Mid-cycle — watch for announcements before buying. Kobra 3 Pro or Kobra 4 is expected, but not imminent.
📅 Add launch to calendarNo upcoming deals on the radar
Expected late 2026
Anycubic follows approximately a 12-18 month refresh cycle. A Kobra 3 successor with improved ACE Pro multicolor and possibly CoreXY motion is expected in late 2026.
The Anycubic Kobra 3 brings multicolor printing (ACE Pro, 4 colors) to Anycubic's prosumer bed-slinger lineup. Released 2024, the Combo bundle with ACE Pro makes it one of the most affordable 4-color options available — competing directly with the Bambu A1 Combo at a lower price point.
The Kobra 3 Combo with ACE Pro is one of the most affordable 4-color filament switching setups available — often underpricing Bambu's A1 Combo.
Anycubic's ACE Pro handles filament feeding, drying, and switching in a single unit — a thoughtful integration for multicolor.
Full automatic bed leveling and offset calibration reduce setup friction.
Budget makers who want 4-color multicolor printing without committing to the Bambu or Prusa ecosystem — and are comfortable with a less mature software experience.
The Bambu A1 Combo has a better software ecosystem (Bambu Studio), more reliable AMS filament switching, and stronger community support. The Kobra 3 with ACE Pro is typically cheaper. If software quality and ecosystem matter, Bambu. If budget is the priority and you're comfortable with a less mature system, Kobra 3.
The Bambu AMS is the more mature system with better community documentation, broader material compatibility testing, and more reliable switching out of the box. The ACE Pro handles filament feeding and switching in a single unit and works well, but requires more calibration and has a smaller support community. If you want multicolor that just works, Bambu. If you want multicolor on a budget and are willing to tune it, the ACE Pro delivers good results.
Yes — the Kobra 3 uses a bed-slinger motion where the print bed moves back and forth in Y. For most prints up to 200–250 mm/s this is not an issue. At maximum speed (500 mm/s) dimensional accuracy on tall, narrow objects can suffer due to bed inertia. For multicolor prints — which require slower speeds for clean transitions — the bed-slinger limitation is largely irrelevant.
Not reliably. Without an enclosure, ABS and ASA are prone to warping and delamination, especially on larger parts. The Kobra 3 is best suited to PLA, PETG, and TPU. If you need ABS or ASA regularly, consider an enclosed printer like the Creality K1C.