With so much uncertainty in the world, it feels good when certain things remain concrete and timeless–like Apollo and their unwavering commitment to releasing game-changing electric scooters. Last year, we had Segway join the big boys club with the GT series. This year, Apollo joins the ranks of Minimotors, Kaabo, NAMI, and Vsett in bringing us the next generation of beast electric scooters (or hyperscooters, your call).

The Apollo Pro is probably one of the most anticipated electric scooters of 2023–a scooter that won’t even be released until Q3. But we all get it. This thing is from the future, and not just by its looks, though that does play a huge role. No matter where we park it, any scooter near the Pro suddenly looks very old.

That aside, the Apollo Pro electric scooter has maybe the most interesting list of components and features we’ve ever seen on an electric scooter, including the highest water resistance rating of any scooter in our database and a smart battery management system that costs more than the entire battery in most small scooters.

Based on those two clues alone, we think Apollo was on a mission to build the world’s most reliable scooter. Did they succeed? As good as we are at testing scooters, it’s just too early to say. But we’ll tell you (and show you on the ol’ tube) what it’s like to ride and get candid with all the Pro offers.

Let’s begin, shall we?

Apollo has toyed with their existing scooter models by adding some power here, tweaking the controllers there, and giving some scooters larger motors and bigger batteries–but they hadn’t fully committed to a hyperscooter–until now. Enter the Apollo Pro.

The Apollo Pro is no toy–it’s not even a plaything. It’s vehicle-grade. It’s a 12.0-inch, dual-motor beast weighing only 95.0 lbs, so it’s a scooter in its own class. Its looks also stand out from literally every other scooter but the GT2, and we’re calling it the scooter from the future with good reason.

It is fast enough to keep up pace with scooters like the GT2, the Apollo Phantom V3, the RoadRunner RS5+, and the Dualtron Victor Luxury. It can travel the distance–and you will enjoy the ride more than you would on nearly all other powerful scooters. It’s probably too early to tell, but this could be the world’s most reliable electric scooter.

In line with Apollo’s commitment to standing out, the Pro scooter stands out with the highest IP rating on a scooter we’ve tested; it comes installed with a SIM card, it forgoes the typical hydraulic disc brakes for a drum and regen pairing, the scooter ditches the usual pre-installed display unit, and it comes with an unusual tire size for this class.

Our Take: The Ultimate Disruption and First Real Feel of Scooters From the Future.

Is it Good for Bigger, Heavier Riders?

Yes, the Apollo Pro is big-dawg approved.

There’s so much going on with the Apollo Pro scooter in favor of the big dawgs. But straight up, we have the scooter’s solid build. It looks and feels like the sturdiest scooter we’ve seen, and we’ve seen our fair share. The scooter is strong enough to withstand higher weight–and the motor is rated to carry a max rider weight of 330.0 lbs. It also helps that the 1560 wh battery caters efficiently to the higher power requirements of the big dawgs.

The scooter is also spacious enough for the bigger rider. The deck is super wide, measuring 18.5 inches by 8.0 inches. Wider decks allow for the best foot steering, so we definitely love that riders with larger feet get that luxury. In addition, the handlebars are tall and sit at a cool 40.5 inches above the deck, so there is no slouching to reach the bars. The 6.5-inch clearance also means less chance of bottoming out.

Then there’s the ride. We can’t stop raving about the Pro’s larger tires that just happen to be tubeless. That means besides the smooth ride, you’re also less prone to getting pinch flats. But there are also the amazing adjustable front hydraulic shocks and the efficient rear rubber suspension. Riders can adjust the spring preload and hydraulic damping on the front shocks to their weight for the most comfortable ride, and the rear polyurethane insert just works like a charm.

So, if you’re a big dawg, aesthetics aside, the Pro has some real value for you.

We’ve said this about all big-wheeled scooters; you need to be wary of the reduced torque. While large wheels are incredible for the feel of the ride, there’s an obvious trade-off with how fast your rubber hits the tarmac.

It’s not frustratingly slow to 30.0 mph–in fact, it takes you 7.9 seconds, whereas, with the 10.0-inch Phantom V3, it’s just slightly faster at 7.3 seconds. However, in comparison to its counterparts, the GT2, and the Wolf King GT, it might feel a tad slower–with the GT hitting 30.0 mph in 4.1 seconds and the King GT in 3.8 seconds.

That said, there’s an almost quantifiable difference in ride experience, which we’ll get to later in the Ride Quality section.

Top Speed

She’s a speedy fox. Apollo cites a max speed of 43.0 mph in ideal conditions, and we just missed the mark as our top speed test registered 42.8 mph. Not bad at all.

