An Aiper robot pool cleaning floating on the water's surface at the edge of the pool

A robot pool cleaner underwater climbing the pool wall — The Aiper Scuba X1 Pro Max precisely maps your pool to provide a thorough cleaning of the bottom, sides, walls, and waterline.

Weight: 24.25 pounds
Pool type: Above-ground and in-ground, made of materials including concrete, fiberglass, vinyl, tiles, and fresh or salt water
Pool shape: All
Pool size: Up to 3,230 square feet
Continuous runtime: 5 hours of floor cleaning, 10 hours of skimming

The Aiper Scuba X1 Pro Max is a robotic pool cleaner that connects to your smartphone via Bluetooth and has 24 built-in ultrasonic sensors as well as proprietary navigation technology to precisely map your pool to provide a thorough cleaning of the bottom, sides, walls, and waterline.

Users have eight cleaning modes to choose from, including Hero Mode and Eco Mode, and the Scuba X1 Pro Max can clean pools up to 3,230 square feet on a single battery charge.

The Aiper HydroComm Pro is a smart pool monitor and underwater communication device that keeps the robot “live,” meaning you can communicate with it in real time and connect to the app uninterrupted. It also acts as a water quality tester.

I left my pool cover open for a few hours to allow the pool to collect leaves, grass, and dust. I initially tried to test the Aiper Scuba X1 Pro Max right after I unboxed it (yes, I get excited about new pool robots), but because the battery wasn’t fully charged, I had connection issues.

Once the Aiper’s battery was at 100%—and it held a connection with my phone—I set it loose in the pool, and let it do its thing for 24 hours.

One of the first areas the Aiper Scuba X1 Pro Max cleaned was my pool steps and baja shelf, which has not been the case with other pool robots I tested. The Scuba X1 Pro Max quickly and easily cruised up each of the pool stairs, cleaned them, and then vacuumed the dirt off the flat shelf.

I have to say that the companion Aiper app is fantastic. It’s super user-friendly and incredibly easy to navigate.

Both the Scuba X1 Pro Max and the HydroComm Pro connected in seconds, and the app clearly displays the current status of each device, as well as the current weather forecast for my location.

A pool robot vacuum sitting in a caddy outside by the edge of a green pool — At 25 pounds, the Aiper Scuba X1 Pro Max is heavy, but its caddy makes it much easier to transport back and forth from the pool to the charging base.

I threw out my back carrying the BeatBot pool cleaning robot around my yard, so I was thrilled to discover that you can buy the Aiper with an optional, $299 caddy that you can use to push it around.

As with any pool cleaning robot, the Aiper Scuba X1 Pro Max is heavy—it weighs about 25 pounds—but the caddy made it so much easier to transport back and forth from the pool to the outlet where I had the charging base plugged in.

The caddy easily clips onto the Aiper’s charging base—it reminds me a little bit of a wheelie suitcase—and then you tip it back and roll it across the yard. My back was so thankful that I didn’t have to carry the Aiper back and forth!

A round circular device floats in a pool — The HydroComm Pro keeps the Aiper Scuba X1 Pro Max connected underwater and provides updates on the robot's activity.

While the HydroComm Pro is an extra expense, I appreciate its ability to keep the Aiper Scuba X1 Pro Max connected underwater and provide updates on the robot's activity.

It doesn’t have real-time tracking of where the Aiper is inside the pool—it’s just an animation of a robot cleaning a pool—but it is nice to be able to see when it’s in progress and when it’s done, even if you’re not near your swimming pool.

Plus, the HydroComm has probes installed that test your pool’s water quality, and it generates an easy-to-read report via the app. It even offers recommendations for how to fix issues that it identifies.

I was surprised that the whole kit ‘n kaboodle of the robotic pool cleaner, the HydroComm Pro, and the caddy costs less than some other popular pool robots. For the Aiper Scuba X1 Pro Max, plus the HydroComm, plus the caddy, you’ll spend less than $3,000. This feels like a pretty good deal, considering the HydroComm offers numerous helpful features, and the Aiper Scuba X1 Pro Max itself is durable. However, the old adage "you get what you pay for" holds true here, as the cleaning performance of the Aiper is not as thorough as with other robots.

Overall, I wasn't thrilled with the cleaning performance of the Aiper, mainly because I was never able to get it to finish a full cleaning cycle without it randomly stopping and resurfacing. When it did clean, it did a good job of clearing dirt and debris from all surfaces of the pool, but I got frustrated that it never finished the job. Having a pool that's only partially clean seems rather pointless.

Every time I tested the Aiper Scuba X1 Pro Max before connecting it to the HydroComm, I had a tough time getting it to start cleaning. I would get a “device is disconnected” message, and it would sink to the bottom of the pool.

The problem is that you have to push the “play” button on the app to get the Aiper to start, but you can’t push play until the device is in the water. However, the robot is so heavy that it would sink before it could register that I’d hit play. It was frustrating.

I finally managed to hold the Aiper halfway in the water with one hand, push the button on the app, and then wait until I saw it start moving before letting it go.

A robot pool cleaner underwater — We had difficulty getting the Scuba to resurface.

If you want to stop your Aiper Scuba X1 Pro Max before it’s finished the cleaning cycle, you can recall it to the surface—but only if you have the HydroComm; otherwise, you’re stuck waiting until it’s finished and returns to the top of the pool to dock.

Whenever I tried recalling the Scuba X1 Pro Max, it took an eternity—around 20 minutes. It kept climbing up the wall, hitting against the lip of the pool, and then submerging itself again, over and over and over.

By the time the robot finally resurfaced, it felt pointless to have recalled it—it probably would’ve finished its cleaning routine.

One of the more annoying things about the Aiper Scuba X1 Pro Max is that it would randomly float to the surface and stop in the middle of a cleaning cycle, never resuming to finish the job.

This happened several times, despite the battery being at 70% and the filter basket not being clogged. The Aiper app showed that the robot was still in the middle of the cleaning cycle, but it was definitely not doing anything other than sunbathing.

Not surprisingly, people have a lot of varied opinions about pool robots. Overall, most people prefer the Dolphin over other brands.

Reddit /pools: Over at Reddit’s pools board, several commenters had connection issues with the Aiper and also experienced it floating off the floor and not finishing a cleaning.

The most common relevant complaints are connectivity issues, though most users found that the addition of the HydroComm helped.

As a real-life pool owner, I would not personally shell out for the Aiper Scuba X1 Pro Max (available at Aiper) on its own. The connectivity issues were too frustrating. However, when paired with the HydroComm, the experience improves significantly.

Not only does it help reduce connection problems, but it also provides real-time monitoring of your pool’s chemical levels. If you’re handling pool maintenance yourself without a professional service, the HydroComm makes managing pH, ORP, and TDS levels far easier and more efficient.

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Anna Lane was formerly Reviewed's parenting editor, covering topics related to pregnancy and kids, from babies to teens and beyond. She's a veteran commerce writer, a West Coast homeowner, and one of our pool experts—swimming, not billiards.

Lane has also worked as a freelance writer and editor. Her published bylines include USA Today, The Washington Post, Refinery29, Playboy Australia, and Motherly, among others. A graduate of New York University, Lane previously worked as a touring stand-up comedian, entertaining audiences throughout the United States.

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Aiper Scuba X1 Pro Max Robot Pool Vacuum Review