So I picked up the Freedom over the AlphaIQ and am glad I did. A couple of caveats before I go any further this is my first pool and robotic cleaner, so I can not compare it to other models. This will be the first season I will be enjoying my pool. Now with that out of the way, I can personally say the Polaris Freedom is a mighty compact beast!
I ran it on smart cycle, and it had no issues cleaning the floor, walls and waterline! It did it effortlessly and has a powerful cyclonic vacuum that sucks up the grime and dirt in the pool. It could climb two out of my three steps, and you could visually/hear the suction if it popped up above the waterline on a step shooting out all the water at the back. My pool is a rectangle 16 x 30 vinyl salt water pool, and it was able to clean in a little over two hours. The first clean of the pool captured lots of caked on dirt, leaves and other debris sitting at the bottom. Since it was the first clean of this pool, I was worried whether the canister would be big enough (4L) to capture everything. There were no issues with plenty of room left in the canister. The second clean had less to pick up, but I was surprised how much more grime it did pick up. I have no complaints and am highly impressed with its cleaning ability and keeping the pool spotless.
Here are a couple of things to keep in mind. The iAqualink app is great for choosing your cycle and checking the charging status, but once you put the Freedom in the pool, it loses connection to the app, and you can not control your vacuum from your phone. If you choose smart cycle, it will tell you how much time is left and do a countdown in the app that you can monitor. It does send you a notification to your phone for the last 10 minutes of its cycle. However, to receive it correctly, you need to set up your notifications properly on your phone. For instance, on my iPhone, I have notifications to be immediately delivered on the lock screen, notification centre and banner with style set to persistent with show previews set to Always. These settings will ensure that you get the notification to retrieve the cleaner.
My charging station (which is super easy to put together) is set up in my shed. After each run, I use a towel (30 secs) to dry the unit quickly and plop it on the charger. It does take the full 4 hours to charge the unit. Be aware the clear top can easily be scuffed. After my first run, I had to pull the unit out using the hook, but it was raining at night, so I couldn't correctly see the handle. After several attempts, I got it out, but the hook scuffed the top of the clear canister. My fault, but I thought I should let you know.
Overall, I am thrilled with Freedom's build quality and cleaning abilities and am happy that I chose it over the AlphaIQ+. If you want and need a robust smart system where you can schedule and do spot cleaning, this is not the unit for you, but if you will barely be using those features and you want to keep your pool deck clear of a caddy, electrical wire and hose, this is the perfect unit for you. I hope this helps people in their buying decision. If you have any questions, send them my way, and I will attempt to answer them. Now I am just waiting for the weather to warm up so I can start using the pool on a regular basis.
I ran it on smart cycle, and it had no issues cleaning the floor, walls and waterline! It did it effortlessly and has a powerful cyclonic vacuum that sucks up the grime and dirt in the pool. It could climb two out of my three steps, and you could visually/hear the suction if it popped up above the waterline on a step shooting out all the water at the back. My pool is a rectangle 16 x 30 vinyl salt water pool, and it was able to clean in a little over two hours. The first clean of the pool captured lots of caked on dirt, leaves and other debris sitting at the bottom. Since it was the first clean of this pool, I was worried whether the canister would be big enough (4L) to capture everything. There were no issues with plenty of room left in the canister. The second clean had less to pick up, but I was surprised how much more grime it did pick up. I have no complaints and am highly impressed with its cleaning ability and keeping the pool spotless.
Here are a couple of things to keep in mind. The iAqualink app is great for choosing your cycle and checking the charging status, but once you put the Freedom in the pool, it loses connection to the app, and you can not control your vacuum from your phone. If you choose smart cycle, it will tell you how much time is left and do a countdown in the app that you can monitor. It does send you a notification to your phone for the last 10 minutes of its cycle. However, to receive it correctly, you need to set up your notifications properly on your phone. For instance, on my iPhone, I have notifications to be immediately delivered on the lock screen, notification centre and banner with style set to persistent with show previews set to Always. These settings will ensure that you get the notification to retrieve the cleaner.
My charging station (which is super easy to put together) is set up in my shed. After each run, I use a towel (30 secs) to dry the unit quickly and plop it on the charger. It does take the full 4 hours to charge the unit. Be aware the clear top can easily be scuffed. After my first run, I had to pull the unit out using the hook, but it was raining at night, so I couldn't correctly see the handle. After several attempts, I got it out, but the hook scuffed the top of the clear canister. My fault, but I thought I should let you know.
Overall, I am thrilled with Freedom's build quality and cleaning abilities and am happy that I chose it over the AlphaIQ+. If you want and need a robust smart system where you can schedule and do spot cleaning, this is not the unit for you, but if you will barely be using those features and you want to keep your pool deck clear of a caddy, electrical wire and hose, this is the perfect unit for you. I hope this helps people in their buying decision. If you have any questions, send them my way, and I will attempt to answer them. Now I am just waiting for the weather to warm up so I can start using the pool on a regular basis.
