2020 has certainly been the year for app-controlled sex toys. Last month I reviewed the Vibease Smart Massager, a remote controlled panty vibe. This month, Vibease has sent me another of their app-compatible toys to test and review. The Esthesia is a rabbit-style vibe that can be used with or without the Vibease app.

I find rabbit style vibrators the hardest to shop for and the most challenging to review. Rabbits are intended to provide simultaneous stimulation to the clitoris and the g-spot, to create strong blended orgasms. However, it can be devilishly tricky to find a rabbit vibe that’s the perfect fit. No two vulvas are the same and there is a vast range of distance between the clitoris and vaginal opening from person to person. For that reason, it’s tricky to find the perfect rabbit vibe that is going to fit your body, and hit both spots in a way that feels satisfying. It’s also difficult to review rabbit vibes, because I’m very aware that a design that works really well for my body probably won’t work for everyone.

The Esthesia’s design cleverly works around this problem by making the base of the internal arm very flexible. Once you’ve inserted the vibrator, it’s easy to angle the toy so that the external arm lines up with your clitoris. The internal arm doesn’t have a huge range of motion, so I predict that there will still be some people who will struggle to make this work for them. But that extra inch of wiggle room makes this toy accessible for a wider range of people.

Another advantage of the flexible arm is that it gives you a bit more range to thrust with the toy if that’s what you’re into. Typically, rabbit vibrators can be very rigid, and so if you thrust with the internal arm, you wind up painfully mashing the top arm into your clit. The curved shape of the Esthesia combined with the flexible body mean that you can enjoy some gentle thrusting. The Esthesia won’t stand up to vigorous pumping, but it does allow you to move and massage yourself with the toy as you play.

I’m a huge fan of the shape of the Esthesia. A lot of rabbit vibes feature a straight internal arm, which don’t reach the g-spot. The body of the Esthesia is perfectly curved to seek out and apply pressure to the g-spot. I usually have to play around a bit with a new toy to get it to hit my g-spot, but the first time I used the Esthesia it just zeroed in on the exact spot. The tip of the internal arm is quite firm, which I really like because my g-spot tends to prefer direct pressure. The toy is tapered so it’s easy to insert, and the curved shape feels filling even though this is a relatively slender toy.

The controls on the toy itself consist of two heart-shaped buttons on the handle. One button switches the toy on and off and the other cycles through the different modes. If you’re using the button controls only, there aren’t many modes to choose from. There are four patterns and one solid vibration on quite a high setting. You have to cycle through all the patterns to get to the solid vibration, which I kind of hate. However, if you sync the toy up to the Vibese app, you can use your smart phone as a remote control. This gives you access to a much broader range of vibration speeds and strengths, and for me it was the most satisfying way to use this toy. The app is very simple to use and once you’re synced up, you can create your perfect vibration with the touch of a finger.

The app also allows you to hand over control of the toy to a partner, whether they’re in the same room as you or in a completely different country. This makes it a fantastic tool for long-distance relationships and maintaining intimacy during the pandemic. There’s also a library of erotic stories that you can download which are designed to sync up with the vibrations of the toy. (I talk a lot more about this function in my Vibease Smart Massager review).

The one thing I felt was missing is the ability to control each motor independently. Rabbit vibrators have two motors- one in the internal arm and another in the external arm. More often than not, the motors operate on the same set of controls. I personally find this to be a bit of a bummer, because my g-spot can handle a lot more vibration than my clitoris. So I always have to choose whether I want my G-spot to have not quite enough stimulation, or my clitoris to have far too much. It makes it hard to reach a blended orgasm when one erogenous zone isn’t being stimulated the way it likes. I’ve always enjoyed rabbit vibrators that let you have two different vibration speeds at once, and I had hoped that the Esthesia would have that function. I was disappointed that the Vibese app only lets me control both motors simultaneously. Given the level of control you have over the speed and strength of vibration, it would have been awesome to be able to direct the stimulation exactly where I wanted it.

The vibration quality of the Esthesia is pretty impressive. It’s quite a strong, rumbly vibration which does get a tiny bit buzzy as you reach the faster settings. It’s advertised as being “silent but powerful”. While the toy isn’t silent, it definitely is very quiet. However it does get a lot louder as the strength ramps up. I would have expected a toy that’s this powerful to be a lot noisier, so I’m impressed with how quiet this toy is.

Overall I think the Esthesia is a pretty great rabbit vibrator. The design will work for a wide range of people and the powerful motor delivers truly satisfying vibrations. The Vibese app is a fantastic accompaniment to this toy, opening up lots of creative ways to play and explore with the one toy. It’s a versatile vibrator that is really well designed, and I was very impressed with it’s performance.