Aiper Scuba X1 Pro Max review: the Mercedes-Benz of pool cleaners

Digital Trends

7 days ago

Aiper Scuba X1 Pro Max
MSRP
$2,599.00
Score Details 'The Aiper Scuba X1 Pro Max is one of the best pool cleaners on the market.'
Pros Attractive design
Long battery life
Great job cleaning
Good customer service
Cons Expensive
Heavy
Poor skimming
Buy for $1799 at Amazon
Having been very impressed with the BeatBot AquaSense Pro pool cleaner I reviewed a while back, I was excited to get my hands on the Aiper Scuba X1 Pro Max which is the flagship entry from the eight-year old company and one of the most expensive pool cleaners currently on the market.
Recommended Videos
Aiper is promising the best suction of any pool cleaner, and the best intelligent mapping system out there – so I had to give it a try.
Robotic pool cleaners continue to grow in popularity, and brands are hopping on the bandwagon to give customers a plethora of options to choose from.
And while corded pool cleaners feel ancient in comparison, they are considerably lower maintenance when it comes to taking care of them, but like all emerging consumer electronics, people are curious and excited about the new technologies that are coming to the pool market as well.
Enter the Aiper Scuba X1 Pro Max, the company's flagship product that claims to have the most features, the latest technologies and the price to match. But experience has told me that all of that doesn't mean a thing if the product doesn't do what the company claims it will.
Aiper Scuba X1 Pro Max specifications
Model Suction (GPH) Battery Life Pool Coverage Price Warranty Aiper Scuba
X1 Pro Max ~8,500 GPH ~5 h floor
/ ~10 h surface Floor,
walls, waterline,
surface $2,199 (MSRP) 3 years Beatbot AquaSense Pro A100 5,500 GPH (brushless pump, 9 motors) Up to 9.5 h surface, ~5 h floor Floor,
walls, waterline,
surface, clarification $2,199 (MSRP) 3 years full-replacement Dolphin Premier (corded) ~4,500 GPH (commercial-grade pump) Plug-in/unlimited Floor, walls, waterline; scheduled cleaning ~$1,850–1,999 ~3 years (parts/service typical) Dolphin Liberty 200 (cordless) ≈3,000–4,000 GPH ~3 h Floor & some walls ~$1,799 ~2 years typical
Aiper Scuba X1 Pro Max design and build quality
If I were to describe the looks of the Aiper Scuba X1 Pro Max, I'd say its kind of like the rave that is Dubai chocolate: decadent looking. The design that stands out from other pool cleaners with its carbon fiber handle, deep glossy black paint and shiny chrome accents.
I had to laugh when I first unpacked the robot as it looks a bit much at first glance, unlike other pool cleaners on the market and certainly different than my utilitarian looking BeatBot pool cleaner.
But when I thought about it more, I guess it makes sense; this is a $2500 product, and the likely buyers are those that have higher-end pools and they will want something high-end looking to match.
The Scuba comes with thick rubber reinforced wheels, the plastic housing feels thick and durable, and the button LEDs are easy to see in sunlight. All this durability comes at a price, and that is in the form of weight. We are talking about 33 lbs. when dry – about the size of a medium dog.
Add some water and you're pushing 50-lbs when trying to pull this sucker out of the water based on my tests. So, keep that in mind. I found that I would pull the robot up just enough for most of the water to drain out before landing it on the pool deck.
If you aren't home when the unit has finished cleaning the pool and the battery has died, or if you want to remove the unit from the pool early, Aiper gives you a plastic hook to stick on the end of the pole you would normally attached your net to.
Aiper Scuba X1 Pro Max smart features and app integration
The Aiper Scuba X1 Pro Max offers both manual onboard controls and phone app connectivity. Like the BeatBot I reviewed, you connect your phone to the robot via Bluetooth for initial setup, then once connected and in the app, connect the robot to your Wi-Fi network.
The app lets you manually control the robots' settings, update its firmware, look at the cleaning history and time it took to clean during its session.
I spent some time on forums, Aiper's own website and Amazon reading user reviews as well. One thing I noticed people complain about is connecting to the robot while it was underwater. In my experience this is very common, and you should not expect to get a Wi-Fi connection while it's cleaning.
Aiper does sell an accessory called the HydroComm which will let you monitor your pools temperature, chemicals and communicate with the robot while its underwater. Personally, I find that it's not necessary to have and the $299 – $499 (depending on the Hydrocomm features) price tag is more than I am willing to pay.
I just fished the unit out with the hook, pressed the button for the cleaning mode I wanted to switch to, and dumped it back in the water. Problem solved.
Aiper Scuba X1 Pro Max navigation and pool coverage
Just like most robotic pool cleaners out there, the Aiper Scuba Xa Pro Max uses its own 'proprietary' navigation system called FlexiPath 2.0 and OmniSense+.
These technologies leverage ultrasonic sensors to scan and map your pools surfaces, enabling the robot to follow optimized cleaning paths for the floor cleaning, wall climbing and surface skimming modes. Each robot pool cleaner has their own name for the same basic technology. The more you pay, the more so-called sensors you get on the device.
In my tests, I found coverage is generally effective and I would say about 90 percent of the pool surface and walls were cleaned effectively. The robot adapted to my pools shape without issue, and I was not able to get the unit stuck at all.
With my BeatBot Aquasense Pro, it would occasionally get stuck on the small round inflow ports on the side of my pool. The Aiper robot had no issues there. The suction power of the Scuba X1 Pro Max is also visibly stronger than that of my BeatBot unit, I could see debris that were four inches out, get sucked into the robot. With my BeatBot, it had to almost be on top of the debris before it was sucked into the vacuum.
