Expert’s Rating
Pros
- Very thorough cleaning capabilities
- Impressive battery life
- Intuitive operation via physical buttons or app
Cons
- Comparatively difficult to clean debris filter
- Extremely heavy and awkward to handle
- Expensive (though not egregious)
Our Verdict
Aiper’s big and beefy robot makes quick work of pool debris, but the price will take a bite from your wallet.
Aiper makes some of our favorite pool-cleaning robots, particularly its Seagull Pro, which has become a tough, go-to workhorse around my pool that can handle the debris-laden aftermath of both a light windstorm and a torrential downpour without the fuss of larger units.
But not all of Aiper’s gear has passed muster. The Seagull Plus wasn’t effective in our tests, nor was the first edition of the Aiper Scuba S1, which is distinguished by its tough, industrial-looking treads. Now Aiper has upgraded the Scuba with the Scuba S1 Pro. Has it righted the ship and turned things around from the older model?
The Aiper Scuba S1 Pro did a great job at cleaning, effectively removing leaves and grit from the pool, and its extremely long running time certainly doesn’t hurt.
Design
While the Scuba S1 and Scuba S1 Pro carry a lot of the same DNA, I’m happy to report that they are very different robots, and that the Pro model is indeed a considerable improvement across multiple dimensions.
This review is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverage of the best robot pool cleaners.
Be advised, however, that the S1 Pro not a small device. It weighs a hefty 26 pounds, compared to the S1’s comparably slim 16 pounds and the Seagull Pro’s 21 pounds. That extra 5 pounds is significant, especially when you have to haul the device out of the pool–and of course, the robot is even heavier when it’s full of water.
It’s also bulky, measuring 17 x 19 x 12 (WxDxH) inches in size. If you aren’t comfortable tossing around a wet robot of significant girth, this is one to skip.
Like the Scuba S1, the Pro travels on two long treads that span the entire length of the device. Two cylindrical scrubbers rotate in between these treads on the front of the robot. This allows the robot to clean the floor of the pool, the walls, and the waterline, though it can’t skim the surface of the water.
Operation and features
Like most Aiper robots, the Scuba S1 Pro moves methodically, back and forth in straight lines, much like mowing a lawn. Assuming you have it set to clean both walls and floor, it starts by scrubbing the walls, then moves on to the floor of the pool.
An alternative eco mode lets you leave the robot in the pool for a week; it will scrub the floor only for 45 minutes every 48 hours until the battery dies.
The various modes–all but “wall-only”–are accessible via a small ring of buttons around the central power button. These modes (and the additional wall mode) can also be set via Aiper’s mobile app, which I’ll cover in more detail in a bit.
The Scuba S1 Pro”s various modes (all but “wall-only”) are accessible via a small ring of buttons around the central power button
The Scuba S1 Pro”s various modes (all but “wall-only”) are accessible via a small ring of buttons around the central power button
Christopher Null/Foundry
The Scuba S1 Pro”s various modes (all but “wall-only”) are accessible via a small ring of buttons around the central power button
Christopher Null/Foundry
Christopher Null/Foundry
Performance and debris removal
When finished, the Scuba S1 Pro is designed to park itself near a wall–which it did successfully in my testing–for retrieval. You have to use a pole and hook (included) to pull the robot from the water, after which it’s time to clean out the captured debris, which is captured in a single-piece filter with a hinged lid on it.
It’s not my favorite design, as cleaning it means having to awkwardly hold the filter open while you try to hose out the gunk inside; I regularly ended up rather drenched in the process. Oddly, I also found that the Pro deposited some debris on top of the filter rather than inside it, a curious problem which I haven’t been able to figure out, though it’s not really a big deal.
The Pro also includes a second, “ultra-fine” filter which looks a bit like an air conditioning filter screen. This filter is designed to capture very small particles that would otherwise pass through the main filter basket’s mesh. In my testing, I didn’t see much dirt in the ultra-fine filter, but that may simply reflect generally clean starting conditions during the week of testing.
Two filtration systems are used: one (background) for large debris, and one (foreground) to capture fine dirt and sand.
Two filtration systems are used: one (background) for large debris, and one (foreground) to capture fine dirt and sand.
Christopher Null/Foundry
Two filtration systems are used: one (background) for large debris, and one (foreground) to capture fine dirt and sand.
Christopher Null/Foundry
Christopher Null/Foundry
Ultimately, the Pro did a great job at cleaning, effectively removing leaves and grit from the pool during organic tests and performing exceptionally well at removing synthetic leaves from the pool, too, with an impressive 95-percent success rate at scooping up my samples. That extremely long running time certainly doesn’t hurt.
Charging and battery life
Like all of its other robots, the Aiper recharges via a physical port, this one covered by a rubber stopper that must be replaced before you put the robot in the pool.
The robot’s 7800-mAh battery provides a whopping 3 hours of running time, good for a specified coverage area of 2150 square feet, which is gargantuan. (My pool feels big for a residential backyard, but it’s under 500 square feet in size.)
A wide color LED that spans the front of the Scuba S1 Pro indicates current battery status, ranging from pulsing red (near-death) to yellow (under 50 percent capacity remaining) to steady blue (fully charged). Note that the LED is on whenever the unit is plugged in, and it’s pretty bright. If your robot is placed somewhere visible from inside (highly unlikely, I realize), it’s big and bright enough to be a nighttime distraction.
Mobile app
The Aiper app works with this robot, and it’s the first app-enabled Aiper product I’ve reviewed. Unfortunately, the app doesn’t do a whole lot. Pairing with a 2.4GHz Wi-Fi network is easy, but you can’t connect to the robot when it’s charging or when it’s in the pool.
That leaves working with the robot when it’s unplugged but out of the water, at which point you can use the app to change the operating mode or, more importantly, update firmware. You can also keep tabs on your filter and roller brush lifespan, though it’s hard to imagine either of them failing.
The app also keeps a log of cleaning records, but these didn’t reliably register during my testing.
The Aiper app doesn’t do a whole lot, but its most valuable feature is as a conduit for firmware updates.
The Aiper app doesn’t do a whole lot, but its most valuable feature is as a conduit for firmware updates.
Christopher Null/Foundry
The Aiper app doesn’t do a whole lot, but its most valuable feature is as a conduit for firmware updates.
Christopher Null/Foundry
Christopher Null/Foundry
Should you buy the Aiper Scuba S1 Pro?
With an $1,200 price tag (discounted to $930 at the time of this writing), the Aiper Scuba S1 Pro is a costly option compared to other Aiper offerings, with the Seagull Pro now available for an impressive $599.
The Scuba S1 Pro does compare well to luxe robots like the $1,699 Polaris Freedom Plus, roughly equaling the Freedom’s performance for hundreds less. That said, the Scuba is missing a few nice features, like a remote control and the ability to surface from the pool for hook-free removal.
If and when the price comes down, I think the Scuba S1 Pro could supplant the Seagull Pro as my utility cleaner.
