The Beatbot AquaSense Pro is a cordless robotic pool cleaner that not only scrubs the bottom, walls and waterline of your pool, but also skims the surface and dispenses water-clarifying chemicals with the addition of an optional kit. It works fast and does a great job of keeping your entire pool clean. We appreciate its easy setup and outstanding battery life. At $2,199, however, it’s one of the most expensive robotic pool cleaners we’ve tested. The Polaris Freedom Plus ($1,649) costs less and adds underwater remote steering support, remaining our Editors’ Choice winner for cordless pool cleaners.
Design and Features: Maximum versatility
AquaSense Pro is designed for in-ground and above-ground pools with depths up to 9.8 feet. It has a blue finish with black trim, measures 15.1 by 18.6 by 22.4 inches (HWD), and weighs 39 pounds. It uses nine motors, two front-to-back rubber track wheels and a pair of propeller units embedded in the back for propulsion. It is powered by a rechargeable 24-cell lithium-ion battery pack rated for up to 9.5 hours of surface cleaning and five hours of floor cleaning between charges. A full charge takes about 3.5 hours.
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There are four onboard cleaning mode buttons and a power button on top of the unit. Quick mode (default setting) cleans the floor once; Standard mode cleans floors, walls and waterlines once; Pro mode cleans floors, walls, waterlines and surfaces once; And Eco Mode cleans the floor once every two days. In Eco mode, leave the robot in the pool and it will automatically go to work and return to the side when the battery is low.
There is also a custom mode, which is only available on the Bitbot mobile app (available for Android and iOS). This mode cleans floors, walls and surfaces once or twice per cycle. You can choose to have the robot clean only one, two, or three sections once or twice. Missing is the spot cleaning option you get with the corded Polaris Alpha IQ+ ($1,499).
Using an opening at the front, the robot uses two filter baskets to collect debris from surfaces in Pro or Custom mode. The outer basket collects fine debris like sand, while the inner basket, which sits inside the outer basket, holds leaves and heavier debris. Baskets are easily removed and can be cleaned with a quick spray from a garden hose without getting your hands dirty.
On top, the robot features an LED battery indicator, a pop-up filter cover, a water outlet, a carry handle and a pop-up cover that holds an optional cartridge that dispenses a clarifying agent to help with cleaning. Cloudy pool water. The Clarifying Agent Kit costs $39.99 for two cartridges, and each cartridge should last a month based on once-per-week dosing. To enable the dispenser, press and hold the robot’s Quick Mode button for three seconds. To deactivate it, press the same button and hold it for another three seconds.
The battery indicator turns green when the battery is sufficiently charged, solid yellow when it is between 15% and 30% charged, solid orange when it is less than 15% charged, and flashes any color corresponding to the battery level while charging. by doing The LED flashes blue when configuring network settings and orange when there is an error.
Embedded in the front of the robot is a navigation sensor assembly that works with a pair of gyroscopes and Bitbot’s CleverNav advanced path planning technology to analyze the cleaning area and create an efficient cleaning map.
The AquaSense Pro has a built-in 2.4GHz Wi-Fi radio that connects the robot to the Beatbot mobile app on your phone. One of the main trade-offs of being cordless is that once the robot goes underwater, it loses its Wi-Fi connection, which means you can’t change cleaning modes, bring it back to the surface, end the cleaning session, or fix the problem. can’t do No other order on that matter. This means you can’t guide the robot with your phone like you can with the corded Polaris Alpha IQ+ cleaner. The cordless Polaris Freedom Plus makes up for this deficiency with an included remote control, which uses light signals to communicate with the cleaner while underwater, allowing you to operate it remotely, start or stop the current cleaning cycle, and easily start the lift system. remove
When the cleaning cycle is complete or when the battery level drops below 15%, the AquaSense Pro will automatically return to the surface, park next to your pool and drain excess water, making it easy to remove the device.
The AquaSense Pro measures air temperature but not water temperature, and it lacks a dirty filter indicator, two features you’ll find with the Polaris Alpha IQ+.
The mobile app offers all the controls you get with the onboard controls, as well as the custom mode setting mentioned above The app opens to a screen with a picture of the robot and a button labeled Enter Device. Tap the button to launch a screen that displays the current air temperature, the robot’s battery level and charging status, and a picture of the cleaner.
Below the screen are panels that display the latest cleaning record and the current operating mode Tap the Cleaning Record panel to see a list of all cleaning cycles and the mode for each Tap any cycle in the list to see additional details, such as when the cycle started, the total time required to complete the cycle, and how long it took to complete each leg (wall, floor, waterline, surface).
Tap the three dots in the upper right to access the settings screen, where you can view cleaning records, how to maintain basket and roller elements, set temperature units, update firmware and access help files. The app will send push notifications to your phone when the firmware is updated, when the filter basket is not installed correctly, when the robot completes a clean cycle and when it’s time to recharge the battery, but you won’t see these. Notification until the robot is out of water and connected to Wi-Fi.
Setup and Performance: Fast and thorough
The AquaSense Pro comes with a charging dock, a hook that attaches to your pool pole for emergency removal (not included), a quick start guide, and a user manual.
Preparing the AquaSense Pro for first use is easy. I put the robot in the charging dock, plugged it into the dock, and while it was charging I downloaded the mobile app and created an account. I tapped Scan to add to the home screen and used my phone’s camera to scan the removable QR code on the top of the robot. When prompted, I selected my Wi-Fi SSID from the list, entered my Wi-Fi password, and simultaneously pressed the robot’s Power and Quick Mode buttons for three seconds to start the network pairing process. I connected my phone to the robot’s hotspot, and within two minutes, the robot was connected to my network. I updated the firmware, and when the battery was fully charged I was ready to test.
The AquaSense Pro did a thorough job of cleaning my 16-by-32-foot in-ground pool, no matter which mode I used. It takes 120 minutes to complete a fast cycle and 149 minutes to complete a standard cycle. For comparison, the Sueto Shark needed about 180 minutes to clean my entire pool when operating in enhanced speed mode, and the Polaris Alpha needed 129 to 165 minutes depending on IQ+ mode. By comparison, the Polaris Freedom Plus took 140 to 150 minutes for a full clean. When set to Pro mode, the AquaSense Pro worked diligently for 6.5 hours and still had 20% of its battery life left.
The AquaSense Pro’s surface skimming feature worked as intended and the air temperature sensor was accurate. The robot always parked itself on the side surface of the pool and was easy to retrieve. I had no problem cleaning the basket with a quick spray from the garden hose.
Verdict: A top cordless cleaner
The Bitbot AquaSense Pro Pool Cleaner is expensive, but it offers plenty of features to help justify its price. It’s completely cordless and will park next to your pool for easy removal, and it has four cleaning modes, including a cycle that will remove debris from your pool’s surface. It’s also very easy to use: just select a cleaning mode using the onboard controls or mobile app, drop it into the pool and let it do its job. It did a very good job of cleaning in testing and accurately kept track of its cleaning cycles, but it would be nice to have some control while the robot is in the water. The Polaris Freedom Plus is an excellent option that costs $550 less and adds convenient underwater control via an included remote, remaining our Editors’ Choice winner for cordless robotic pool cleaners.
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The Beatbot AquaSense Pro robotic pool cleaner is very expensive, but it’s cordless, easy to use, and does a good job of cleaning the bottom, walls, waterline, and surface of your pool.
About John R. Delaney
Contributing Editor
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