The Dolphin Nautilus CC Plus Wi-Fi is a suprising addition to Maytronics' Dolphin line. With its new Wi-Fi connectivity addition, we put it to the test to see if the Wi-Fi helps build off of the standard Dolphin Nautilus CC Plus and what it brings to the table.
Design and Features
The Dolphin Nautilus CC Plus has been around for a while and is well-known. It's popularity has waned in recent years, as more advanced models like the Dolphin Premier and Dolphin Sigma have come out with the latest technology such as gyroscopes, NanoFilters, Multi-Media, and wireless connectivity. Let's take a look at its design and key features:
You'll notice two brushes on it - one on the front and one on the back - which can help dislodge debris but unfortunately won't reach or clean up to the waterline or tileline. While it can climb partially up walls, it won't make it all the way to scrub tough debris at your pool's waterline. The cable is 60 feet long with an anti-tangle swivel designed to clean pools up to 50 feet in size. Waterline cleaning is an important feature if you own an in-ground swimming pool, as you'll need to scrub it yourself if your robotic pool cleaner doesn't include waterline scrubbing.
When it comes to filtration, there is only 1 set of standard filters included - this is less than ideal compared to modern robotic cleaners like the Dolphin ProLine's Dolphin Quantum, Premier, or Sigma which includes NanoFilters.
Performance
How does the Nautilus CC Plus perform? After testing it over several days we found that wall climbing capability was limited; even though advertised as wall cleaning capable, most cleaning passes only made it partially up walls missing much of upper portions left untouched. This means it will not reach your pool's dirtiest part - the waterline - leaving you to scrub by hand. It did an adequate job vacuuming 85% of visible debris off floors yet struggled with tricky spots like stairs getting stuck so long that auto shutoff occurred due to lack of obstacle avoidance seen in smarter models like Dolphin Sigma or Premier.
Filtration wise, results were mixed; while standard filter media got most medium sized particles out quickly needing multiple empties before pool was super clean when very dirty leaves twigs sand silt were still present making us wish there had been another filter option such as leaf bag or NanoFilters available (as seen in Dolphin Premier).
Missing Wi-Fi Capabilities
The added Wi-Fi connectivity is a nice touch, but it does not have all the features in the app that other Dolphin robotic pool cleaners have, which was hugely disappointing. The app only lets you schedule "basic" cleanings every day, two days, or three days. Unlike the "advanced" cleaning scheduler found on the Dolphin Sigma robotic pool cleaner that let's you personalize every day of the week, such as having the robot clean Monday at 5pm and Friday at 10am.
That's not all that is missing though. It also misses two other features we loved - remote control capability and the cleaning history. You won't be able to spot clean or control its path or movement. Other Dolphin cleaners with an app often show the cleaning history also, such as gallons per hour filtered, killowatts saved, total distance traveled, and more. While the cleaning history isn't needed, the Dolphin Nautilus CC Plus not including the remote control capability really missed the mark.
However, the app does let you turn it on from anywhere once it is set up. It also lets you add a shortcut to Siri that is "Hey Siri, turn my robot on", which is a feature my kids loved.
Warranty
Finally warranty length is shorter too at 2.5 years vs 3 year period often seen with premium pool robots taking away some peace of mind. While it doesn't seem like a lot, this is 20% less - which is quite significant considering that may be one less summer.
Key Takeaways
If considering purchasing Nautilus CC Plus here are key points: It seems confused about what exactly wants to be. Without waterline cleaning, lack of NanoFilters or a leaf bag, missing myDolphin Plus app features, and a shorter warranty than Premium models, you're paying a big premium without the features that will make your life easier! While it still provides a great clean, there may be other models out there you want to take a look at beforehand.
Better cleaners out there
The Dolphin Premier has waterline cleaning, Multi-Media (3 filter options included - Leaf Bag, NanoFilters, and Standard filter), and a 3 year warranty makes it a great choice. It will lack the app connectivity, but everything is replaced by the power supply, as you schedule everything directly there.
Now, if you want an app with all of the features, the Dolphin Sigma is the perfect choice has waterline cleaning, NanoFilters, gyroscope, and all the features on the myDolphin Plus app.