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By Brian Williamson | Written on April 11th, 2024
The Dolphin Explorer E70 is the most expensive pool robot I’ve ever tested.
At over $2,000, the Dolphin Explorer E70 robotic pool cleaner is the most expensive residential pool cleaner offered by Maytronics. Designed for inground pools up to 50ft, I put the Explorer E70 to the test to see how it performed compared to the best robotic pool cleaners of the year.
With over six months of testing, I have tried over 60+ robots across various pools. Very few robots have been as powerful as the Explorer E70. But with a few robots, such as the new Dolphin ProLine’s Dolphin Premier ($1279) and Dolphin Sigma ($1379) taking charge with NanoFilters, Commercial-Grade Motors, and the same 3-year warranty, how does the Explorer E70 in terms of performance and value?
The Dolphin Explorer E70 does have one thing that most Dolphins don’t include: a caddy. This is the same Dolphin Universal Caddy. It’s about a $145 value and fits every Dolphin pool cleaner. While it’s nice to see it included, most pool owners won’t even use it. And if you want it, you can always purchase one later. Oddly enough, Dolphin doesn’t give you a choice as it comes standard with the Explorer E70.
The setup of the Dolphin Explorer E70 is really easy. It’s plug-and-play. Without a booster pump and with no assembly required, I had the Dolphin Explorer E70 set up in about 3 minutes.
To start, this robot is a Wi-Fi-enabled unit and can only be programmed via the app. Every time you want to schedule or control, you must open the app, which can be a pain.
If you don’t have Wi-Fi access, skip down to the Alternative Robots in this section and look into the Dolphin Premier or Dolphin Quantum. It can use Bluetooth, but I found it harder to connect.
The Dolphin Explorer E70 performed like a champ. From the floor to the waterline, it cleaned my entire pool. With side jets, the E70 pushes itself horizontally along the waterline scrubbing away. With a 60ft cord, the pool coverage is great. It navigated my pool and around ledges and stairs. The anti-tangle swivel allows the E70 to freely rotate and clean around the pool.
The robot boasts over 4500 GPH of flow rate, which is a lot, but is the same as the ProLine’s Premier ($1279) and Sigma ($1379). The performance was not improved over these units, which I was very disappointed with. For hundreds of dollars more, I expect higher performance. But this is likely due to the commercial-grade motors being used on the Sigma and Premier.
Explore Dolphin's new ProLine →
I had no trouble cleaning my 40ft inground gunite pool, however. But if you expect improved performance over the ProLine, be prepared to be disappointed.
The myDolphin Plus app is a major selling point of the Explorer E70. It’s super simple and easy to use. Unlike the stripped functionality of the Dolphin Explorer E30’s app, I found in my review, the E70 has every feature. Here is a comprehensive list of features:
One of the advantages of the Wi-Fi Dolphin pool robots is the Connect Anywhere aspect. Using the cloud and Wi-Fi, you can connect to your robot and start it from anywhere. I found this super neat compared to past Bluetooth models where you had to be next to the robot to control it.
However, it seems the cloud functionality is solving a problem that doesn’t exist. I have never used this functionality. It’s a novelty and a neat feature, but I wish the cleaning performance would have been upgraded instead. The only real upgrade over other Wi-Fi units such as the Dolphin Sigma is the addition of Pick-Up Mode and the Temperature sensor.
The dual-layer filter basket is rather unique. Rather than utilizing Dolphin’s NanoFilters, it has similar panels on the outside and another mesh filter inside. It’s neat and worked great at picking up leaves and even clearing up the pool water.
It was a little confusing though, as the performance wasn’t much better with the mesh interior basket. There isn’t a lot of information on why Dolphin utilizes this or the advantages, but I didn’t find it to be any better than the included NanoFilters on other Dolphins.
But the filter gets the job done. I had 0 issues with it and loved the top-load system. Similarly to the XXL MaxBin on the Quantum, the filter is huge! It’s significantly larger than the Dolphin E10 and Dolphin Explorer E20’s filter basket.
