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A fresh look at the updated AquaSense Pro uncovered modest improvements and a couple of familiar problems. It remains an impressive robotic pool cleaner, but it’s more expensive than some other high-end models. roller track for sliding door
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$1,869.00 (after $330 discount for Amazon Prime members or if purchased direct from Beatbot with code "BeatbotProCode")
Earlier this year I reviewed a near-final, pre-release version of Beatbot’s AquaSense Pro, a do-it-all pool robot that has quickly emerged as a top seller in the category. The unit had some quirks and flaws, including a tendency to get stuck on obstacles and an app that didn’t quite work as advertised. But considering its overall feature set, I was still impressed by its capabilities.
Whenever TechHive agrees to review a pre-production device, editors make crystal clear that it will be reviewed as a finished product, with no excuses for bugs or build issues the vendor promises won’t show up in the product consumers buy.
I’ll give credit to Beatbot for its tenacity ever since that review was published. The company reached out on multiple occasions to get more information about the problems I encountered while it worked to update its app. This fall, Beatbot asked if we would take a fresh look at the product to see if the upgrades merited a higher rating than the original 3.5 stars I awarded it. My editor said yes, so I embarked on an entirely new review of a fresh-out-of-the-box unit.
The AquaSense Pro is now easier to set up. Just scan a QR code to get started.
Let’s talk first about what hasn’t changed, and that’s the hardware. I couldn’t find anything that was at all different, other than a new removable sticker that affixes to the filter access hatch. In my earlier review, I complained about a QR code sticker on this patch that had faded too much to be usable during the setup process, but Beatbot has upgraded that process so that scanning the QR code (now located under the filter hatch) is optional. Instead, the AquaSense Pro now sets up quickly via automatic Bluetooth discovery.
Other than this tiny shift, the hardware remains the same: a husky 24 pounds, measuring about 10 x 16 x 17 x inches (HxWxL). The unit (still) perches on an inclined stand which recharges the 10400mAh battery via contacts on its underside, so there’s never a need to manually plug the unit in.
Epic battery life is easily one of the Beatbot AquaSense Pro’s best features, powering cleaning sessions for as long as seven hours.
The filter basket hasn’t changed either. It comes in two nesting pieces that do a great job of capturing everything down to very fine sand and dirt, although the nooks and crevices inside the filter basket can make it difficult to remove some of the debris that gets captured inside. Optional $20 clarifying agent kits can still be purchased separately for dispersal into the water as the robot runs, should you find yourself with cloudy water.
This review is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverage of the best robotic pool cleaners.
The AquaSense Pro can skim leaves and other debris floating on the surface of the pool.
I tested the robot multiple times with both organic and synthetic debris and tried out many of the operating modes on the unit, of which there are even more now due to app upgrades. Four standard modes remain: floor only; floor, wall, and waterline; floor, wall, waterline, and surface; and eco mode (cleaning the floor once every other day until the battery dies). In addition to these, you can now also create your own custom cleaning mode, which lets you choose any combination of floor, wall, and surface, with 0, 1, or 2 cleanings each. That’s more than 20 additional ways to configure the AquaSense Pro, which should be plenty to keep you busy all summer.
No matter which mode you pick, the AquaSense Pro begins its run the same way, floating in the water as it scans its surroundings before submersing itself into the deep (unless you’re running in surface-only mode). For what it’s worth, Beatbot says the AquaSense Pro has nine motors that power its two sizable treads as it cruises around the pool, which it does with focus and efficiency.
And so, the moment of truth finally arrived. I sent the AquaSense Pro on a standard floor/wall/surface run and watched as it took off, noting no obvious differences in its operation from the earlier model, attacking each section of the pool in turn. And all was well for 88 minutes until it happened again: The unit got stuck on a horizontal railing that adorns one wall of the pool, at which point the run was suspended. While the bad news is that it got stuck on this inaugural run, the good news is that it only happened once. Subsequent runs were all successful, including a massive custom run that I set up—two cleanings each of floor, wall, and surface—which took more than seven hours to complete, but which finished without error.
The AquaSense Pro can clean along a pool’s waterline in addition to the sides of its walls. When it finishes a cleaning run, it parks itself near the location it started.
I didn’t see any significant change in the AquaSense’s overall performance. When testing with synthetic leaves on the floor of the pool, the Beatbot never got all of them, invariably leaving behind 3 to 5 percent of the material. Still, this is exceptionally good performance for any robotic pool cleaner. I also spent more time with the AquaSense’s surface-cleaning mode this time out, however, and found it fairly lacking. In this test, I typically found about 40 percent of the test leaves captured by the robot, 40 percent pushed into the wall skimmers, and the final 20 percent sinking to the floor before either could capture them.
It’s not all on Beatbot, as you can see how problematic skimmer robot technology is when you watch the robot in action. Due to the surface tension of the water, leaves tend to be pushed to either side of the robot as it hums along, like a boat creating a wake. Only leaves that are directly in the line of fire of the robot and near its center line tended to be scooped up.
The Beatbot AquaSense Pro in its charging dock.
Unlike most pool robots, you’ll probably need to rely on Beatbot’s app liberally during regular use. Only a handful of operating modes are available via the physical buttons on the robot. To fine-tune operations, you’ll need to use the app. Fortunately, it’s easy and intuitive to use—although like most robots, Beatbot’s app doesn’t work while it’s in the water.
I had no trouble using the app to set operational modes while it was on the pool deck, and it dutifully logged and recorded all cleaning operations. One complaint from my prior review was that the app had a feature that would create a map of your pool as it ran, but this never worked in my testing. Problem solved in the current app, sort of: The feature has simply been removed.
Epic battery life is easily one of the Beatbot AquaSense Pro’s best features, powering cleaning sessions for as long as seven hours.
I was surprised to see that Beatbot has not changed the price on this robot since launch. In fact, it’s more expensive today: The list price of $2,199 is still intact, but Beatbot is selling it for $1,869 at present instead of the former discounted price of $1,699. That’s a bold move in an era of rising competition in the robotic pool cleaner space, and it’s a price that I would personally balk at given the availability of impressive competitors such as the Polaris Freedom Plus, which sells for $1,699, and the Wybot W2, that goes for $1,000.
While Beatbot’s AquaSense Pro is distinguished by its amazing battery life and skimming capability, neither of these are features that would convince me to pay extra for it; bug fixes or no.
But if money is no object, it’s certainly worth your consideration.
Editors’ note: This review is entirely new, having been conducted using a fresh-out-of-the-box Beatbot AquaSense Pro with the most current firmware available at the time. That seems to have fixed a number of problems we encountered with the first model that tested. That review, published on January 22, 2024, has been preserved for the record.
316 stainless steel bathroom hardware Christopher Null is an award-winning technology journalist with more than 25 years of experience writing about and reviewing consumer and business tech products. Previously, he served as Executive Editor for PC Computing magazine and was the founder and Editor in Chief of Mobile magazine, the first print publication focused exclusively on mobile tech. In addition to covering a wide range of smart home gear for TechHive, he is a frequent contributor to Wired, This Old House, and AAA’s Via Magazine.