Don’t Hand Scrub Your Pool – Use a Robot Instead – Aiper Smart AIPURY1500 Pool Cleaner Review

Climbing the wall - Aiper Smart AIPURY1500 pool robot cleaner - HighTechDad review
Review of the Aiper Smart AIPURY1500 pool robot cleaner. This Aiper Smart robot pool cleaner scrubs the walls and bottom of your pool automatically.

I have a fairly large, rectangular pool. It measures about 14 feet by 42 feet with has deep and shallow ends. It requires quite a bit of work in terms of cleaning as trees are surrounding it in our backyard. As a consequence, it does get quite a bit of debris throughout the year. From leaves to bark to insects, it tends to accumulate a lot of stuff along the bottom. And you know what that means…cleaning! I have a manual brush and leaf scoop, but honestly, I’m a bit lazy and only occasionally skim the leaves off the surface. For the most part, I barely touch the bottom of the pool. That is until I got my hands on a robot that would do it for me, specifically the Aiper Smart AIPURY1500 robotic pool cleaner! (*Disclosure below.)

Despite my laziness, I do realize it is important to keep your pool clean. From scrubbing the walls to remove build-up to getting the submerged leaves off of the bottom to prevent stains that are pretty much impossible to remove, having a regular cleaning schedule is pretty important. But, the other thing you should consider is your own time. Do you have half an hour a couple of times a week to scrub the walls and bottom of your pool? Do you have a long pole with a net to get those stubborn leaves on the bottom of the pool?

In the box - - Aiper Smart AIPURY1500 pool robot cleaner - HighTechDad review

I’m going to guess if you are anything like me, probably not. Yes, I do have the net and leaf scoop. But I don’t really have a couple of hours a week to regularly follow a maintenance schedule.

So, I’m all in with a robot that can do ALL of this work for me and probably do a better job in the process. This is where I happily handed over this responsibility to the Aiper Smart 1500 robotic pool cleaner.

I had some questions that I wanted to answer from my testing:

  • How good of a job did the Aiper Smart do?
  • Is it easy to use?
  • Did it pick up debris from the bottom?
  • How did it actually climb up a wall to clean?
  • Is it truly smart?
  • Will all of our jobs be replaced with robots?

Well, there is no better way to get the answers to these questions than to just “dive right in” and see if the Aiper Smart robotic pool cleaner would “sink or swim” with the task of cleaning my pool (sorry about the pool metaphors, well, not really).

What is the Aiper Smart AIPURY1500 robotic pool cleaner?

The name, robotic pool cleaner, pretty much tells it all. This is a battery-powered device that crawls along the bottom and walls of your pool, cleaning, and scrubbing as it goes. It has quite a large pair of cylindrical brushes on the front, which are used to clean the walls and sweep debris off the bottom into the pool cleaner itself.

Inside a door on the top is a screen mesh basket that captures pretty much anything it encounters. There are limitations though, it won’t pull in branches or large, heavy items like rocks or acorns, for example (actually, it was able to suck up a few acorns to my surprise). But, the mesh basket I found to do quite a good job at grabbing the debris and holding quite a lot.

The mesh debris basket - Aiper Smart AIPURY1500 pool robot cleaner - HighTechDad review

And, to my surprise, when I took the mesh basket out, I did find significant amounts of sediment, grit, and small debris. This is actually quite important.

Many pool sweeps that may be plumbed into your pool either don’t have the power to pick up sediment (think particles the size of sand or even smaller) or, their debris bags have mesh that is too porous, and the segment simply passes through.

Debris that was captured - Aiper Smart AIPURY1500 pool robot cleaner - HighTechDad review

Not with the Aiper Smart robotic pool cleaner. It seems to have the capability of getting all of that “stuff” off of the bottom of your pool. You just have to be sure that you fully clean the mesh basket once the Aiper Smart is done cleaning. I recommend taking the large stuff out by hand and then washing it out well with a garden hose.

Also on the top is a switch to turn it on and off and a place that has a rubber, waterproof plug that plugs up where you connect the Aiper Smart to power to charge up the battery.

In the water - Aiper Smart AIPURY1500 pool robot cleaner - HighTechDad review

Four rubberized wheels move it along the bottom of the pool and pull it up the sides of a pool.