It frankly is the top residential pool robot ever made. The filtration system is on par with the other top Dolphin pool robots. The app is easy to use and intuitive. I’m not a computer genius and I had no issues with it at all.
The performance in my testing was an A+. It vacuums like a pro. With an included Universal Caddy, it’s nice to not have to purchase it separately. The E70 is even covered by a 3-year warranty from Dolphin, which is only found on the top Dolphin cleaners. There is a lot to love about the Dolphin Explorer E70.
Price.
The Dolphin Explorer E70 is a great cleaner, but you’re paying a lot more for the addition of the Temperature sensor and an included caddy. At $2,000, it’s hard to justify the high price tag when the Dolphin Sigma has nearly all the same features and warranty at a steep discount. While the Sigma doesn’t include the caddy, you can pick one up for less than $150 if you want one, which still leaves the Sigma several hundred dollars less.
There are a lot of choices when choosing a robotic pool cleaner and the value proposition isn’t quite there. It has the same flow rate as other cleaners and doesn’t perform any better. The top-loading dual-layer filter is nice, but it’s not any better than a filter cartridge system with Nanofiltration.
If you want to go all out and splurge on one of the best pool robots on the market, the Dolphin Explorer E70 is for you. We rated it the best splurge in our list of best robotic pool cleaners of the year. You'll love it and it cleans like a pro - but it's not the best option on the market when factoring in value.
With the Dolphin ProLine’s Sigma having nearly every feature of the Explorer E70 at a significantly cheaper price, the Dolphin Explorer E70 is not worth it in my opinion. The addition of the temperature sensor, pickup mode, and caddy doesn’t justify the price difference. With the same flow rate and power, you’re paying a lot more for the same cleaning ability and warranty.
If you want to save even more, the Dolphin Premier has the same great 3-year warranty and is even less expensive. You’ll give up the myDolphin Plus app and Pickup Mode, but it performed just as well as the Explorer E70 – if not better in my testing.
Now if your priority is wanting the best of the best with no expense spared, go for it! The Explorer E70 was a top-performing pool robot in our testing. The only shortcoming is the value proposition compared to other top robots.
Diving more into the alternatives, here are our top alternative robots to the Dolphin Explorer E70. These robots are value-packed and are some of our favorites in our testing.
The Dolphin Sigma is a top alternative to the Explorer E70. It’s value-packed in comparison. For hundreds of dollars less, you get all the advantages of the myDolphin Plus app, NanoFilters, and commercial-grade motors. Not to mention the 3-year warranty! It’s an easy switch if you wanna save big on one of the best Dolphin robotic pool cleaners of the year.
Read my full review of the Dolphin Sigma →
The Dolphin Premier is a fantastic choice for any pool. Boasting the commercial-grade motors from the ProLine, the Premier filters over 4500 GPH. The Premier was rated the best robotic pool cleaner of 2024 by USA Today.
We loved the Premier in our testing of it and even named it the Best Dolphin Pool Cleaner of the Year. With a built-in weekly timer and full filter indicator, it uses onboard controls rather than an app – which we almost preferred in our day-to-day use. It’s a bargain with over 3 different included filter options, including it being the only Dolphin with a leaf bag.
Read my full review of the Dolphin Premier →
A part of the Dolphin Explorer family, the Dolphin Explorer E30 is a great alternative to the E70 at a fraction of the price. With the myDolphin Plus app and Waterline Cleaning, you get a majority of the performance of the E70.
However, there are a few downsides: stripped myDolphin Plus features, no NanoFilters, and weaker motors. While the E30 has the app, you won’t get the host of features like manual control, advanced weekly timers, and more that you’ll find on the Explorer E70 and Sigma.
If you still want a top-loading basket, look no further. The Dolphin Quantum is nearly half the price but has a similar performance. Without an app, the Quantum has a weekly timer built into its power supply. The advantage of the Quantum over the Explorer E30 is the included NanoFilters - which are a must-have for any pool owner.