Aiper provides an extra fine particle filter as an included accessory with the Scuba X1 Pro Max which is a nice touch. You can easily swap out the filters from normal mesh to the fine mesh by just snapping them in. If you live in an area prone to getting sand or fine dust into your pool, you'll want to use this filter.
I'm based in Portland Oregon, so when I tried testing this filter, I didn't really have any smaller debris to pick up. However, the unit did a great job sucking up larger leaves and debris but quickly became full with the cleaning effectiveness diminished pretty quickly. My recommendation would be to use your pool net to clean out the larger debris first anyways.
If one of the main reasons you are considering the Aiper Scuba X1 Pro Max is because of the skimmer, look elsewhere. The built-in skimming function works, just not as well as you would think.
It's a nice added feature, and I do use it a lot when I leave the pool cover open during the day, but I also still use the net to speed up the cleaning before friends come over.
If you want a dedicated skimmer, I would take a look at the Aiper Surfer S2 dedicated skimmer ($400 from Aiper) which also connects to your phone via the Aiper app. The Surfer S2 is solar powered and the battery will last around 35 hours according to the company. I have not had a chance to review it, but should have a unit in for testing, shortly. I will say that the way the Scuba X1 Pro Max skims is pretty clever. It will track along the wall to get debris that have floated to the sides of the pool and the corners, then when its done a few rounds around the edges, it will start to move towards the center.
Let's get real about the steps
Based on my research from scouring message boards, user reviews and online stores, no robotic pool cleaner is going to do a great job cleaning your pool stairs, and it won't be perfect in cleaning the corners either. A corded pool cleaner isn't going to do a better job either.
Our expectations of these robotic pool cleaners are often unrealistic. If you spend a lot of time reading user reviews on these cleaners, you're going to see people complain about the lack of good cleaning on pool stairs.
My advice is to ignore those complaints because I can tell you that after owning a pool for more than a decade and after using several pool cleaners, that is not realistic expectation.
I found the Aiper Scuba X1 Pro Max did an adequate job of cleaning the stairs, but it was definitely not perfect – and I have yet to find one of the four pool cleaners I have tested to do this flawlessly.
Spider-Man would flunk this wall climber
In my tests, the Aiper Scuba Xa Pro Max wouldn't go much higher than .5 to 1-inch out of the water while cleaning the walls. My BeatBot Aquasense Pro was only slightly better in this department as well.
I am going to chalk it up to the heavy weight of the robot, despite the powerful jets it uses to propel it up the wall. What it was able to reach though, it cleaned without issues – mostly debris stuck to the wall.
My recommendation is to still scrub your pool occasionally to get the areas the cleaner wasn't able to, including the steps.
How long does the Aiper Scuba X1 Pro Max battery last?
The Scuba X1 Pro Max comes with a 10,400 mAh Lithium-Ion battery pack and Aiper claims the robot can last for 5.5 hours for deep cleaning and 12 hours if you have it in skim mode – and that really depends on the side and volume of your pool.
The Beatbot Aquasense Pro has the same size battery as the Scuba X1 Pro Max but in my tests, the battery lasted about 3.5 hours for a deep clean and 8 hours for skimming. The Aiper weighs more than the Beatbot, yet it was able to last a tad bit longer in my battery tests. I will chalk it up to the programming I suppose.
Charging is handled through the charging dock. The robot will automatically return to the waterline at the end of it's cycle where it can be retrieved and placed on the charging station. A full charge took me a little under four hours.
Aiper Scuba X1 Pro Max support, warranty and brand reputation
The Aiper Scuba X1 Pro Max comes with an impressive three year warranty which is one year longer than competitors like BeatBot which come with a two year warranty.
What I like about the warranty is that it appears to be flexible. For example, you can get a full refund in the first 30 days as long as it's undamaged. That means that technically you can try it out, but you need to make sure you keep the original packaging, parts and accessories.
If the product is outside of it's warranty time limit or the warranty is considered void, Aiper offers an 'out of warranty' service which you would need to pay for which I think is nice to have.
I searched customer reviews on Amazon, Reddit and the sites' own reviews and found that people have said that customer support from the manufacturer has been responsive, especially for warranty claims or early failures.
Should I buy the Aiper Scuba X1 Pro Max?
The Aiper Scuba X1 Pro Max is one of the best pool cleaners on the market, and it's one I really enjoyed testing.
One thing to remember though is that this robot is not meant to replace your pool boy; online user reviews will have you thinking that. Nothing out there will do as good a job as your paid pool person.
I do like the 3-year warranty which is very reasonable in scope and It does a solid job cleaning the pool floor and walls. The software works well, is intuitive and Aiper has addressed the issue of the bot losing it's Wi-Fi connection while underwater with the HydroComm accessory if that is important for you.
The caveat to the Aiper Scuba X1 Pro Max is that it's expensive and heavy – like most of the top of the line pool cleaners. Aiper has tried to solve those issues with solid sales prices on it (up to $700 or more at times) and the optional pool caddy which will help you transport it to the pool and back – but again, that will cost you extra money.
In the end, you must decide how much you like all the bells and whistles the Scuba X1 Pro Max has, and if you're a hardcore techie, you're going to enjoy this pool cleaner a lot. If you don't need all the fancy tech, I would recommend the Scube X1 or the S1 Pro which can be had for a lot less money and still do a solid job cleaning.