And there is a water vent at the top. I was actually quite surprised at how much water actually flowed through the Aiper Smart cleaner.

Surface water disturbance - Aiper Smart AIPURY1500 pool robot cleaner - HighTechDad review

The motor sucks the water from the bottom of the cleaner into the mesh basket, where all of the debris is captured, and then it is pushed out the top. So in shallow water, it produces quite a disturbance on the surface as it pumps.

Why is the Aiper Smart called “smart?”

When I think of something being called “smart,” I think it has to have some sort of intelligence and is somehow connected to your Smart Home via the internet or other connections. Only part of this is actually true, and honestly, it makes sense.

The intelligence is built into the cleaner itself for the mapping of the pool and how it cleans both the walls and the bottom. However, the Aiper Smart robotic pool cleaner does NOT connect to anything whatsoever. So, you aren’t notified if the battery is low or if the cleaning is done.

Big wheels - Aiper Smart AIPURY1500 pool robot cleaner - HighTechDad review

Before I go into the actual intelligence of the cleaning process, let me touch on how you know if the battery is charged or low and know when the process is done (as they are related).

On the front of this robotic pool cleaner is an LED light which is visible even from the deep end of the pool. When the light is blue and blinking, it means that it is running. And, you can get an idea of how much battery is remaining by how many blue bars you can see.

When the battery runs out, this LED light turns yellow. The AIPURY1500 is supposed to head close to a wall of your pool when the battery is about to die. That seems to occur most of the time.

At the side with yellow light on - Aiper Smart AIPURY1500 pool robot cleaner - HighTechDad review

Included in the package, along with the charging cable, is a hook that you attach to the end of your pool cleaner rod. The hook easily grabs onto the handle on the top of the Aiper Smart so that you can retrieve it from the bottom of the pool. Once retrieved, you can clean the mesh basket and then let it dry out for a while. This is critical before you plug in the Aiper Smart to charge it up for the next cleaning session. Remember, water and electricity are NOT friends and can be dangerous, so be sure the AIPURY1500 is dry before you plug it in!

Hook to remove - Aiper Smart AIPURY1500 pool robot cleaner - HighTechDad review

I’m pretty sure the main reason you cannot connect the AIPURY1500 to an app via Bluetooth or WiFi is because those signals really don’t travel well underwater (if at all). So when you do a cleaning cycle, you basically turn it on and put it in the water and then come back a few hours later to see if it is finished.

I recommend checking on it from time to time to ensure it isn’t stuck on a ledge or the stairs.

I also found that it was better to run it when your pool equipment is off. Sometimes, the drains at the bottom of the pool can have a significant amount of suction that will trap the AIPURY1500 on top of the drain. This didn’t happen to me though.

How does the AIPURY1500 clean?

I already mentioned that this robotic pool cleaner has a couple of stages to its “smarts.” When it is fully charged, I recommend taking it to the shallow end of your pool (which can be an in-ground one or an above-ground one), turn it on, and then put it somewhat in the middle of the side. You have a few seconds of time before the wheels start moving and it starts sucking up the water.

Once you drop it in, the “smarts” begin to kick in. From my observations of a couple of cleaning cycles, it seems to want to first map the length of the pool, and then it stops somewhat mid-way, and it measures the width. I truly don’t know if it uses internal measuring or sonar or radar or magic to figure everything out. Still, once it does somewhat figure out the size of the pool, it then begins an up-and-down process of climbing the walls all the way to the surface (and even partially out of the water) and then dropping back down to the bottom to start another cleaning climb.

Climbing the wall - Aiper Smart AIPURY1500 pool robot cleaner - HighTechDad review

Again through my observations, the Aiper Smart robotic pool cleaner will NOT clean every inch of your wall. But through the law of averages, you will “eventually” get all of the wall surfaces if you run it regularly. Honestly, it may take a bit of time, just from what I observed.

Once the wall cleaning is completed, the Aiper Smart will begin working on the bottom of the pool. Starting in the “center” of the pool (it doesn’t seem to be super precise), it will then begin cleaning the bottom in a bunch of diagonal lines (like an asterisk – *). The 3-axis motor will slightly pivot the direction by 15º each time. This process will continue until the battery runs out.

