Thinking about the Polaris Freedom? Let’s run through some of my testing, my thoughts, and why I’d pass on the Freedom for a corded robot instead.
Hey guys, I’m Ryan with ActuallyUsed – where we put the products to the test.
After running the Polaris Freedom cordless pool robot through real-world tests like pool coverage and even measuring the suction power with a manometer, I have a pretty clear opinion: it’s sleek, it’s wireless, and it’s… underwhelming.
It promises the dream—cordless freedom, wall-to-wall cleaning, waterline scrubbing—but in reality, the Polaris Freedom feels like a half-step toward something great, not a finished product. Especially when you line it up against better-performing, corded pool cleaners at the same price.
So let’s break down what worked, what didn’t, and why, despite its clean design, we wouldn’t choose it.
Here’s the deal—we don’t care what’s on the box or how pretty the marketing looks. We only care about what works. So, I tested the Polaris Freedom across multiple cycles over the course of a few weeks. I measured everything—including suction pressure—with a manometer to see how well it really works and stacks up to the competition.
And let’s just say, it was the bottom of the barrel when it came down to suction power. And at over $1,300, it’s not the best value either.
Cordless Sounds Great… Until You Use It
Let’s start with the obvious: cordless is the big sell here. And yes, not having a cord is nice. There’s no risk of tangling, no tripping hazard, and your deck stays clean. In theory, it’s freedom.
But what you trade away is consistency.
- No constant power.
- No automated daily schedule.
- No deep-clean filtration.
- And a battery that takes 4–6 hours to charge after each use.
It’s marketed like a luxury, but to me, it felt like a restriction. I had to remember to charge it, make sure it aligned on the charging stand, and wait before I could run it again. If I forgot to dock it right, it didn’t charge at all.
The result? One clean every other day, if I was lucky.
And that’s the real cost of cordless. If you want the Polaris Freedom to clean daily, you’re stuck interacting with it twice a day. Once to manually drop it in the water, and again hours later to pull it out, dry it off, align it perfectly on the charger, and hope it makes contact. Miss either step, and your pool goes another day untouched. It’s a routine that quickly gets old—especially when you consider you’re paying over $1,400 for the privilege of extra work.
Compare that to my favorited corded robots like the Dolphin Premier or Sigma. Plug it in once, set a weekly timer, and it just runs. No lifting, no aligning, no guesswork. It turns on automatically, cleans the pool, and powers down. You can go on vacation and come back to a clean pool. With the Freedom, you come back to a dead robot and a dirty pool. Corded isn’t just more powerful—it’s smarter and more independent.
To summarize, that’s 14 separate interactions with the Polaris Freedom compared to just one with the corded robot with a weekly smart timer. And I won’t leave you wondering which is best for you, if you wait until the end and want a corded option, I run though my favorites I have tested and which may be best for you. If you need help, just drop a comment below and I’d be happy to help!
Real Suction Test: Weakest in Its Class
So I did what we always do—I hooked it up to a manometer and tested the actual suction pressure at the intake port, right where the debris gets pulled in.
Here’s how it performed compared to other robots we’ve tested:
The Polaris Freedom posted a 0.8 PSI rating.
To compare, the Dolphin Quantum, which is in the same price range and typically cheaper, had a 1.4 PSI suction rating. Not only did it have more power, but it also has the Weekly Smart Timer.
Then look ahead at the Dolphin Premier, which has the highest I’ve ever tested at 2.2 PSI and the Dolphin Sigma at 2.0 PSI – both pulling in record amounts of suction.
Out of over 20 plus pool robots I’ve tested, the Polaris Freedom’s 0.8 PSI is the lowest suction power I’ve had yet.
Why PSI Matters
Suction power (measured in PSI) tells you how well a robot can actually pull debris into its filter. Weak suction means it just pushes stuff around or picks up only surface dirt.
A robot with 2.0+ PSI will vacuum leaves, silt, sand, algae, and acorns. A robot at 0.8 PSI? That’s barely enough for heavy debris.
And in my tests, that’s exactly what I saw. It missed heavy debris. It didn’t pull gunk from corners. It looked like it was cleaning, but the pool didn’t sparkle like it does with a Premier or Sigma.
Filter Performance
The Polaris Freedom features a uniquely shaped, single basket filter—sort of an L or V configuration—that’s surprisingly clever in how it maximizes internal space. Credit where it’s due: Polaris engineers clearly put thought into the design. It’s lightweight, easy to access, and simple to clean. Just pop it open, dump the contents, rinse, and you’re good to go. For casual use, it works.
But the praise stops there. Because once you look past the shape, the filter media itself is just… basic. It’s a standard mesh screen, the same kind you’d find in entry-level cleaners. And if you’ve ever used NanoFilters, the difference is night and day. NanoFilters are pleated and densely layered, designed to trap the fine stuff—silt, pollen, algae, even microscopic particles. They leave your water polished. The Freedom’s mesh? Not even close. It’ll get leaves and bugs, but fine debris passes right through.
I’m not here to bash Polaris. But if you’re spending over a thousand bucks on a robotic pool cleaner, you deserve more than “good enough.” There are simply better filtration systems out there—and I’ve used them. That’s why this filter, while unique in shape, left me underwhelmed in performance.
Coverage: Wall to Waterline, It Gets There
The Polaris Freedom impresses with its ability to cover all areas of the pool—including the walls and waterline. With multiple cleaning modes available, including a dedicated waterline setting, it’s built to reach the spots most robots overlook. Whether it’s scrubbing the floor or climbing vertical surfaces, the Freedom navigates with confidence and gets the job done.