The 60 V Apollo Phantom with Ludicrous mode is the only Apollo that goes faster at 48.1 mph. In our database, the Pro’s top speed is sandwiched between the faster Wolf Warrior X Pro, which has a 42.9 mph top speed, and the Segway GT2, whose max speed is 41.8 mph–all three being formidable performance scooters. 

The Wolf King GT, the recently dethroned speed champion, goes faster at 61.0 mph, but it goes faster than every other scooter, so we’re letting the Pro off the hook for that one. And If you’re comparison shopping with the Phantom V3, that one almost competes but comes in at a lower 40.7 mph.

Hill Climb

The larger diameter tires strike again. We’ve seen this with the Taur, the Mercane Jubel, the EMOVE Roadrunner, and pretty much bicycles everywhere. Larger tires have fewer point-to-point rotations, which affects the scooter’s speed on hills. 

On our 200.0 ft 10% hill test, the Apollo Pro managed an average speed of 14.6 mph, reaching the top on 9.3 seconds. This was slower compared to the Phantom V3’s 8.8 seconds or the 6.6 seconds and 6.5 seconds on the Segway GT2 and Wolf King GT scooters, respectively.

Range and Battery

The Apollo Pro is fitted with a 52 v, 30 ah, 1560 wh battery with energy-dense 21700 Samsung cells. The battery powered the Pro electric scooter through our challenging range test course to cover 32.2 miles of range.

What was most exciting is that Paul was able to ride extremely fast through the range test–maintaining an average speed of 21.3 mph through the whole journey, which is comparable to the 21.4 mph we got on the beastly NAMI BURN-E 2 and, more recently, 21.5 mph on the RoadRunner RS5+.

The higher speed accounts for the somewhat shorter range when compared to the 32.9 miles on the Segway GT2, whose average range test speed was lower at 19.1 mph. The King GT carries a significantly larger 2520 wh battery that powers the scooter through 55.0 miles of RG tested range, while the smaller Phantom V3’s 1170 wh battery only managed 28.4 miles.

Braking

In what we’ve deemed a bold choice by Apollo, the Pro is a rarity for performance scooters in this price class as it comes with drum brakes. However, Apollo are masterminds when it comes to regenerative braking, and they did it again with the Pro. The drum plus regen braking on our pre-production unit gave us a stopping distance of 12.8 ft from 15.0 mph to a complete stop. We’re waiting for an upgrade on the app that promises to improve the stopping distance, so fingers crossed.

However, let’s take a minute to understand why Apollo deviated from the usual disc and hydraulic disc brakes that all other performance scooters tend to reach for. Here are a few advantages of drum brakes.

• Drum brakes are not as grabby as disc brakes– they don’t have a tendency to lock at the limit.
• They don’t use rotors, so there’s no chance of bending one
• You almost never need to adjust them, and if you do, you don’t even need tools
• The brake shoes last waaaaaay longer than brake pads
• Finally, they tend not to get wet, so they work consistently in the rain

On the flip side, here’s why to avoid drum brakes:

• They are not as strong as discs and have less bite. Therefore, you need to squeeze harder to stop
• Aesthetically, they are not as attractive as disc brakes, but Apollo managed a clean finish on these.

But, as we said, Apollo has mastered regen braking, and together with the drum brakes, you have strong stopping power on demand.

Ride Quality

There’s the look of this electric scooter; then there’s the feel of this scooter’s ride–it is simply out of this world. Usually, we can point to awesome shocks, good wheels, deck size, features like a larger rake angle (as with the GT2), etc. However, what’s exciting about the Apollo Pro scooter is that everything works together to give you a fantastic ride. The level of thought that went into each design element is unprecedented in the scooter world (see more in the Build Quality section).

For perspective, we’ll give you the low down on how and why the ride feels good. The scooter’s design is an obvious starting point. The Pro’s sleek design makes it feel like one cohesive idea–a next-generation vehicle and not a wiggly pile of random parts tacked together. This makes a world of difference when you hit full throttle–just think of riding fast in a rickshaw or a horse-drawn carriage versus cruising in any modern automobile. One feels like it could disintegrate from a small gush of wind, while the other feels like it could weather a small hurricane. And that’s why a sturdy build is important in ensuring a good ride.

Next, we have the scooter’s 12.0-inch tires. We’ll start by pointing out that large-diameter tires just feel better–it’s a fact, and the Pro’s 12″ tires are larger in diameter than 95% of the scooters we’ve tested. The larger size makes them more stable at speed; more stable in corners, and they roll over potholes better than 10.0 inch tires. That said, cornering was really impressive, especially considering that our pre-production Apollo Pro is wearing offroad tires. But, not to worry, everyone else’s scooters will come standard with road tires which should handle even better. 