Cleaning the bottom - Aiper Smart AIPURY1500 pool robot cleaner - HighTechDad review

One thing to keep in mind, the larger the pool, the longer it will take to clean. As I mentioned, I have a fairly large pool, so I don’t think that I am completely getting the entire pool bottom and walls swept in a single cleaning session. I do feel that the Aiper Smart robotic pool cleaner is a better fit for smaller pools.

The battery is a high-capacity, 8600mAh one. I found that fully charged, it was able to run more than one hour (and maybe hit two hours). Obviously, over time, the battery capacity will be reduced, so keep that in mind.

The AIPURY1500 does obviously come with a wall charger. And it does take several hours to charge up fully. An LED light on the plug itself tells you if the battery is low and charging (it shows red) and then when it is fully charged (it shows green).

I do wish that the charging cable was more “outdoor-ready.” That is to say, I charge the robotic pool cleaner outside, and I don’t think the charging cable and plug could be left plugged in. It seems to be more of an indoor type.

The AIPURY1500 made quite a “splash” in my opinion

While I was a bit skeptical initially about a robot cleaning my pool, after watching the Aiper smart AIPURY1500 robotic pool cleaner in action, I was actually quite impressed. It DID climb walls and scrub them all the way to the surface. It DID navigate around my pool and pick up debris from the bottom. It DID successfully navigate onto steps and ledges (and only got stuck a couple of times). And it DID vacuum up sediment from the bottom, something that simple brushing could NOT do.

Out of the water - Aiper Smart AIPURY1500 pool robot cleaner - HighTechDad review

So, how much does the AIPURY1500 robotic pool cleaner cost? Well, it honestly isn’t cheap. But you do have to think about the amount of time it would take you to do the same task. Or to pay someone else to do it. And do that cleaning process regularly.

The AIPURY1500 retails for $1099.99, but on the site, it is on sale for $599.99 (which I think is a bit more realistic). It is also available on Amazon for $599.99. The nice thing is, there aren’t any parts that you have to continue purchasing later (unless you get a hole in the basket – I don’t know if or how you can replace the batteries later either).

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Overall, adding the Aiper Smart robotic pool cleaner to your pool’s maintenance is probably a good thing. You will keep the walls and bottom clean of algae (assuming your chemical are balanced), remove sediment and other debris from the bottom, and regularly brush the sides, which is an important task to regularly do (and something that this lazy pool owner doesn’t really do…until now with the Aiper Smart)!

Disclosure: I have a material connection because I received a sample of a product for consideration in preparing to review the product and write this content. I was/am not expected to return this item after my review period. All opinions within this article are my own and are typically not subject to editorial review from any 3rd party. Also, some of the links in the post above may be “affiliate” or “advertising” links. These may be automatically created or placed by me manually. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item (sometimes but not necessarily the product or service being reviewed), I will receive a small affiliate or advertising commission. More information can be found on my About page.

HTD says: Yes, many of the mundane but essential tasks we do can be replaced by robots. Sweeping the walls and cleaning the bottom of my pool is something that I have gladly handed off to the Aiper Smart AIPURY1500 robotic pool cleaner.

HighTechDad Ratings
  • Ease-of-Use
  • Family-Friendly
  • Price Point
  • Features
4

Summary

Yes, many of the mundane but essential tasks we do can be replaced by robots. Sweeping the walls and cleaning the bottom of my pool is something that I have gladly handed off to the Aipur Smart AIPURY1500 robotic pool cleaner. The Aiper Smart robotic pool cleaner is probably one of the easiest ways to clean the walls and bottom of your pool. Once you fully charge the built-in battery, you simply turn it on and put it into your pool. Then, for the next 1-2 hours, it will automatically navigate the bottom and walls of your in-ground or above-ground pools and scrub the walls and sweep up leaves as it follows an internal pattern and path.

While the price point is a bit high (I do recommend getting the Aiper on sales), the amount of time and effort that is saved by letting this underwater robot clean your pool is practically priceless. It seems to do a fairly good job getting much of the dirt and other items from the bottom of the pool. However, for larger pools, it may require several cleanings a week to get everything scrubbed.

