Polaris 9650 IQ Review

Hey there and welcome back to the Pool Nerd. I’m Justin, your resident pool aficionado. Today I’ll be looking at the Polaris 9650IQ Sport, the upgraded version of Polaris’s 9550 Sport. I was looking forward to the 9650IQ as it was an upgrade to 9550. However, this upgrade only seems to be app connectivity, as the 9650 looks identical to the 9550 and has the same issues from poor navigation to a single filtration option.

Pool Coverage and Navigation

So let’s start back at the pool coverage of the 9650IQ. It can clean all of your pool from the floor to the waterline but lacks a proper navigation system or better waterline cleaning to justify the extra 300 dollars over the already underwhelming 9550. One of my biggest problems with both the 9550 and this robot is that while they can clean your whole pool and move around it with ease thanks to its four-wheel drive, they lack a competitive navigation system.

Both Dolphin and Aquabot advertise their pool mapping technology that enables their robots to clean your pool quickly and efficiently, saving electricity and money. The 9650IQ on the other hand seems to have a less advanced navigation system as I, and several reviewers on Amazon, noted that it seemed to miss areas or clean the same spots repeatedly. I noticed the same thing. This is a huge disappointment to see at this premium price point, and especially because they did not fix this issue from the 9550.

You end up paying a few hundred dollars more for a simple app and no remote. A poor navigation system means that you will still have to come and pick up after it, or even babysit it while it cleans. This is not something I would expect to do when I am buying a premium robot, even more so if it is an upgrade over another robot in the same line.

The brightisde of the Polaris 9650 IQ? The waterline cleaning. It covers the entire pool, from the floor to the waterline. This is a feature I point out a lot because how important it is to maintaining a clean swimming pool.

I still have to give the 9650IQ props for being able to clean the waterline though, but once again, the concern here isn’t with how good it cleans, but if it can navigate well enough to get there.

Cleaning Performance

The 9650, just like the 9550, is a solid cleaner thanks to its split brush and “Vortex Vacuum Technology,” but just like its cheaper cousin, it lacks a few key features that are necessary to keep your pool clean. The 9650IQ’s brush did a good job scrubbing up debris, and its split design definitely helped with maneuverability, but this bot is comparable in price to the Dolphin Quantum and Premier, both of which come with a second brush for even better scrubbing.

It’s strange that the 9650IQ only includes a single brush, when all the bots it is competing with have two. Speaking of having only one of something when similar bots have more, the 9650IQ only has a single filter media type. This standard fine filter is large enough and fine enough for your average pool clean, but we all know that sometimes your pool gets cloudy water or a lot of leaves.

With the 9650IQ, its filter can’t get rid of all the small particles that make your pool water cloudy or the larger debris such as leaves or twigs. Once again, it is standard for robots in this price range, such as the Dolphin Premier and Quantum, to have at least an NanoFilter to help clean up the particles that cause cloudy water. The Premier even includes an oversized leaf bag to solve your leaf problems. Without these two options you will be left to pick up after the 9650IQ, which is not something I would be expecting to do with a premium robot.

App Connectivity and Issues

Luckily, the 9650IQ did upgrade the 9550’s power supply and move a lot of its buttons to a handy app for your phone, but this app comes with its own set of issues. With the app you can schedule cleanings, steer the robot, and select cleaning types. All of this is great to see, but the caveat is that the app requires Wi-Fi to connect.

Your home’s Wi-Fi signal can become weak once you get outdoors. This in turn leads to problems connecting to and controlling the robot. In other words, the one true upgrade that you are paying for with the 9650IQ might not even work, making its higher price tag almost impossible to justify.

Warranty and Conclusion

Finally, there is the 9650’s warranty. It comes with a standard 2-year warranty, which fails to compete with the Dolphin Sigma or Dolphin Premier’s three-year warranty that is around the same cost. With the Dolphin Premier or Sigma, you are paying hardly anything extra for a full extra year of coverage, which could save you hundreds of dollars in repairs or replacements.

Final Verdict

So what’s my final verdict on the Polaris 9650IQ robotic pool cleaner?

Think before you buy.

The 9650IQ simply can’t justify its price as it lacks everything from smart navigation to multiple cleaning options, which you can find on similarly priced, or less expensive robots such as the Dolphin Premier or Quantum. Not to mention the sole upgrade of the 9650IQ is its app, which may not even work if your signal strength isn’t strong enough by the pool.

If you want to keep nerding out over your pool, be sure to check out our pool maintenance section to keep learning how to make pool maintenance way easier. Until then, enjoy that pool and check back soon for more pool maintenance tips and insight.

Your resident pool aficionado.

For over 4+ years, The Pool Nerd has been a leading source in the swimming pool industry. With years of experince owning a swimming pool, our hope here is to guide and help making owning a swimming pool easier.