Then there’s the other star of the show, the suspension. The Apollo Pro scooter’s suspension is among the best any of us have felt. The front shock has adjustable spring preload and adjustable hydraulic damping.

Fact: this is probably the first time Paul did not rush to touch the adjusters because they felt perfectly tuned right out of the box.

Now, the natural thing for scooter designers is to match an adjustable front suspension system with a similar one in the back. But, if you know Apollo, then you know the word ‘typical’ hardly resonates with them. What did they do instead? Well, on the rear, they used a rubber or polyurethane wedge, sort of similar to how Dualtrons do suspension. 

The benefits of using rubber suspension include that it’s lighter and takes up less space, keeping the scooter from being super long. In addition, the rubber has built-in damping, and unlike a spring, it compresses in a non-linear way. This means that as you get heavier, it automatically gets stiffer, which is handy since this is the end where most of the rider’s weight ends up. 

The riding platform is another culprit for the overall great feel of the ride. The deck is covered in thick, patterned rubber and feels huge, but it’s actually a little shorter than the Phantom’s deck and looks even shorter than that because it’s so wide. We love wide decks because they make it easier to steer the scooter with your feet. 

Then there’s the controversial part of the scooter–the drum brakes. We already highlighted that this was a bold choice by Apollo. However, despite that, the numbers indicate that the move worked in their favor. This is primarily because Apollo paired them with variable regen brakes that deliver more regen braking the harder you pull the levers. And usually, drum brakes engage more slowly as they lack that initial bite you get with discs, but on our pre-production Apollo Pro, if anything, the initial bite is a little strong because there’s just so much regen paired with the drum brakes. But, should you need to, you can turn that down in the app.

Portability

While not as heavy as other beast scooters, the Apollo Pro is certainly not portable. And as with other beast scooters, we remind you that it is not meant to be portable–not if you want to retain performance, build and ride quality.

That said, the Apollo Pro weighs 95.0 lbs( tested). It does fold down for storage convenience. However, the stem doesn’t latch to the deck when folded, which has always made sense because such electric scooters are too heavy to pick up by the stem one-handed anyway.

But, a stem-to-deck-latch could come in handy to keep the bars from flopping around when loading the scooter. So, that’s something for Apollo and other beast scooter manufacturers to take into account.

Cockpit

The absence of a regular LCD, LED, OLED, QSS4, TFT, or other display is a big one. However, how cool is it that you get even more bang for your buck on your phone (as a display)–outside of the socials, which is what phones have been reduced to? And thanks to Apollo’s engineering, the quad lock case looks and feels as elegant as all other bits on this scooter.

Simply connect to the Apollo app on your mounted phone and enjoy a ride experience like none other. However, if this is not your cup of tea, the dot matrix-style display will come in handy for the most vital stats.

The bars are minimalistic, and the grips are a type we haven’t seen before–they feel amazing. You have regular brake levers on either side.

Then, on the left, just like the Apollo Phantom V3, the Pro electric scooter comes with a dedicated regenerative brake. For normal riding around, it’s super smooth, easy to control, and ended up being the main brake Paul used during the test runs. However, he states that his favorite way to drop anchor was to pair the front mechanical brake and left thumb brake.

On the other side of the handlebars is a matching throttle. Apollo made eight iterations to this throttle, and it shows. It has zero dead zone and has been through a few hundred thousand push-tests at the factory. Other than that, the bars aren’t littered with control buttons–you get the On/Off button, the M button for the horn, and an indicator button on either side of the handlebars to indicate turning towards that direction.

Lights

Less can be more, and that’s sort of what the Apollo Pro was going for with its lighting profile. We’ve been huge fans of the Dualtrons and Kaabo’s with all the lights everywhere. But there’s just something absolutely elegant about the subtle way Apollo lit up the Pro. The Pro has this wrap-around light that’s visible from all angles. It runs from the mid-front all the way over and around the footrest, and it emits a nice warm glow.

The entire light mimics both braking and turn signal functions, ensuring other road users stay wary of your riding intent.

For turning, the end caps on the handlebars have a orange light that blinks to indicate direction–that’s especially helpful for drivers. There’s a high-mounted headlight to light the path ahead in dull conditions and a stem light with the same warm glow as the deck light.

Apollo promises that you can customize the lights on the app. And while we don’t have access to that yet, we’re assured it’s coming soon. 

