevant to the modern market, the GAN 356 M remains available today. Despite lacking a magnetic core, MagLev, repelling edge magnets, 45-degree auto-alignment or any of the increasingly elaborate technologies GAN would introduce later, it remains a popular choice.

There is an interesting lesson here which will appear repeatedly throughout GAN's subsequent flagships: more adjustability and more technology do not automatically make a cube more desirable.

GAN 11 M Pro – The Beginning of the Modern GAN Flagship

The GAN 11 M Pro, released in 2020, is where the story of the modern GAN flagship really begins.

Its biggest innovation was something that is now so normal on premium speedcubes that it is easy to forget how significant it was at the time: the magnetic core.

It is worth noting that while Gan were the first to introduce a magnetic core, for the Gan 11-15, they used a octagonal core structure which was distinct from the Ball-core structure used by all the other cube brands.

Earlier magnetic cubes such as the GAN 356 X and GAN 356 M relied primarily on magnets between the corners and edges. These magnets become increasingly attracted to each other as a turn approaches its correct position.

The GAN 11 M Pro added another magnetic interaction: magnets between the corners and the core.

This created GAN's new omnidirectional core-positioning system. Rather than the magnetic behaviour coming entirely from interactions between moving pieces, the corners could now interact directly with a fixed magnetic structure at the centre of the cube.

The GAN 11 M Pro contained 64 magnets and weighed only around 63g, which was exceptionally light for a flagship 3x3 at the time.

It was also highly adjustable. With multiple magnet-strength, centre-travel and elasticity settings, GAN advertised up to 168 possible configurations.

That number is particularly interesting in hindsight.

GAN 11: 168 configurations.

GAN 13: 216 configurations.

GAN 14: 1,296 configurations.

The direction GAN was heading in was already becoming clear.

But before GAN went all-in on adjustability, the next generation introduced another technology that would become standard across almost every subsequent GAN flagship.

GAN 12 – The Flagship That Refused to Die

Released in 2021, the GAN 12 took the magnetic-core concept introduced by the GAN 11 M Pro and combined it with MagLev.

Instead of conventional springs underneath the centres, opposing magnets provide the compression force. This removes spring friction and contributes to the exceptionally fast turning for which modern GAN cubes have become known.

It also developed GAN's corner-to-core magnetic system further, creating considerable automatic alignment. The result was an extremely light and fast cube that remained popular at the highest level for much longer than GAN probably intended.

That longevity is important. Normally, releasing a new flagship makes the previous model immediately feel outdated. That didn't really happen with the GAN 12. It was even used in Teodor Zajder's 2.76 3x3 world record single in February 2026, more than four years after the cube was released.

Even after the GAN 13 and GAN 14 arrived, numerous fast cubers continued using the 12. Instead of each generation clearly replacing its predecessor, GAN found itself competing against one of its own previous products.

Remarkably, the GAN 12 remains available years later, while the newer GAN 13 and GAN 14 have disappeared from production.

GAN 13 – More Magnets, More Adjustment

The GAN 13 MagLev arrived in 2022 and represented the beginning of GAN's push towards increasingly elaborate magnetic systems.

GAN increased the magnetic system to 88 magnets and introduced repelling magnets in the edges which interact with the core. This combined magnetic attraction and repulsion rather than relying purely on magnets pulling pieces towards their solved positions.

The other headline was adjustability.

The GAN 13 offered:

• 6 elasticity settings
• 6 centre-travel settings
• 6 magnet-strength settings

Multiply those together and you get 216 possible configurations.

That sounds enormous – and at the time it was. But GAN was only getting started.

The GAN 13 was technologically impressive, but it never really displaced the GAN 12 in the way you might expect from a new flagship. A significant number of competitive cubers continued using the older cube.

GAN 14 – 1,296 Ways to Set Up a Cube

If the GAN 13 represented GAN embracing customisation, the GAN 14 took the idea about as far as it could reasonably go.

The headline number was extraordinary:

1,296 possible adjustment combinations.

GAN achieved this by adding another adjustable magnetic system. In addition to the adjustments inherited from the GAN 13, the magnetic strength of the edges could now also be changed.

In simple terms:

6 centre travel × 6 tension × 12 corner-magnet configurations × 3 edge-magnet settings = 1,296 possible setups.

This was not a minor detail hidden in the manual. GAN made the number a major part of the cube's identity.