Pros

  • Extremely easy to use
  • Captures debris including sediment quite well
  • Set it and forget it

Cons

  • No Bluetooth or WiFi connection – wouldn’t work underwater anyway
  • Might run out of battery on larger pools
  • The price point is a bit high

4 Responses

  1. I seldom write reviews, but felt compelled to do so
    in this case. I sincerely doubt that Aiper will allow
    this one to be posted on their site, however. I will
    issue this warning on other platforms in hopes that others
    can avoid the issues I faced.

    I would give zero stars, if possible.

    I did quite a bit of research before deciding to try
    the Aiper 1500, despite what I considered the high cost.
    The reviews were pretty good and videos demonstrated
    pretty decent functionality. The worst issue reported
    was pretty much related to the 90 minute battery life.
    I thought I could live with that if the functionality
    represented was achieved.

    I placed the order. The unit arrived seven days later.
    My credit card was charged on day one and the 30 day
    return warranty also started on day one. Upon inspection,
    the unit base which is supposed to white was yellowing at
    the bottom. Inside the filter basket was a loose metal
    retaining clip (usually used to retain things on an axle,
    for example, bearings on a car). A rubber gasket that
    covers the water intake into the basket was warped out of
    shape. This gasket closes the intake when the unit is
    not running to prevent debris from falling out when the
    unit is removed from the pool after cleaning.

    I contacted the company immediately via phone and email,
    with no immediate reply. After the unit was fully charged
    the unit was tested in the pool following the instructions
    exactly. The unit seemed to function as described for
    approximately 60 seconds. Then red LEDs illuminated o the
    device at the bottom of the pool and it stopped functioning
    entirely. The instructions indicate red LED indicates “motor failure”.

    I contacted the company again via phone and email. Several
    days later I got an email reply indicating they requested
    video evidence of the failure. The unit was tested again with
    exactly the same failure. Video was provided.

    Several days later, I received an email indicating that they
    proposed to have me send the unit to their repair facility
    to repair the DOA out-of-the-box unit.

    They failed to address the other issues regarding loose parts
    and deformed gasket.
    I realize mistakes do happen and I was willing to work with
    Aiper to resolve the issue. Perhaps there is an innocent
    explanation for how a defective (potentially previously used)
    unit was shipped to me as a new device. Unfortunately the
    company did not respond adequately. It is beyond my  
    comprehension that Aiper would expect me  to pay for a
    DOA unit out of the box and accept a repair option. It
    appears that they are attempting to “run out the clock”
    on the 30 day return option. I was (and remain) quite
    disappointed at this outcome. The device, albeit quite
    pricey, was exactly what I was looking for — but only
    if it was functional. Fortunately, my credit card company
    acknowledged the issue and is investigating, so I will not
    be at risk of losing
    a substantial amount of money.

    My advice would be AVOID THIS COMPANY.

  2. Wow DP, that sounds like an awful experience. And it definitely sounds like you got a used unit. I only use mine occasionally when my pool needs some extra cleaning. I also have a regular pool sweep tied into the pool that is the primary source. My out-of-the-box experience was obviously quite different. It did appear new and the battery has been fairly good (even for my larger pool). Best of luck with your return/replacement/refund process. I know that is not fun. Thanks for the comment!

  3. Hi Michael.
    I thought I should post an update. The company has been responsive via email. After initially suggesting that I send the unit to their repair facility, they offered to ship a new unit to me. I am going to give them one more chance. Mistakes do happen and if the new unit performs as advertised, I will be satisfied. We’ll see…

  4. Hey DP, great to hear. I hope it works out! Do let me know if the robot is better. It’s honestly pretty good when I use it.

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Disclosure: This is a global disclosure for product review articles on HighTechDad. It does not apply to Automobile reviews and there are other exceptions. Therefore, it may or may not be applicable to this particular article. I may have a material connection because I may have received a sample of a product for consideration in preparing to review the product and write this or other content. I was/am not expected to return the item after my review period. All opinions within this and other articles are my own and are typically not subject to the editorial review from any 3rd party. Also, some of the links in the post above may be “affiliate” or “advertising” links. These may be automatically created or placed by me manually. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item (sometimes but not necessarily the product or service being reviewed), I will receive a small affiliate or advertising commission. More information can be found on my About page.

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