Tires

Apollo doesn’t mess around when it comes to tire efficiency. We were initially skeptical of the Apollo City Pro’s ‘puncture-proof’ tires till we tested them, and we have since used them as a benchmark for other ‘puncture-resistant’ claims. Our pre-production unit of the Apollo Pro came with regular off-road tires. However, all other units will have pneumatic tubeless, self-sealing road tires. 

During our test on the Apollo City Pro’s tires, we discovered that in cases where the puncture goes less than an inch deep, the seal is 100%. It’s like it never happened. If the puncture goes deeper and penetrates the sticky coating, the hole will still self-seal. However, in this case, sometimes, the self-sealing isn’t perfect, and you need to add pressure once a week. But that still beats going flat in an hour or less and getting stranded.

That said, the Apollo Pro scooter’s tires are large at 12.0 inches (diameter) by 3 inches (width). As always, the perks of larger tires are better stability at speed, better cornering ability, and so much smoother going over potholes–hence why we dubbed the 12.0-inch-wheeled Mercane Jubel the pothole king.

Deck

While the narrow width works for portability and storage, it is counterproductive for the ride ergonomics of a power scooter like the Victor Luxury. Performance scooters like the Victor Luxury call for riders to adopt a wide stance to keep the rider stable. With 19.0 inch x 9.8 inch of usable space, the Victor Luxury’s deck is pretty tight, so you might need to try out a few positions to find a stance that maximizes the available space.

The footrest looks good and is comfortable to use. Fortunately, Apollo didn’t forget to round it off on the bottom, so it makes a comfortable handhold as well. Our unit has a 6.5-inch clearance, but that’s set to go higher to allow for a more comfortable deployment of the center stand and to the benefit of curb hoppers.

Build Quality

This is one scooter we expect to get a whole bunch of christenings. TechCrunch called it the Cybertruck of electric scooters, and we think of the Pro as the Mercedes S-class of scooters because that’s another car where you get to preview features 5 years before other cars get them. We’re curious to see what other names get floated around. But the bottom line remains that this is one sleek-looking scooter. The sleekest? Probably, and that’s objectively speaking.

The Apollo Pro has an all-aluminum frame that looks somewhere between a stealth fighter and a MacBook Pro. It’s made from two castings, which are welded together and reinforced with a big steel bolt. This clean design is quite reminiscent of the Segway GT1 and GT2. And remember what we said about those ones? About them being molded from a single (fictitious) element known as scootanium–well, the Pro follows suit.

At the top, Apollo takes their fight against the status quo (yet again) to the display. Guess they thought, “What’s the ultimate portable display unit, that won’t drive the cost of the scooter through the Burj Khalifa’s roof?” The answer–your phone, of course. So, Apollo instead spent their dollars on getting the best quad lock case for securing your phone (display). And for an added touch of convenience, the mount charges your phone wirelessly while riding. 

Now, if you’re thinking it’s impractical to grab and mount your phone before each ride, Apollo already thought of that. Their solution is a supplementary, simple dot matrix display at the top of the stem, similar to what Van Moof does on their e-bikes. Ours doesn’t have the dot matrix yet, but the Beta units and production units will.

The stem feels strong and wobble-free, and much of that is due to this new stem latch. You’ll spot an orange safety catch on it, which we like because you can release it one-handed. On the hand, the handlebars are clean and quite intuitive. You’ll quickly notice that there are no exposed wires on the entire scooter besides two short runs of the brake cables up top. The turn signal buttons are easy to find next to each grip, and they self-cancel. We also love how visible they are–especially the high-mounted indicators on the grip ends.

If you watched our unboxing (you really should–you get our authentic first impressions of the scooter and very many bloopers), you know the horn caught us by surprise. It is controlled by the button marked “M” on the left side.

First, the horn is loud! More importantly, you’ll be able to select different pre-recorded horn sounds in the app. Sadly, you won’t be able to upload just anything (sorry, no fart sounds). Though, we’ve heard the beta testers may get to pick which sounds end up on the final product. And if you’re not down with the horn, there’s a bell near the left brake lever, which is handy for politely interacting with bicycles or pedestrians.

Drum rolls. We have a new best for waterproof rating. Taking the crown from the Apollo City 2022 and the Apollo City Pro’s IP56, we now have the Apollo Pro as the most waterproofed scooter on our database with an IP66 rating.

If you’re unfamiliar with how the IP rating system works, well, the second digit indicates the water resistance, and you want this number as high as possible. We certainly hope this is the trend of the season, but for quick comparison, most scooters, if they have a rating at all, are IP54, which is not much protection. And Apollo goes even further with the Apollo Pro’s fender coverage which is great, if not trend-setting even.

