It's been nearly four years since Cricut refreshed its central products, but today you can buy its newly updated Maker and Explore cutting machines. The new Cricut Explore 4 and Cricut Maker 4 get big upgrades, focused almost exclusively on improving what the previous versions do well.
You won't get far in the home crafting space these days without hearing the name Cricut. Most of the company's direct competition has either disappeared or become less relevant over the last couple of years, a fact immediately evident when you walk into any craft store. You don't have to look far to see hand-made stickers, iron-on clothing art, vinyl decals and beautiful greeting cards across Etsy, nearly all of which have been made with the help of these popular machines.
At first glance the biggest difference between the 4 series and its predecessors is a bolder array of color options. Where the 3 series exterior has a lighter, more pastel shade, you'll find deeper, richer color options for this upgrade. Both the Maker and Explore look nearly identical to the previous model, but if you look underneath the primary cutting blade you'll find a small white plastic foot.
This shell hides a new optical sensor aimed at providing greater accuracy when cutting printed designs, like stickers or iron-on designs. A light shines from under the plastic to illuminate whatever you're trying to cut, ensuring it will function the same, no matter how bright your craft space is.
The new features you can't immediately see are aimed specifically at Cricut's massive home crafting audience. Cricut's 3 series offered a significant cutting speed improvement when you used its self-branded Smart Materials, and the 4 series is bringing those same speed improvements to just about everything you'd cut on one of Cricut's cutting mats.
If you use Smart Materials, and especially if you prefer to buy larger rolls of vinyl, the 4 series now also allows you to design and cut projects up to 12 feet long. If you're not using Smart Materials, you're only limited by the longer 24-inch cutting mat.
Many of the differences between the Explore and Maker cutting machines remain the same. Cricut's $400 Maker 4 supports a much wider variety of cutting tools and pressure options, allowing you to cut leather, fabric and even thin pieces of wood with additional accessories. The Explore 4, while less capable, still cuts a massive array of thin materials at a much lower $250 starting price. Both will be available to buy alone, or in bundles with materials to get started.