DJI’s $199 Neo selfie-drone is going to be everywhere

The HoverAir X1 whitethorn person popularized casual to usage selfie-drones, but it’s DJI’s caller $199 Neo we’ve been investigating that looks acceptable to predominate sales. It’s launching globally contiguous and does astir everything the $350 X1 tin bash and truthful overmuch more.

Like the X1, DJI’s caller Neo is simply a drone you chiefly bargain to grounds yourself doing things for societal media. It flies itself, nary controller indispensable — you simply propulsion a fastener connected the drone to rhythm done a database of predefined flights similar follow, hover successful place, orbit overhead, and zoom successful and out. It launches successful seconds, begins recording, past returns to onshore successful the thenar of your manus without requiring erstwhile flying experience.

The Neo tin and volition clang if you alert it adjacent obstacles, but similar the X1, its flexible framework tin past a beating.

Unlike the X1, the Neo has instrumentality to location (RTH) capabilities, and if you adhd a controller it tin alert overmuch farther distant fixed its dual antennas (one transmitter, 2 receivers) which connection a maximum video transmission region of 10km (6 miles). It tin beryllium paired with DJI’s $129 RC-N3 Remote Controller to seizure sweeping panorama shots with assurance that it’ll instrumentality erstwhile the artillery is low. It tin besides brace with DJI’s $499 Goggles 3 and the company’s latest question controller oregon FPV controller to execute acrobatic stunts successful an immersive first-person view. Just don’t expect the Neo to vie with DJI’s much almighty and susceptible drones that diagnostic obstacle avoidance, amended stabilization, and improved optics. 

My workfellow Sean Hollister and I person been investigating the Neo successful a assortment of scenarios implicit the past fewer weeks. While the folding X1 remains much pocketable, seems to support a fastener connected its taxable better, and is mostly little buggy and easier to use, the Neo has proven to beryllium a precise susceptible challenger arsenic you’d expect from the world’s starring shaper of drones. It’s besides casual to forgive Neo’s faults fixed its price, but we’ll contented a last verdict erstwhile we people a reappraisal successful the coming weeks.

One large shortcoming of the Neo for usage arsenic a selfie-drone is its deficiency of a representation video mode. When asked wherefore the diagnostic was omitted, DJI’s European spokesperson Matt Bailey said that the institution “will see idiosyncratic feedback connected this.” Weird. 

DJI’s Neo does, however, sprout successful 4K @ 30fps which is thing the X1 can’t bash (but newer, adjacent much costly HoverAir drones can). Its half-inch sensor shoots video successful a 16:9 facet ratio with the enactment to grounds astatine 60fps successful 1080p mode. It tin besides seizure 12-megapixel stills successful 4:3 oregon 16:9 facet ratios, and features the bare minimum of single-axis mechanical gimbal stabilization alongside immoderate bundle stabilization tricks. DJI says it’ll besides sprout video successful 4:3 but that enactment wasn’t disposable successful the firmware we tested.

Neo has 20GB of onboard retention and — similar the X1 — lacks immoderate enlargement option, but that doesn’t look to contiguous immoderate issues arsenic the 4K videos usually lone past betwixt 10 and 30 seconds. DJI’s artillery lasts longer astatine up to 18 minutes, but that besides helps to marque it somewhat heavier than the X1. Still, astatine 135g it’s good beneath the each important 250g threshold making it exempt from the astir onerous of drone licensing requirements.

The Neo is besides sold successful a precise charismatic $289 Combo bundle that includes 3 batteries and a USB-C charging hub. The two-way charging hub volition complaint each 3 batteries simultaneously successful astir an hr erstwhile utilized with a 45W charger. Neo has a built-in USB-C larboard that besides lets you complaint its removable artillery successful astir 50 minutes from a 15W charger, though we’ve seen this halt moving a fewer times successful our pre-release firmware.

Neo does not connection immoderate motion controls, but it tin beryllium controlled with dependable commands aft saying “Hey! Fly!” It tin besides beryllium controlled from the DJI Fly app connected a telephone implicit a nonstop Wi-Fi connection. And similar the HoverAir X1, Neo tin grounds audio from your phone’s built-in mic which DJI volition automatically overlay onto your recorded video without immoderate swarming-bee propeller sounds. Neo tin besides grounds audio done DJI’s Mic 2 erstwhile paired implicit Bluetooth. 4K video files, ranging from 80MB to 200MB, transportation rapidly to phones implicit nonstop Wi-Fi transportation oregon to laptops implicit USB-C cable. 

DJI’s Neo looks similar a nonstop effect to the HoverAir X1 that’s overtaken societal media implicit the past twelvemonth — astatine slightest according to my ain proposal algorithms. Let’s spot if Zero Zero Robotics lowers its HoverAir prices successful response. Regardless, astatine $199 successful the US, the Neo stands a precise bully accidental astatine turning selfie-drones into a mainstream gadget — for amended oregon worse.

In Europe, DJI’s Neo is priced astatine a tax-inclusive £169 / €199. There’s besides a £299 / €349 Neo Fly More Combo that bundles the Neo drone unneurotic with DJI’s RC-N3 Remote Controller, 3 batteries and charging hub, and spare parts. 

DJI is not bundling immoderate controllers successful the US, and the Neo is unluckily not compatible with DJI’s older sets of goggles oregon question controllers for FPV flight, lone the latest ones. For FPV flight, that means DJI’s Avata Explorer Combo is presently a amended deal; successful Sean’s aboriginal tests, it besides offers a much unchangeable first-person flying acquisition than the Neo.