Dolphin Sigma versus Dolphin Premier

Which is the better robot for your pool?

If you've been looking for a robotic pool cleaner, you likely have seen the Dolphin Premier and Dolphin Sigma pop up in your search. These are our two highest rated robotic pool cleaners. The Premier and Sigma share a lot of the top features you'll want such as waterline cleaning, a dual stabilizer, multiple filter options, 3 year warranty, and a programmable timer. The biggest differences are the number of filter options, a gyroscope, and the myDolphin Plus App. So let's break down and compare these two pool robots.

Filter Options

First, let's break down the filter options.

The Premier has Multi-Media, which allows the Dolphin Premier to swap between the 3 filter media options it includes in seconds. The Dolphin Premier's Multi-Media includes:

• Oversized Leaf Bag
• Ultra-fine Filter
• Standard Cartridge Filter

The Dolphin Sigma on the other hand includes 2 filter options:

• Ultra-fine Filter
• Standard Cartridge Filter

While the Premier stands out in this category, it is great to have the Ultra-Fine filter, as Dolphin doesn't include it in most of its robotic pool cleaners. The big difference is the Premier's leaf bag.

Which is better for leaves?

I found myself using the Leaf Bag frequently, so if you have a lot of leaves, the Dolphin Premier is for you?

Which is better for algae?

Both the Dolphin Premier and Dolphin Sigma include an Ultra-Fine filter, so both are fantastic options if you want to clear up cloudy pool water or pickup microscopic debris.

Gyroscope and Quad Scrubbing Brushes

The Dolphin Sigma has the gyroscope and quad scrubbing brushes, giving it the edge when comparing it to the Dolphin Sigma. This allows Sigma to turn in place, something almost all other Maytronics robots cannot do - giving the Dolphin Sigma some extra maneuverability around obstacles such as stairs and ladders.

myDolphin Plus App

If you want a smartphone app to control your robot, the Dolphin Sigma is for you. The Sigma's app is honestly amazing. The Dolphin Sigma's app allows you to schedule the robot in 2 ways: Basic and Advanced Scheduling.

Advanced allows you to set each individual day of the week. You can program it to run at 5pm Friday and 10am Sunday - which is a super nice touch from Maytronics to add

Basic will allow you to schedule it to run every day, 2 days, or 3 days. This gives some flexibilty and honestly is fine for most people. This funtionality is what is also on the Dolphin Premier's Programmable Timer. The Premier does have Media-Alert, which the Sigma won't. This alerts you so that you know when it's time to clean Premier's filter. While I found it useful, the Dolphin Sigma will actually push a notification directly to your phone (even if you're away - thanks to it's Wi-Fi Connect Anywhere Technology), which I actually preferred to the Premier's Media-Alert.

Another cool feature is Sigma's remote control option via the app. While you can purchase a remote control for the Premier, the Dolphin Sigma can be controlled direct from your phone - a feature not found in all units with the myDolphin Plus smartphone app either. The Sigma even keeps track of your cleaning history and records stats like gallons filters, energy saved, and more, which is a great addition.

Price and Warranty

The Dolphin Premier is a little cheaper, so if you don't want the smartphone app or if you want the leaf bag, it is a little better of a value. But if you want the best of the best, the Dolphin Sigma is the way to go.

Both include a full 3 year warranty from Maytronics, which is a great touch as most Maytronics units are covered for 2 years.

Final Thoughts

Both are fantastic options for your pool. There isn't a clear cut winner, but it can be narrowed down to two big difference: A Leaf Bag or a Smartphone App.

The Dolphin Premier and Dolphin Sigma are two of Dolphin's best performing cleaners, so you're not settling there. With the larger commerical grade motors, they both will cover your whole pool - including the waterline. If it were my decision, I would go with the Dolphin Sigma because it's app is simply fantastic.