At the 2023 World Championships in Seoul, I remember seeing huge GAN 14 advertisements and billboards promoting those 1,296 adjustment combinations. It was difficult to imagine GAN going much further with customisation.

And, as it turned out, they didn't.

Was 1,296 Adjustments Actually Useful?

There is obviously a point of diminishing returns here.

Having multiple tension and compression settings is genuinely useful. Adjustable magnet strength is also useful when the difference between the weakest and strongest settings noticeably changes the behaviour of the cube.

But nobody is realistically going to test 1,296 configurations.

Many of those theoretical combinations also pair extremes that relatively few people would ever deliberately use. A very loose cube with an unsuitable combination of magnetic settings still counts towards that impressive 1,296 figure.

The GAN 14 therefore became an interesting demonstration of the difference between maximum adjustability and useful adjustability.

There were also complaints about popping on the original GAN 14. GAN subsequently released the GAN 14 Pro, which revised the edge design and anti-pop mechanism while retaining the enormous adjustment system.

GAN 15 – GAN Suddenly Changes Direction

The GAN 15 was fascinating precisely because of what GAN removed.

After advertising 1,296 setups as a major selling point of the GAN 14, GAN dramatically simplified the next flagship.

Rather than adding even more adjustment systems, GAN removed the user-adjustable edge and corner magnet systems and concentrated heavily on weight, simplicity and turning performance.

The result weighed only around 58–59g.

This made the GAN 15 dramatically lighter than the roughly 71g GAN 13 and GAN 14 and even lighter than the already lightweight GAN 12.

In some ways, it felt like an acknowledgement that more features don't necessarily make a better speedcube.

The development process was interesting too. Before release, GAN allowed elite speedcubers to test a range of prototypes and select the feel they preferred. Rather than giving the eventual customer thousands of ways to configure the cube, GAN had increasingly moved the optimisation process back into the design stage.

The philosophy had almost reversed:

GAN 14: "Here are 1,296 possibilities – find your perfect one."

GAN 15: "We've tried the possibilities – here's the one we think works."

That makes the transition from 14 to 15 one of the most interesting generational changes GAN has ever made.

GAN 16 – Magnets Take Centre Stage Again

With the GAN 16, GAN didn't return to the GAN 14 philosophy of making everything independently adjustable. Instead, development increasingly concentrated on the magnetic structure itself.

Gan also significantly refined the piece structure of the cube itself, after YiHeng Wang left Gan as he preferred MoYu's latest cubes, Gan sought to make their cubes more suited to these young Chinese speedcubers, the Gan 16 is in many ways a cross between the Gan 15 and the WeiLong V11 from MoYu, Gan also switched from their classic octagonal core to the same ball core structure used by all the other cube brands.

The GAN 16 expanded the magnetic interactions around the core, aiming for stronger and more continuous automatic alignment while retaining the fast MagLev feel of previous GAN flagships.

There are two very similar versions of the GAN 16, so exact specifications depend on which one is being compared, but the top version substantially increased the number of magnets and the sophistication of the core positioning system.

This was a different kind of complexity from the GAN 14.

The GAN 14 was complex because the user could change everything. The GAN 16 was becoming complex because GAN was putting increasingly elaborate magnetic engineering inside the cube, this included a centre-edge magnetic structure which hadn't been seen on any other notable release since the Valk Elite from 2019.

GAN 17 MagDrive – 196 Magnets!

And now we have the GAN 17 MagDrive.

If the number 1,296 defined the GAN 14, the number that defines the GAN 17 is probably 196.

That's how many magnets GAN has managed to put into its latest flagship.

But the more important development isn't simply the quantity. It's what GAN is trying to make those magnets do.

What Is MagDrive?

Traditional speedcube magnets are most noticeable near the end of a turn. As the pieces approach their correct positions, magnetic attraction pulls the layer into alignment.

The GAN 17's new MagDrive system – officially described by GAN as its Celestial Magnetic-Dynamic System – attempts to provide magnetic influence across the entire turn.

GAN describes the system as having a tipping point at approximately 45 degrees.

• Before roughly 45°, the magnetic system encourages the layer back towards its starting position.
• After roughly 45°, it increasingly encourages the layer to complete the turn.

At the centre of the system is a new 17.5mm micro magnetic core, surrounded by multiple interacting magnetic systems. GAN claims up to 45° of automatic alignment, compared with around 40° on the GAN 16 MagLev Max.

