Just wanted to share my experience regarding my recent purchase of a Polaris 9650 IQ.
I am a newbie pool owner (only 2 months) and after trying out a Maytronics robot loaner, I realized I had to have one because it's a ton of work to clean my 70' x 8' lap pool. With that said I have spent hours and hours trying to wade through reviews, advice, and specs of different manufacturers and models. I narrowed my choices down to the Polaris Alpha IQ+, Polaris Epic 8642 IQ, Polaris 9650 IQ, and the Maytronics Active 40 but from there I kept getting wrapped around an axel with which one to get.
From my research Polaris and Maytronics seemed to have the best reputation. The Maytronics loaner I had did such a good job that was the initial front runner but and it seemed to me you couldn't go wrong with either brand but again, I was frozen with indecision, especially given the cost.
The Polaris Alpha IQ+ and 9650 IQ were my front runners as they both have a 70 ft line for 60 ft of pool coverage versus 60 ft line for 50 ft coverage of the Polaris Epic 8642 IQ and Maytronics Active 40. As I mentioned, I have 70' x 8' lap pool so longer coverage is a serious factor for me. Another plus I found with the Polaris IQ line is they feature the AquaLink control system and unbeknownst to me before my research, I found that my Jandy lights, pump, and heater system is compatible with the AquaLink control system too, meaning I could theoretically control the Polaris IQ robot and my pool lights, pump, and heater from one Android app.
As for the Maytronics Active 40, it is WiFi capable but from my understanding, it does not support AquaLink. So while it seemed the Polaris is the obvious choice, one thing I really liked about the Maytronics Active 40 is it comes with a 3 year warranty which I feel is a testament to that model's solid engineering and durability. The Polaris models on the other hand have a 2 year warranty. Further indecision.
Now as for price, they are all pricey, some more than others, but all models were within my price tolerance for the features they offered, at least that was my viewpoint on price until a couple days ago when I came across the Polaris 9650 IQ on sale at Lowes for $1,298.61 with free shipping. This price is $100-$250 less than anywhere else I could find online or in any pool store near me. The icing on the cake is I was able to get another 10% off for my Lowes military veteran discount and least but not, shipping was free and it was in stock and I ordered it on Dec 17th and it is arriving tomorrow the 21st. Sweet!!!! Merry Christmas to me! So, that's my story. Hope it's helpful to anyone on the forum.
I am a newbie pool owner (only 2 months) and after trying out a Maytronics robot loaner, I realized I had to have one because it's a ton of work to clean my 70' x 8' lap pool. With that said I have spent hours and hours trying to wade through reviews, advice, and specs of different manufacturers and models. I narrowed my choices down to the Polaris Alpha IQ+, Polaris Epic 8642 IQ, Polaris 9650 IQ, and the Maytronics Active 40 but from there I kept getting wrapped around an axel with which one to get.
From my research Polaris and Maytronics seemed to have the best reputation. The Maytronics loaner I had did such a good job that was the initial front runner but and it seemed to me you couldn't go wrong with either brand but again, I was frozen with indecision, especially given the cost.
The Polaris Alpha IQ+ and 9650 IQ were my front runners as they both have a 70 ft line for 60 ft of pool coverage versus 60 ft line for 50 ft coverage of the Polaris Epic 8642 IQ and Maytronics Active 40. As I mentioned, I have 70' x 8' lap pool so longer coverage is a serious factor for me. Another plus I found with the Polaris IQ line is they feature the AquaLink control system and unbeknownst to me before my research, I found that my Jandy lights, pump, and heater system is compatible with the AquaLink control system too, meaning I could theoretically control the Polaris IQ robot and my pool lights, pump, and heater from one Android app.
As for the Maytronics Active 40, it is WiFi capable but from my understanding, it does not support AquaLink. So while it seemed the Polaris is the obvious choice, one thing I really liked about the Maytronics Active 40 is it comes with a 3 year warranty which I feel is a testament to that model's solid engineering and durability. The Polaris models on the other hand have a 2 year warranty. Further indecision.
Now as for price, they are all pricey, some more than others, but all models were within my price tolerance for the features they offered, at least that was my viewpoint on price until a couple days ago when I came across the Polaris 9650 IQ on sale at Lowes for $1,298.61 with free shipping. This price is $100-$250 less than anywhere else I could find online or in any pool store near me. The icing on the cake is I was able to get another 10% off for my Lowes military veteran discount and least but not, shipping was free and it was in stock and I ordered it on Dec 17th and it is arriving tomorrow the 21st. Sweet!!!! Merry Christmas to me! So, that's my story. Hope it's helpful to anyone on the forum.
Last edited:
