The DJI Neo wants to be the palm-sized $200 drone for everyone
DJI's lightest and most affordable drone ever made
🚁 The DJI Neo is a palm-sized drone that weighs only 135g
🎥 One tap button to take off and start recording 4K video or 12MP photos
📲 Fly controller free using only the DJI Fly app
🎮 Or connect all of DJI’s latest controllers and FPV goggles for longer range and more immersive flying
💸 Price: $199 for the drone on its own or $289 Neo Combo with 3x batteries
The palm-sized DJI Neo is finally official and all the rumored details including its $200 price were true.
The Neo is DJI’s most compact drone that’s small enough to fit on your palm and it weighs just 135 grams making it the company’s lightest drone too. The small drone has also been designed for simple one-tap flying and recording too. No need for an controller, you can simply tap the drone’s mode button to cycle through shooting modes and start flying.
From there, the drone will take off on its own from your palm to start shooting 4K30 movies or 12MP pictures using its ½-inch sensor. The DJI Neo can also use AI subject tracking to follow you and record you with all of DJI’s smart QuickShots modes including Dronie, Circle, Rocket, Spotlight, Helix, and Boomerang.
And if you forgot to pack a controller, the drone can also be flown out to 50-meters using virtual sticks on the DJI Fly app. If you want to send the drone out farther you can connect it to DJI’s latest controller including the RC-N3, RC Motion 3, or FPV Remote Controller 3 to extend its flight range to a maximum of 10-kilometers. Also if you want to fly the drone and see through its eyes in first-person view mode, it also DJI Goggles 3.
In another beginner friendly moved, the Neo comes loaded with a decent 22GB of internal storage. DJI claims that’s enough space to save 40 minutes of 4K/30fps video or 55 minutes of 1080p/60fps video.
Unfortunately as DJI’s smallest drone, the Neo has a few shortcomings. Battery life is rated for only a maximum of 18-minutes while almost all of DJI’s other drones can last for around a half hour. It can also only fly in winds with up to 13 to 18mph gusts.
The DJI Neo is available to preorder now for $199 as a standalone drone. Alternatively, there will be a $289 Neo Combo that includes three additional batteries and a controller with the drone.
Stay tuned as we’ll have some hand-on time to fly the DJI Neo drone on the IFA show floor in the coming days.
Up next: DJI Mini 4 Pro launches with 4K 60fps video and 360-vision, making it a powerful 249g drone
Kevin Lee is The Shortcut’s Creative Director. Follow him on Twitter @baggingspam.