Hey guys, I need some opinions please. I own a solis pro. Love it.its an amazing machine. But it's getting older, I bought it 10 t0 12 years ago. I have an issue now that it's blowing fuses in customers cars... i am a die hard snap on scanner fan. My snappy rep lent me an Apollo for the week. I also had the chance to try an autel maxis and unfortunately an otc encore. The Apollo seems very millennial to me. It's a new line of thinking that does kinda take the tech out of the situation.not sure if it's great, or junk. I like the frame rate, I didn't like the edge because the frame rate (processor speed) was poor. I had a Chevy truck abs issue that the edge could not do. But my solus could. I was hoping that some of u folks had some experience with the Apollo and could give me some advise.
I'm not a big fan of the whole Zeus/Apollo software, FWIW. The few times I tried it didn't blow me away. I tried the new features several times, but found myself avoiding them the more I used it.
What'd you think of the Autel? I've got a Modis Ultra at the moment, but I'm thinking of going towards an Autel/Pico combination in the near future. I think the Autel offers better functionality across a wider range of vehicles, and the Pico is a better scope overall. Separating the two also offers more diagnostic options.
Good morning,I would say the Autel is a very good choice as a scanner,we use a Ms906bt with my verus edge,they make a very good combination,
i find the autel does not always auto id as well as the edge,i usually end up with the autel for scan data and the edge for component testing,
I would like a pico but due to cost and the fact the pico cannot act as a complete package scanner/scope i have been drawn to the snap on products but of course no one daignostic tool does it all,
I haven't really looked into it but I suspect the Apollo to be simply a Solus Edge with the some added software features because I know for a fact that's what they did with the Zeus and Verus Edge.
I use a Zeus a lot. I wouldn't pay a dime extra myself for the extra "Diagnose" button feature they crow over. I push it because it's there, just to see. If a transmission sets a solenoid it basically says "replace transmission" like every time. Rich or lean bank 1? Replace O2 sensor. Just dumb stuff like that is no help at all day to day in our shop. Most often it just draws a blank though.
A Solus Edge is the main go-to scanner in our shop simply because it's quick and easy. The Zeus (and my Verus Edge) have to haul around the Windows OS which drags them down a bit. I like to use the Solus Edge myself for a quick code read but I would not pay a cent to upgrade it to an "Apollo".
If a person works on much different stuff than we see at our shop and is a simply a parts swapper supposedly the Zeus/Apollo system is supposed to cut down on the number of parts they have to swap before they stumble onto the actual repair. I know a shop owner who bought a Zeus exactly for that reason, he said his guys were a bunch of parts swappers and he was trying to reduce his parts bill. The extra "diagnose" features are identical on the Zeus and Apollo.
Thanks for responding. I appreciate all your opinions. I did like the autel maxis. The fact that it had a browser that I could research any site I wanted was nice.(I did actually watch Mr. Danners videos in the driver's seat of a car I was diagnosing with the autel) every tablet based scanner should have this. The camera was nice to show customers what the problem was. The maxis had a gauge graph option that I didn't find useful but useless xtras for me aren't really a down fall. I'm really a sucker for frame rate. If a graph looks jagged and it shouldn't. I'm not happy. My 10 year old pro didn't show jagged graphs, and I'm not buying anything with a lower frame rate then my solus pro. The maxis, as good as it is can't touch my old pro. If your more price conscience then me then the maxis is the king.
So down to the Apollo. .. The suretrac most likely fix is crap. The smart data doesn't load what I would load. (P0302 I would look first at fuel trim, I all ready know it's missing as I drove it in. And the code itself told me the cylinder)
But the frame rate is nice and fast. And I like that it loads tsb's and a code description. I can see how it would lead a parts changer to being more of a parts changer. But in the right hands this isn't a problem. I like it. I'm going to buy it.
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I tried the new features several times, but found myself avoiding them the more I used it.