The result is a cube containing 196 magnets – 60 more than the GAN 16 MagLev Max.

From 1,296 Adjustments to 196 Magnets

Looking at the GAN 12 through GAN 17 together reveals a surprisingly clear change in GAN's design philosophy.

GAN 12: Establish MagLev and powerful core magnets.

GAN 13: Add more magnetic interactions and more customisation.

GAN 14: Take customisation to the extreme – 1,296 combinations.

GAN 15: Simplify dramatically and chase ultra-low weight.

GAN 16: Increase the sophistication of the magnetic system again.

GAN 17: Use 196 magnets to provide magnetic assistance throughout almost the entire turn.

So GAN hasn't really stopped making its cubes complicated.

It has moved the complexity away from the user and into the engineering.

I think that's probably the most interesting way of understanding the last six generations.

The GAN 14 handed you an extraordinarily complicated cube and allowed you to choose from 1,296 configurations. The GAN 17 is arguably an even more complicated piece of engineering internally, but the objective is for all that complexity to work together automatically while you solve it.

Which GAN Flagship Should You Buy?

If you're buying a GAN flagship today, I don't think it makes sense simply to assume that the highest number is automatically the best choice.

Choose the GAN 12 if...

You want the proven classic. There is a reason the GAN 12 survived the release of multiple successors and remains popular years later. It is extremely light, fast and strongly auto-aligning without the extraordinary complexity of some later models.

Choose the GAN 15 if...

You prioritise low weight and simplicity. At under 60g, the GAN 15 represents the biggest philosophical departure in this list and remains a particularly interesting choice if you don't care about having every possible magnetic technology.

Choose the GAN 16 if...

You want a modern GAN flagship with a sophisticated magnetic system but can find it for substantially less than the newest model. Depending on the exact version, the GAN 16 can provide much of the modern flagship experience without paying for the GAN 17's new MagDrive system.

Choose the GAN 17 if...

You want GAN's latest technology. The 196-magnet MagDrive system is a genuinely different approach to magnetic assistance rather than simply another annual change to the same mechanism.

The GAN 17 MagDrive is available here.

What About the GAN 13 and GAN 14?

Both have now been discontinued, which is slightly strange considering that the older GAN 12 remains available.

If you already own a 13 or 14, there's certainly no reason that you can't continue using it competitively. And if you particularly enjoy experimenting with cube setups, the GAN 14 remains one of the most adjustable mainstream speedcubes ever produced.

For somebody buying new today, however, their discontinuation means the decision is more realistically between the GAN 12, GAN 15, GAN 16 and GAN 17.

So Which Generation Was the Biggest Upgrade?

Looking back, I'd argue that there are three particularly significant points in this timeline.

The GAN 12 established the formula that proved successful enough to survive several supposed replacements.

The GAN 15 represented the biggest change in philosophy, abandoning the race for ever greater user customisation and instead becoming dramatically lighter and simpler.

And the GAN 17 represents the next major magnetic experiment, with MagDrive attempting to make magnets influence the complete movement of a layer rather than simply snapping it into position near the end.

But for sheer absurdity, it's difficult to beat the GAN 14.

In the space of three years, we've gone from GAN putting “1,296 adjustment combinations” on enormous billboards at the World Championships to putting 196 magnets inside a single 3x3.

Whatever GAN does for the GAN 18, I'm not going to try to predict the headline number.

A Recurring Pattern – Is Simpler Sometimes Better?

Looking across this history, there is a curious pattern.

The GAN 356 M was essentially a simpler, cheaper alternative to the technologically impressive GAN 356 X – yet it has remained on sale for years after the X disappeared.

The GAN 12 was followed by the more adjustable GAN 13 and the extraordinarily customisable GAN 14 – yet the GAN 12 outlived both of them and remained competitive at world-record level into 2026.

Then, after putting 1,296 adjustment combinations on billboards to advertise the GAN 14, GAN itself changed direction with the GAN 15, removing much of that user adjustability and concentrating instead on making the cube exceptionally light and well optimised out of the box.

This doesn't mean adjustment systems are pointless. Different cubers genuinely prefer different tensions, compression and magnet strengths. But GAN's own history suggests there is a limit to how much choice actually improves a speedcube.

Sometimes the cube that gets the fundamentals right – and doesn't ask the user to choose between hundreds or thousands of theoretical configurations – is the one that lasts.