Update in 2024: The Aiper Seagull 1000 has been discontinued and replaced by the Aiper Seagull SE, which we cover in our in-depth review
The Aiper Seagull 1000 is a popular robotic pool cleaner that claims to be an upgrade over the Aiper 600. Its cordless design had the Pool Pad team interested in how it would perform, especially at half the price of other entry-level cleaners from Dolphin and Aquabot. While it may be half the price, I have to say it only had a tenth of the power and performance.
Combine this with a battery that hardly holds a charge after testing it a few weeks, makes the Aiper hard to recommend. As usual, I will be rating the Aiper Seagull 1000 on a scale of 1-5 in the three categories: pool coverage, filtration ability, and feature set and warranty. So let's dive in!
Starting with pool coverage, the Aiper Seagull 1000 can only cover the floors of your pool. It has no navigation software, plastic wheels instead of tracks, and a small static brush. In other words, it is disappointing at every turn as it can only clean the floor of your pool, and it cannot even do that well as it cannot map your pool, scrub away debris, or adhere to the floor.
It was even more of a hassle to get set up than the average robotic pool cleaner as I had to charge it for several hours for only a 90-minute clean.
Once it started cleaning, I was even less impressed with its ability. Its stat sheet already had me disappointed, but once I saw it bouncing off of the wall, getting stuck on drains, and speeding over debris, I was even more dissatisfied.
All of its cleaning power seems to go to its speed, which left my pool floor still covered in debris. Since it cannot clean the walls or waterline, and can only try to clean the floor, I have to give the Aiper Seagull 1000 a 2/5 in cleaning ability.
To put this performance in perspective, the Dolphin Escape is double the price of the Aiper Seagull 1000, but can actively scrub debris, climb your walls, and only needs to be plugged in to start it. So not only can it actually clean your pool, but it is also easier to use.
Next, let's look at filtration ability. The Aiper Seagull 1000 comes with a flat, fine filter. This design confused me as well, as I cannot see how it would help to filter out smaller particles without allowing them to wash back out of the unit.
Not to mention, the flat filter only has one side of filtration when compared to the four sides found in the Dolphin Escape. It's hard to see how it can capture debris, and even if it does, the flat filter cannot filter as much as the filters found in the Dolphin Escape, or any Dolphin for that matter.
Once again, the Aiper just cannot clean, so I have to give it another 2/5.
Finally, let's look at the feature set and warranty. The biggest feature the Aiper Seagull 1000 has to offer is its cordless design. On paper, this sounded like a new upgrade for robotic pool cleaners, but it is not. The Seagull 1000's motors just do not have enough power without a cord, and its batteries hold such a short charge, it can only barely cover your pool.
That is if it manages to not get stuck or clean the same spot again and again. So what seemed like a big feature turned out to be a big hindrance as the cordless design is the root of why the Aiper is not strong enough to clean your pool well or efficiently.
As for the warranty, the Aiper Seagull 1000 comes with a one-year warranty, which is a year less than the Dolphin Escape and most other entry-level robots from Dolphin and Aquabot. Once I did some digging though, I saw a lot of users and reviewers saying that their unit would not charge right around a year, which is why it has a one-year warranty. Any longer, and a lot of defective units would have to be replaced.
So it may be half the price, but if you have to buy one every year or two, the Aiper quickly becomes much more expensive. Since its one feature is actually a negative and its warranty won't cover the unit's short lifespan, I have to give the Aiper 1000 another 2/5 in the feature set and warranty.
Once all these scores are totaled up, the Aiper scores a 4/10, making it one of the worst robots I have ever tested, only in competition with other Aiper units. It simply cannot clean your pool floor, filter your water, or last long enough to justify its price. In the end, you will be spending several hundred dollars just to do the cleaning yourself.
The Pool Pad team highly recommends you avoid this robot and instead look to the Dolphin Escape or Cayman. Both of these units can actively scrub debris, clean the floors and walls, and last much longer.
Check back soon with the Pool Pad team, as we will be constantly letting you in on the best products and methods to keep your pool clean and healthy!
Without an active scrubbing brush, it's more of a tiny vacuum than a true robotic pool cleaner.