Its cordless design doesn’t hold it back here. Even without a tether, it maintains strong traction on walls and transitions smoothly across surfaces. And thanks to its smart sensors, it knows when to shift between floors and walls for a comprehensive clean. For everyday maintenance and full pool coverage, the Freedom delivers.
App Experience: Feature-Rich, But Frustrating
One of the Polaris Freedom’s standout features is its compatibility with the iAquaLink® app, which unlocks four distinct cleaning modes: Floor only, Floor + Walls + Waterline, Waterline-only, and a SMART Cycle mode that adapts based on pool conditions. This level of control gives you the flexibility to target specific areas depending on what your pool needs that day. Want to focus just on the scum line? Tap Waterline-only. Need a full deep clean? Fire up the SMART Cycle. On paper, it’s one of the more versatile app-controlled setups I’ve seen.
The problem? The app loses connection the moment the cleaner goes underwater.
That’s not an exaggeration. As soon as the Polaris Freedom submerges, it drops off your Wi‑Fi network completely—meaning you can’t check its status, change settings, or control it mid-cycle. It’s a one-way interface: choose your settings, hit start, and hope everything goes as planned. If you need to make an adjustment after it’s already in the water, you’ll have to pull it out, dock it, wait for it to reconnect, and start over.
If you want true underwater control, you’ll need to upgrade to the Polaris Freedom Plus. That model includes a LiFi-enabled remote that lets you communicate with the robot while it’s submerged. You can pause the cycle, steer the robot manually, or command it to rise to the surface—all without lifting a finger outside the pool. That’s a big improvement, and something I wish was standard on the base model.
In short, the app has potential and the right modes—but the limited connectivity makes it more of a pre-cleaning tool than a real-time controller. It’s functional, yes, but not quite the smart experience it’s marketed to be.
Retrieval: Tap & Lift Is Cool… Until It’s Not
On paper, the Tap & Lift™ system is a smart idea. When the Polaris Freedom finishes its cleaning cycle, it climbs up the nearest wall and waits patiently near the waterline so you can scoop it out. If you miss it, or you’re not standing there with a pole ready, you can tap it underwater and it’ll try again. Clever, right?
Well, kind of. But in reality, it’s a feature that sounds great in theory and falls flat in actual use.
First of all, you have to be physically present when the robot finishes if you want to take advantage of the climb-and-grab moment. There’s no notification, no buffer, no way to automate the process. If you’re not there the minute it surfaces, it’ll sink back down. If the battery’s already running low, it might not even climb again at all—leaving you fishing it off the bottom of your pool like a sunken brick.
And that brings us to the second issue: retrieving this thing manually is a chore. It weighs over 20 pounds, and without a handle or cord, the only option is to jab a telescoping pole into a hook slot and try to awkwardly balance and lift the robot from the deep end. One wrong angle and it tips sideways, forcing you to start over. I’ve done this more times than I can count, and every time I found myself muttering, “Why doesn’t this have a retrieval cord?”
It’s moments like these that make the whole cordless experience feel less like freedom and more like an unnecessary burden.
The Price Problem
The Polaris Freedom costs $1,399–$1,599, depending on the retailer. That’s dangerously close to some of the best corded robotic pool cleaners on the market—cleaners that outperform it in suction, automation, filtration, and reliability.
For around the same price—or in some cases, less—you could get:
- Dolphin Premier – 2.2 PSI suction, interchangeable filter media (including a leaf bag and NanoFilters), weekly scheduling, commercial motors, and excellent waterline scrubbing.
- Dolphin Sigma – 2.0 PSI suction, Wi-Fi control, gyroscope navigation, triple commercial motors, and one of the best smart cleaning experiences available.
- Polaris VRX iQ+ – 1.0 PSI, but with a powerful app, smart navigation, automatic scheduling, and a better overall polish than the Freedom. If you want to stick with Polaris, go with this one – otherwise I actually prefer the Dolphins.
- Dolphin Quantum – 1.4 PSI, ProLine performance, NanoFilters, oversized MaxBin debris basket, and SmartNav 2.0 path optimization—at a significantly lower price point.
The takeaway? If you’re shopping based on performance, the Polaris Freedom gives you less while charging you more. Corded robots in this range don’t just offer better specs—they deliver a hands-free, automated cleaning the Freedom can’t touch.
So unless you need cordless, why would you pay more for less?
Final Thoughts: Cool Design, Not Enough Power
There’s a lot to like about the idea of the Polaris Freedom.
✅ Cordless.
✅ Waterline-capable.
✅ Sleek and modern.
But once you actually use it, you’ll find yourself wishing for more suction, better filtration, and most importantly: automation.
The combination of the low .8 PSI suction and daily recharging is a dealbreaker for me. I’ve tested enough robots to know the difference between “clean” and “actually clean,” and this isn’t it.
What I’d Use Instead
If I was picking which robot to buy today, here’s what I’d grab instead of the Polaris Freedom:
🥇 Dolphin Premier
- 2.2 PSI suction
- Leaf bag + NanoFilters
- Weekly scheduling
- 3-year warranty
🥈 Dolphin Sigma
- 2.0 PSI suction
- Gyroscope + triple motors
- Wi-Fi + app scheduling
- Better filtration and smarter navigation
I have reviews on each, so make sure to check them out!
Final Thoughts
If you’re buying a pool robot to actually clean your pool—not just look cool on the dock—get a corded robot.
Cordless sounds good. But until battery tech, suction power, and app control catch up to corded models, robots like the Polaris Freedom just can’t compete.
It’s not a bad robot. It’s just not a smart buy.
—
I’m Ryan with ActuallyUsed. Thanks for watching and I’ll catch you on the next one!
