I note that (at least today - 22/11) the X1 series is no longer available in the Bambu store (at least for the UK and EU stores).
Is this the end of the X line entirely, or a sign of an X2 in the works?
Matthew
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The P1P also seems to not be available any more…
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Weird, but you’re right
I’d suggest X1 owners to start stockpile spare part for their X1Cs cause we may not know when Bambu will pull them out as well.
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The X1 and P1P have disappeared from the US storefront, and the P1S is now listed as backordered. Combined with the announcement that support for these models ends in 2028, less than three years after launch, the message is hard to ignore: these products are on an accelerated path toward obsolescence.
Several users have also reported that key replacement parts, including the MCU and AP boards, remain locked to the printer until Bambu authorizes the part be activated. That approach limits independent repair and leaves owners dependent on the vendor long after the initial purchase. It is difficult to view that as a pro-consumer strategy.
For anyone running or planning a printer farm, this creates real risk. If core models reach end-of-life on a three-year cadence, you are effectively committing to a continuous cycle of capital replacement instead of normal depreciation or ROI schedules. The P1 and X1 line is only approaching its three-year mark now, yet its long-term viability is already in question.
When a company starts purging their trail from Google, that’s what one might call an ungraceful exit. P1P? What P1P, Never heard of it. It reminds me of Mission Impossible “If you or any member of… the secretary will disavow any knowledge…”
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They’ve hardly purging their trail on google - the only “Not found” pages are the store page for buying the X1, P1P. The product pages listing their specs, support pages and wiki pages etc. are all still available.
Moreover the 2028 end of support applies to firmware/software updates (with security patches until 2030) not the hardware (with these quoted as dates until such updates/patches are guaranteed rather than dates they will automatically cease).
However, I think Bambulabs need to be more transparent and publish dates when devices will be withdrawn from sale, and more pertinently how long they will guarantee availability of spare parts.
Matthew
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it is concerning. But It all depends on what it means. How it is handled. For example with the AP board needing to be registered. I assume there are some issues that are depending on what serial number it applies to. Simple load a different firmware to work correctly. (I don’t know this I am guessing.) I would expect them to bind the board and have spare parts after that. But the further you get from the “end of life” date the harder it will be for spares. If that is a drop dead end of life it will cause them loss of sales on their current products. But possible.
3d printing tech is evolving fast enough those dates are not unreasonable. You will probably want the new tech anyway.
If sales of the old printer are high it will be extended. As long as there is competition for a replacement you can’t assume as your x1c dies, you will buy another or stick with the same brand. For many there will be a bias. Might be the devil, but the devil you know.
To be fair, this is specified as software support, not hardware.
On the hardware front I’ve heard rumours of a 3rd party releasing something in the near future that may future proof these printers.
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Well we should thanks X1 series pave the way to what Bambu have become now so rest in peace X1 Carbon
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Where is this announcement? I don’t see it anywhere.
Would you care to elaborate, please?
There has not been an announcement.
For what it is worth, I can still add both the X1C and P1S to a cart in the Canadian store.
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can’t wait to see a debrided x1…and fully liberated from the walled garden
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This is all I - and for that matter any hobbyist - can ask for: future-proofing. Aside from the bullying tactics of “Do it my way or the highway,” nobody wants to step onto the treadmill of forced obsolescence.
What fuels my animosity toward Bambu leadership is how they herded customer behavior after luring us in. When I bought the P1P in 2023, they offered a full catalog of spare parts and upgrades. The machine was marketed as extensible and highly upgradable. That freedom to modify your rig is a core driver for makers. It is the creativity that defines the hobby.
Those of us who supported Bambu when they were the White Jedi have now watched the Padawan turn into the Sith. Dramatic, sure, but accurate enough.
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I see it as a numbers game. How can you sell more?
Trying to predict the future is hard. Sometimes you do it right sometimes not.
Just because some say they want a bigger. Does not mean they will sell enough to make it viable. Let alone upgradable…
Combine that with competition for doing the same, equals release ASAP. before the bugs are gone. “How bad is it” is good enough. Engineers try to remove as much LUCK, but can’t get rid of it all.
Back to the topic of the thread.
3D printing is very dependent on predictability. All it takes is a little non uniformity of the filament to ruin a print. And if your filament is a little more expensive because you do the extra QC step. It is not as popular. Don’t sell as much, cant distribute the NRE (Non Recurring Engineering) costs. It gets complicated very quickly.
Oh noooooo, US store as well, I run an X1C farm, and tried to buy 3 more but missed the notification email, was hoping they’d come back in stock for actual Black Friday or something but I’d pay full price as I actually do need more of them. I’m so sad, I’ll be likely buying a P2S to play with as it’ll likely be the future of my farm, but now I have to look to resellers to buy additional X1Cs. Man this sucks.
Rumor’s about the p1s that they have completely stopped manufacturing them since they’ve announced the p2 so also buy/stock up on parts before it’s to late.
You seem to forget that there are a lot of people for whom 3D printing is not a “hobby.” The machine are tools, and if I were Bambu, I’d worry more about the people who think that way, rather than the hobbyists. Who buys multiple $1,000 machines? Not the hobbyists. (Why do you think Bambu made an “offline” mode available for the high-end H2 machines? Corporate customers demanded it and are willing to pay. Consumers and “hobbyists” have to feed the data mining.)
At this point, I don’t really think that “Makers” are driving 3D printer innovation. It’s the people who buy a tool and want it to simply work, without futzing with it, without spending hundreds of dollars on upgrades and modifications. It’s a lot easier in a corporate environment for the initial purchase to be “fully upgraded,” because going back to the Powers-That-Be to buy the upgrades is a painful process.
Your problem is thinking that a for-profit corporation has that “White Jedi” attitude. Don’t fantasize like that. (Remember this particular company whose original motto was, “Don’t Be Evil?” Yeah, funny how they dropped that almost immediately because, well, they’re pretty darn evil.) I bought the X1C not because of any pretense that BambuLab were “The good guys,” but simply because I know people who actually owned the product and they said, “yeah, it pretty much just works without much trouble. The WiFi/networking/cloud thing sucks, but otherwise it does the job.”
Finally – re: your Jedi analogy. The subtext of Episodes 1 through 3 is that even those with high ideals can grow arrogant and complacent. So you should not have been surprised at all when the Padawan turned to the Dark Side.
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My X1C arrived 11-3 with a shattered door. I request a new printer. After going back and forth with support and jumping though all there hoops they refunded my money 11-24. No explanation.
Thank you for sharing that information. You mentioned that they did not provide an explanation. Did you request one? It would be helpful to know their response. Regardless, this situation does not inspire confidence in the long-term support for spare parts.