Take note if you watched the unboxing that we have a quick correction. Our pre-production shows (and we mentioned) that the scooter comes with a Mach 1 controller. Disregard that. The Pro doesn’t use the Mach 1 controller like the Phantom V3. It instead uses the Mach 2. The difference is that the Mach 1 has 25 amps per motor while the Mach 2 has 30. 

On to even more unusual features. The Apollo Pro electric scooter has a built-in SIM card–the potential for that is huge, as with all things IOT (internet of things). Apollo says you can track your scooter’s location and state of charge from anywhere in the world, you can power it up and power it down remotely and set off the alarm with the app, which could come in handy if you somehow forgot where you parked it, and if someone scooter-jacks you, you have the power to lock the scooter the next time it stops. 

Of course, SIM cards cost money to operate, so the SIM-card-based features will be part of an optional service plan called Apollo Care. They had a press release a while back saying the cost might be as low as $19.99 per month, but details of what’s included and the official price are still being determined. And, before anyone gets riled up, it’s optional, and the scooter still works without it. All of the normal features of the app still work via Bluetooth.

We loved it on the Anyhill UM-2, and we love it on the Apollo Pro electric scooter. We’re, of course, talking about the unique center stand. However, we should mention that it’s not quite as easy to pop down as a side stand, and our pre-production stand sits just a touch little too low (though the next version should be taller). But, there are some advantages, including it won’t bang you in the shins when walking with the scooter, the scooter takes up less space when parked because it’s not leaning; and visually, the stand just disappears when folded, which adds to the sleek look.

It’s also worth mentioning that Apollo is clearly playing the long game when it comes to build quality because, as much as we all like how this scooter looks, a lot of the cost of building it goes into places you can’t see at all, like the: Samsung 21700 battery cells–Samsung and LG cells are the best cells you’re going to see in a scooter battery, and second, is something no one pays attention to, but might have the biggest impact on safety and reliability of all–the Pro has a Smart BMS that tracks the health of your battery cells, protects them from all the usual things like over-charging, and over-discharging; and can even balance your cells while discharging.

And a final note on quality is that the Apollo Pro’s toolkit will include a wrench for taking off the wheels, a complete set of Allen wrenches, and 2 spare copies of every screw used on the scooter. The scooter also comes standard with a 4 A charger. That’s more than twice as many amps as most chargers. 

All that said, going for long-term reliability and ease of use doesn’t make headlines the way raw speed does. But, remember, in the early ’80s, Honda took a similar path, and it worked out pretty well for them. We certainly hope Apollo’s efforts pay off both in the short and long term.

Safety

The Apollo Pro is Apollo’s first swing at a hyperscooter. That comes with great responsibility, as was proven by Segway with the GT series and as has become custom for Minimotors with their Dualtrons, the NAMIs, the Kaabos, and the Vsetts.

That said, the Apollo Pro checks a lot of boxes for safety: excellent lighting profile, great scooter build, a well-integrated regenerative and drum braking system, stability at speed, a horn and bell, an IP66 rating, remote immobilization via GPS (optional), a smart battery management system for battery protection, and excellent control and handling.

Warranty 

Apollo issues a 12-months standard warranty for all their scooters. Their warranty terms are very well laid out on their website, and all Apollo scooter owners (current and prospective) should ensure to give it a read. 

With the Apollo Pro, you can purchase Apollo Care–a low monthly fee subscription plan that accords you personalized help 24/7 for any issues you might encounter with your electric scooter. 

In summary, who is the Apollo Pro for?

First, this scooter is not cheap; therefore, it needs a rider with experience looking to amp up their scooter game. Next up, prospective buyers that are out for arm-yanking speed might not get that with the Pro. It is not slow. In fact, the Pro will get you more than Phantom-level adrenaline on tap–just don’t expect the sheer level of terror you can coax out of a BURN-E.

Many of you (readers) will also consider the Apollo Pro just because it looks cool, especially when the center stand is up. You’re not alone, and you’re not wrong for it. As far as aesthetics go–it doesn’t get better than this.

But ultimately, this is a scooter you buy to put miles on. It’s more vehicle than a plaything. It feels really good to ride long distances because that’s what Apollo designed it to do–to get ridden lots of miles every day. That’s why they’re asking beta testers to ride them 500.0 miles and report back. 

Will this be the most reliable scooter ever made? It’s way too early to say, but it has all of the right ingredients. We’ll keep you in the know–simply ensure that you’re subscribed to our YouTube channel or are part of our email list, so you never miss a beat.

The Apollo Pro is gearing up for its grand launch on Indiegogo this summer, with the date set for the 12th of July, 2023. By signing up, you can stay abreast of all the exciting updates surrounding the launch. Plus, as an early bird, you’ll have access to some fantastic deals.