The Beatbot Sora 70 cleans the floor, walls, waterline and water surface in one cordless robot, then floats to the pool edge to be collected. Bob Vila rated it 4.5 out of 5 after a month in a Florida pool and PCMag rated it 4.0 (Excellent) after half a summer of testing. PCMag saw some missed spots, and Bob Vila notes it does not skim continuously like a dedicated solar skimmer.
Full review
One robot for the surface and the floor
Bob Vila's reviewer ran the Sora 70 every three to four days for about a month in an in-ground Florida pool and found it handled surface debris and deeper cleaning in a single cycle, which he found more convenient than pairing a floor robot with a separate skimmer. He rated it 4.5 out of 5 and called it one of the most complete solutions he has tested.
PCMag rated it 4.0 (Excellent) after testing it for the first half of the summer, reporting that it consistently left the surface, walls and waterline spotless and collected the vast majority of debris from the floor.
Design and convenience
PCMag describes a 22.9-pound robot with four bottom roller brushes and 18 sensors, including two AI ultrasonic sensors, that can climb walls and clean platforms in as little as eight inches of water. When a cycle ends it floats to the pool edge. Bob Vila liked that smart parking and noted that waiting for it to expel water at the edge makes it lighter to lift out.
Bob Vila found the internal debris basket large and easy to lift out and rinse, and setup took about five minutes including a firmware update.
Where it falls short
PCMag saw some missed spots, and its app navigation only works when the robot is out of the water. PCMag still prefers the Dreame Z1 Pro as its Editors' Choice for owners willing to skim the surface themselves, because of its stronger suction and underwater control. Bob Vila points out that the Sora 70 does not replace a solar skimmer that runs around the clock.
Strengths
- +Cleans the surface, walls, waterline and floor in one cycle, per Bob Vila and PCMag
- +Parks itself at the pool edge when finished, so it does not have to be fished out of the deep end
- +Large, easy-to-empty debris basket with fine mesh filters, per Bob Vila
- +Handles platforms in as little as eight inches of water, per PCMag
- +Bob Vila had it set up in about five minutes, including a firmware update
Watch-outs
- −PCMag saw some missed spots in testing
- −App navigation only works when the robot is out of the water, per PCMag
- −It does not skim continuously, so it does not replace a 24/7 solar skimmer, per Bob Vila
- −Heavy to lift out if you do not let it drain at the edge first (22.9 lb dry, per PCMag)
How it compares
Unlike the Dreame Z1 Pro, the Sora 70 skims the water surface; PCMag found the Dreame has stronger suction and can be steered underwater, which the Sora 70 cannot. At $1,199 it costs less than the Beatbot AquaSense 2 Ultra ($2,299) and Aiper Scuba X1 Pro Max ($1,700) listed on this page.
Rating sources
Counts as 4.18/5 in our score — this publisher's 42 scores on the site average 4.53, so its scores are adjusted down to compare fairly with other publishers.
Counts as 4.24/5 in our score — this publisher's 19 scores on the site average 3.87, so its scores are adjusted up to compare fairly with other publishers.
Our 4.2 score is the average of these published ratings, each adjusted for how strictly its publisher scores. More about methodology.
