In my experience, yes you can play around with the airflow and depending on the device/setup it can make a big difference. Of course it really is all about what suits you and meets your needs. As far as auto batteries go, those sell really well with first time e-cig users, why? they look and act like a real cigarette usually. They are close to the same size, usually have a light on the end that lights up when you take a drag, and are simple to use. I am not knocking them at all, I have a few and sometimes I pull them out and use them still to this day. Typically, not always though, people tend to decide that they want to trade up to a "better" device. But "better" is subjective as for some better is more vapor, others it is stronger taste, still others it is the ability to use tanks/clearomizers/etc. To be honest I "upgraded" to a Boge Bud becasue I wanted better battery life and to use a tank, otherwise my cheapie auto did all I needed. Then I upgraded again to a lavatube. But not for the variable voltage as that is just not something I need, I upgraded to a longer lasting battery by getting the lavatube. My primary reason to trade up was all about not swapping batteries as much, thats it. Some people really like the other features and want to be able to control their device and that's great. My point is try anything you want to and see what works for you. You will hear many people tell you want the best device is, but in truth only you can decide what you like and what works the best. And for some people it will be a small auto cigarette style device, vape on!