The $1,799 Dreame Z1 Pro Solves A Huge Problem With Robotic Pool Cleaners

Dreame Z1 Pro

The Dreame Z1 Pro has an amazing design and very powerful 8,000 GPH suction strength. It also has a LiFi remote, which can be a bit finicky, but ultimately solves a very important issue for robotic pool cleaners. It also cleans very well, but just keep in mind that it’s best for smaller pool sizes.

While many would love the idea of owning a pool, I have always tried to avoid it for one main reason: maintenance. I know multiple people with pools, and they all agree that they are a pain to upkeep, not to mention expensive. We can’t think of ways to make them cheaper, but robotic pool cleaners are really helping people keep their pools clean without much work. Let’s go over one of the most interesting ones: Let me introduce you to the Dreame Z1 Pro.

Should you buy the Dreame Z1 Pro?

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I’ve tested a bunch of the best robotic pool cleaners lately. The Dreame Z1 Pro stood out from the pack for a few reasons, but the first one I noticed was the design. It is, by far, the coolest-looking robotic pool cleaner I’ve seen so far. It almost resembles a sports car, with elegant curves and some aggressive elements. Not that it matters much in terms of functionality, but I happen to like looking at cool things around the home. If you feel the same, this one looks fantastic.

With a flashy design and remote, the Dreame Z1 Pro is a pretty awesome robotic pool cleaner.

Once I was done marvelling over its aesthetics, I moved on to charging it and was surprised by yet another cool thing about this pool cleaner. It doesn’t have a dock or fancy solar chargers, which are nice, but it also doesn’t use a traditional physical connection. This one has a magnetic plug with metallic contacts.

This charging system is very convenient. Robots with physical plugs have a waterproof cover that needs to be sealed to be waterproofed, usually by screwing it shut. This one saves you that hassle. I quickly fell out of love with this system, though. I soon realized it is significantly slower, and it takes 4-6 hours to charge fully. It was the slowest charging of all the robots I tested, with the only exception being the WYBOT S2 Solar, but that’s because that one uses solar power instead of regular grid electricity.

Once charged, though, the Dreame Z1 Pro is a pretty awesome robotic pool cleaner. I set it up while it was charging, which took under five minutes. Once everything was set up and ready, I picked the Standard mode to run the first test. You can also pick Floor only, Walls only, and Waterline Focus.

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After that, I threw it into the water, and it started doing its thing. After it zigzagged around the pool for a bit, I thought it was time to start testing the remote!

If you’re new to robotic pool cleaners, you probably don’t know this, but Bluetooth and Wi-Fi pretty much become obsolete when the robot is underwater. Though most of these robots offer an in-app remote, I could never test it with any of them. So, it was nice being able to use a physical remote with a signal that can travel better through water, such as this remote’s optical LiFi tech.

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It worked well, but I did notice it was a bit spotty at times. Dreame recommends that you wave the remote around when this happens. I was always able to make it do what I wanted it to, but sometimes it took multiple attempts. It wasn’t as seamless as I thought it would be.

The Dreame Z1 Pro has a battery life of three hours per charge and can cover up to 2,160 sqft. The pool I hired to test the bot was nowhere close to that size, so I had battery to spare. It finished the first run and still had over 60% of juice left.

The robot has what Dreame calls Auto Poolside Parking. You can tell the robot to do this with the remote (or the app, if you can connect to the robot). The Dreame Z1 Pro will come to the pool’s edge, climb up the wall, and stay there so you can more easily pull it out of the pool. This one’s dual jets look really cool when the robot is parked — another point to aesthetics!

The pool was already seemingly very clean to the eye when I set the Dreame bot running, so I was surprised to see that its bin collected quite a bit of gunk. That means the 8,000 GPH (gallons per hour) of suction pressure works very well! Take a look at it below.

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All things considered, the Dreame Z1 Pro is a pretty good pool cleaner with some convenient features. Its design is the best I’ve seen, and the robot actually cleans very well. In fact, the 8,000 GPH suction strength is higher than that of many robotic pool cleaners, even ones that cost much more. For example, the Beatbot AquaSense 2 Ultra costs $3,550 and has a 5,500 GPH suction strength.

The Dreame Z1 Pro’s 8,000 GPH suction strength is higher than most rival robotic pool cleaners, even ones that cost much more.

The remote is a really nice addition, and while it can fail, all it takes is a few attempts to get it working. I still have to give props to Dreame for coming up with it, though. It at least gives you a more reliable option to control the robot when it’s inside the water. As mentioned earlier, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are pretty much useless once these robots go underwater. Once you throw the other ones in there, you can’t really do anything until they are done and come back up. Of course, that is unless you are willing to manually pull it out of the pool mid-clean. This is definitely a nice advantage with the Dreame Z1 Pro.

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Furthermore, the Dreame Z1 Pro is not really meant for larger pools. The battery life is on the average side at three hours, and it can efficiently clean up to 2,160 sqft, less than most competing robotic pool cleaners. Taht’s one of the downsides of having powerful dual motors!

If you keep those few downsides in mind, it will be an excellent robot pool cleaner. Especially if you can get it on sale. While it’s pretty expensive at $1,799, it’s currently on sale for $899. That’s kind of an unbeatable price for a robotic pool cleaner of this caliber.

What are the best Dreame Z1 Pro alternatives?

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Dreame Z1 Pro specs

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