The $1,799 WYBOT S2 Solar robot can clean an entire swimming pool with just the power of the sun

Everyone loves taking a dip in the pool on a nice summer day, but all that pleasure comes with a cost. That’s why I have never wanted to actually own a pool. They are fantastic, but everyone I know who has one tells me they are also a pain to maintain. However, things are getting much more convenient with the introduction of robot pool cleaners. The WYBOT S2 Solar is especially nice, as it significantly minimizes charging efforts, using a solar panel and pool wall docking. I recently hired a private pool and tested a bunch of the best pool cleaners of 2025 to see which ones stand out the most, and the WYBOT S2 Solar definitely does that.

I have to admit that this is the most interesting and convenient robotic pool cleaner I have tested so far. All of the others require manual charging, so you have to physically pull them out of the pool, carry them somewhere, and either plug them in or dock them in a charging station. The WYBOT S2 Solar can just dock itself and charge using the docking station’s solar panel. With enough sunshine, you might only need to take it out to clean the debris in the bin.

Of course, this was the first thing I was going to try. I have experience with testing solar panels for portable power, and figured this one was a bit too small to charge efficiently. To my surprise, it worked very well! Then, I looked into the specs and realized the WYBOT S2 Solar only has a 5,200mAh battery. That’s about as much battery capacity as a regular smartphone.

WYBOT claims you can run the robot for about 1.5 hours per full day of sunlight — I noticed the needle moving up about 5-7% per hour when the sun was out, so that claim does track. And if you ever find yourself without juice and need to use it, you can pull it out and plug it in directly. That will charge it fully in about three hours.

After setting it up and leaving it to charge for a bit, I decided to try it out. The app is simple and easy to navigate. Just tap on the device, and you’ll find seven modes to choose from: Floor, Wall, Waterline, Standard Full Pool, Wall Then Floor, Turbo Floor, and Eco Floor. I usually picked Standard Full Pool because I wanted to go all out to see how it fared. I also tried out the Waterline and Wall modes a few times to ensure everything worked, and it did.

If you don’t feel like using the app, you can change the mode using the MODE button on the robot itself. Using the large, green power button, you can manually turn the robot on. Then tap on the MODE button to rotate through the main modes. When you pick the right one, throw it in the water, and it will handle the rest. I tested this, and it worked well, but again, the whole point is not to have to touch the robot.

Whatever you do, just make sure you set it up properly before putting the unit into the water. I found that all pool cleaning robots lose their Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connections as soon as they are submerged. At least this one docks itself, though, and the charger and robot do have underwater communications for docking.

After a bit of roaming around, I started noticing actual cleaning patterns. The pool looked pretty clean to begin with, so the difference wasn’t too noticeable to the naked eye. Or at least that is what I thought. When I pulled out the bin, I noticed plenty of debris, mostly small leaves and thin twigs that I had never noticed with the naked eye. You can see the dirt in the image below, on the side of the bin. It’s pretty yucky, honestly, but shows that the WYBOT can perform even with a relatively low suction power of 3,962 GPH (gallons per hour). It’s not the strongest, but it is sufficient for most debris you’ll find in a pool.

Oh, and once, it just went to the dock for no apparent reason, or so I thought. This is because it will automatically go back and dock itself if it reaches 20% battery. That’s nice because I really didn’t want to go digging in there to pull it out or swim in when it started to get cold.

If you want specifics for how much it can clean, the WYBOT S2 Solar has a battery life estimated at 2.5 hours of operation per full charge, or about 3,229 sqft. The pool I used was nowhere close to that size, so I could get multiple cleans per charge.

You can schedule cleaning sessions, which I didn’t do because I only actively tested it for two days. That said, if you rely on solar charging and have a pretty big pool, you might want to schedule it to clean every other day (or less often). With this smaller pool, I could probably schedule a daily session. That’s definitely something to keep in mind, as solar charging, while surprisingly efficient, still only gets you that 1.5-hour battery life per day, and that is with a full day of maximum sunlight.

The WYBOT S2 Solar is a really cool robotic pool cleaner. It cleans well, needs much less physical interaction, and the solar panel adds a layer of convenience I absolutely loved. That said, it is also pretty expensive, and performance isn’t really much better, even when compared to WYBOT’s own robots. You can get something similar for less money if you’re willing to plug in your robot to charge, or take it to the pool when you need to.

But time and convenience have a price, and using the S2 Solar was as seamless as it gets. Just be sure to know you are paying for, as it’s definitely more of a niche pick.

The main lure of the WYBOT S2 Solar is ease of use. I am more of a hands-off kind of guy, so I would sacrifice some performance for convenience. That said, if you don’t mind carrying the robot whenever you want it to clean and then physically connecting it to charge, there are more powerful and efficient alternatives, including from WYBOT — and these are often cheaper, too.

• Beatbot AquaSense 2 ($1199 at Amazon): The BeatBot AquaSense 2 is one of the industry’s favorite robotic pool cleaners. It costs a bit less and features a pretty nice experience. It’s more potent with a 5,500 GPH suction power, and has a longer four-hour battery life. While it has no in-pool docking station, it has a charging dock and a parking mode, making it come to the pool’s edge so you can easily grab it.
• Dreame Z1 Pro ($1299 at Amazon): This one is even more affordable than BeatBot’s, and it has more suction power at 8,000 GPH. Battery life is estimated at four hours, and it also has a poolside parking function. A cool trick is up its sleeve: it comes with a remote you can use to give orders from outside the pool!
• WYBOT C2 Vision ($779.99 at Amazon): This one is smaller, lighter, and has AI technology to find dirty spots underwater. It has a three-hour battery life and 3,592 GPH suction strength. It’s also significantly cheaper at $799.99!
• WYBOT M2 Vision ($1699.99 at Amazon): If you want something much more capable from WYBOT, this one has a five-hour battery life, can also use AI Dirt Hunting Mode, and costs $100 less than the S2 Solar.