An extra $50 buys two more sports in Pongbot’s Aura lineup. An extra $200 buys the Spotter camera module. Sorting out those two choices makes the four Black Friday packages much easier to compare, especially if your main goal is getting more time hitting balls.
The Aura starts at $599.99. Every package can support tennis, pickleball or padel, but the standard Aura and Aura S include activation for only one sport you choose. The two 3-in-1 packages include all three. Pongbot’s published campaign runs from October 20 through December 6, 2026.
PONGBOT AURA COMPARISONFour packages, two choices
Choose one sport at activation: tennis, pickleball or padel. Both 3-in-1 packages include all three.
Which sports can each package play?
Tennis, pickleball and padel aren’t assigned to different Aura models. You can choose any one of those sports with the $599.99 Aura or $799.99 Aura S. Choose tennis, for example, and that included activation doesn’t also give you pickleball and padel. Pongbot sells additional sport activations separately. Both 3-in-1 packages include the three sports from the start.
Tennis: The Aura family supports standard tennis balls and red, orange and green-dot training balls. The app’s adjustable speed, spin, depth and feed timing let you build a session around a particular shot. Repeating a backhand feed is a different goal from chasing a random ball around the court, and the settings give you a way to make that choice.
Pickleball: All four packages can support it when pickleball is activated. The Aura supports both 26-hole and 40-hole balls, with drills for dinks and placement near the kitchen, the non-volley area beside the net. You don’t need an S model simply because you’re using a paddle instead of a tennis racket.
Padel: All four can also support padel when that sport is activated, using standard padel balls. Its feeds support practice with wall rebounds as well as ordinary shots. That’s relevant to a sport where playing the ball after it comes off the glass is part of the game, rather than treating padel as tennis on a smaller court.
The practical catch: three-sport support doesn’t mean a mixed hopper. Do not load different ball types together. Empty it before changing sports, and plan each session around the correct balls and court.
Aura: one sport, without the camera upgrade
Price: Aura, $599.99 USD
Where to buy: Pongbot
Price checked: October 20, 2026
The $599.99 Aura is the lowest-priced choice here for someone who knows which sport they’ll practice. Select tennis, pickleball or padel, then use the app to set up drills for that sport. It doesn’t include the Spotter module.
That makes it the sensible place to start if your problem is getting repeatable feeds when a hitting partner isn’t available. A tennis player working on the same backhand, or a pickleball player planning a placement session, doesn’t automatically need cameras to get value from a ball machine. Put the extra $200 toward the S package only if its feedback features are something you’ll use.
Aura 3-in-1: more sports, not more cameras
Price: Aura 3-in-1, $649.99 USD
Where to buy: Pongbot
Price checked: October 20, 2026
At $649.99, Aura 3-in-1 adds tennis, pickleball and padel activation together. It still doesn’t include Spotter. The $50 difference from the base Aura pays for broader sport access, not shot tracking or camera-based coaching.
This is the package to consider if your court time already crosses sports, or people sharing the machine play different ones. You could build a tennis session one day and a pickleball session another without buying a separate sport activation later. If you’ve never booked a padel court and only play tennis, though, three included sports aren’t three times the value. The extra access earns its place when you’ve got a use for it.
Aura S: camera feedback for one chosen sport
Price: Aura S, $799.99 USD
Where to buy: Pongbot
Price checked: October 20, 2026
The $799.99 Aura S includes one chosen sport plus the Spotter dual-camera module. The S doesn’t mean all three sports are included. It’s a $200 camera upgrade over the standard Aura, with the same one-sport starting point.
Spotter tracks shots and player movement for training feedback. It also enables Recovery Trigger, which adjusts ball feeding around your return to position. The appeal is having more information to look at after a session, rather than judging the whole practice by the handful of shots you remember.
Consider this version if you’re sticking with one sport and want to review how a session went. If you’d rather set a drill and hit, the base Aura avoids paying for another layer of analysis. Camera feedback can give you something to examine; it isn’t a promise that your next match will go better.
Aura S 3-in-1: all three sports with the Spotter module
Price: Aura S 3-in-1, $849.99 USD
Where to buy: Pongbot
Price checked: October 20, 2026
The $849.99 Aura S 3-in-1 combines the Spotter module with tennis, pickleball and padel activation. It’s $50 above Aura S, or $200 above Aura 3-in-1. Those price differences make the choice fairly concrete: are you adding sports, adding cameras, or using both?
This package fits someone who already expects to train across sports and wants the camera features too. It isn’t automatically the best pick because it’s the most complete one. A tennis-only buyer who wants feedback can stop at Aura S; someone who plays several sports but doesn’t want camera analysis can stop at Aura 3-in-1.
Plan for the whole practice setup
These four packages are separate from the ball bundles listed on Pongbot’s store. Check what comes with the exact option you select and budget for the balls you’ll practice with. You’ll also need access to an appropriate court. Extra modes won’t be much use if there’s nowhere convenient to play them.
Estimated shipping is two weeks after order confirmation. That’s a shipping estimate, not a guaranteed arrival date, so leave time before a trip or gift deadline.
The prices here are the displayed Aura prices; don’t assume a separate campaign coupon applies.
Price: Aura, $599.99 USD
Where to buy: Pongbot
Price: Aura 3-in-1, $649.99 USD
Where to buy: Pongbot
Price: Aura S, $799.99 USD
Where to buy: Pongbot
Price: Aura S 3-in-1, $849.99 USD
Where to buy: Pongbot
Price checked: October 20, 2026
Before ordering, choose the sport or sports you’ll actually practice and decide whether you want camera feedback. Then check that the package name in your cart matches both choices. Those two decisions matter more than picking the biggest bundle.
