At first glance, the Polaris F9350, F9450, and F9550 all look identical in every-which-way, but there’s actually a lot more to these robots than meets the eye. Take a look at our full comparison of these three top-quality robotic pool cleaners by Polaris to see which one of them your pool cannot live without.
| Polaris | F9350 Sport | F9450 Sport | F9550 Sport |
| Main Specs | |||
| Pool Size | Up to 50 Ft | Up to 50 Ft | Up to 60 Ft |
| Pool Type | In-Ground | In-Ground | In-Ground |
| Cleaning Cycle | 1.5 / 2.5 Hours | 1.5 / 2.5 Hours | 1.5 / 2.5 Hours |
| Tangle-free Swivel | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Cable Length | 60 Ft | 60 Ft | 70 Ft |
| Weight | 21 lbs | 16 lbs | 21 lbs |
| Dimensions | 22 x 22 x 18.5 in | 22 x 22 x 18.5 in | 22 x 22 x 18.5 in |
Polaris F9350
Vortex Vacuum
The F9350 is the most basic of the three so any features it has is either implemented in the other two or already outdated (but still very reliable).
Vortex Vacuum technology can be found in all three Polarises—it allows the robot to pick up small, medium, and large debris from the base of your pool without losing even the slightest bit of suction pressure.
ActivMotion Sensor
ActivMotion Sensor is the main way the F9350 and its newer counterparts find their way around the base and walls of your pool. The sensors are constantly keeping track of its location relative to any walls, stairs, drain ports, and so on, to keep it moving continuously throughout.
Though not as high-tech as active sensor systems found in the Maytronics Dolphin series, it does a pretty decent job at keeping the robot on its wheels.
| Polaris | F9350 Sport | F9450 Sport | F9550 Sport |
| Cleaning | |||
| Cleaning Coverage | Floor, Walls | Floor, Walls | Floor, Walls, Waterline |
| Weekly Timer | No | Yes | Yes |
| Brushes | 2 Brushes | 2 Brushes | 2 Brushes |
| Brushes | Solid-Blade | Pleated | Pleated |
| Filtration | Medium to Fine | Medium to Fine | Medium to Fine |
| Filter | Basket, Top-load | Basket, Top-load | Basket, Top-load |
| Full Bag Indicator | No | No | Yes |
2 Cleaning Modes
There are two available cleaning modes: floor and floor+wall. The F9350 slowly but surely makes its way across almost every square inch of your pool in 1.5 hours before making a spotting entirely and awaiting new orders.
It’s also able to scale and scrub walls to a limited extent, but waterline scrubbing is completely out of the question.
2WD
The F9350 is a four-wheel machine with two-wheel drive. Its front wheels provide enough torque and traction to keep the unit attached to the walls and floor of your pool without any mild currents blowing it off course.
Polaris F9450
Programmable Scheduler up to 7 Days
Like the previous model, the F9450 is not the most current Polaris robotic pool cleaner, but it does come with a wide range of features that are found in some of the most high-end models.
For instance, this robot, along with the others, has a scheduler that can be programmed for up to seven days. This automatically commands the robot to commence its cleaning cycle whenever as frequently as you’d like.
Pleated Brushroll
Both the F9350 and F9450 come with four pleated brushrolls with soft, plastic bristles that scrub your pool. This brushroll works great at cleaning most types of pool surfaces, but it can wear down rather quickly when used on concrete.
4WD
A major upgrade found in the F9450 compared to the previous model is four-wheel drive. Instead of relying on its front wheels to move it about, this robot uses all four wheels to offer better acceleration, movement, and climbing ability.
It’s still unable to scrub waterlines specifically, but it can stay afloat vertically for much longer.
Premium Caddy Included
One thing that is found in all three of these Polaris robots is a premium caddy. This caddy makes safely transporting the robot and controller module in and out of your pool house a lot easier to do. The caddy is quick to assemble without requiring specialized tools.
Polaris F9550
Motion-Sensing Remote Control
Finally, we have the most high-end Polaris robotic pool cleaner in our comparison: the F9550.
Finally, Polaris decided to add a handy remote control that allows users to send start/stop/schedule commands from a distance. Also, the remote control is motion-sensitive and can be used to guide the robot to spot-clean areas it may have missed—a common occurrence in all three robots.
Customizable Cleaning Modes + Waterline Only
Not only does the F9550 come with floor and floor+wall cleaning modes, but there’s also a handy waterline only cleaning mode which sends the 4WD F9550 up walls where it stays afloat vertically for extended periods of time for extra scrubbing. Now, your pool can look as pristine from above as it does underwater!
Solid-Blade Brush
Another huge difference between this and the previous Polaris robots is that it uses solid-blade brushrolls instead of pleated ones. The solid-blade brush is more capable of scrubbing and bringing in larger pieces of debris into the suction inlet and filter basket. Plus, it works great on concrete surfaces without accelerated wear and tear.
70-foot Anti-Tangle Cable
The F9550 is attached to a long 70-foot anti-tangle power cord that supports free movement in pools of up to 60 feet in length. In comparison, the other robots come with 60-foot cords for 50-foot long pools. Make sure you know the dimensions of your pool before choosing any robotic pool cleaner.
| Polaris | F9350 Sport | F9450 Sport | F9550 Sport |
| Other Specs | |||
| Remote Control | No | No | Yes |
| Drive | 2WD / 4 Wheels | 4WD / 4 Wheels | 4WD / 4 Wheels |
| Caddy | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Release/First Seen | Aug, 2014 | Apr, 2014 | Aug, 2014 |
| Price | Check price | Check price | Check price |
Polaris F9350 vs. F9450 vs. F9550: Which Should I Get?
After comparing these three robots, it’s pretty clear that the Polaris F9550 is the best of the bunch. In no way does this mean the older, “smaller” F9350 and F9450 are bad robots; in fact, if you don’t mind manually scrubbing your pool’s waterline from time to time, you’re really not missing out on much.
That said, the F9550 is the most convenient, most powerful, and most reliable Polaris robotic pool cleaner of the three.
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Last update on 2023-06-07 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
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