I disagree. This is what most people have in mind when they buy a “drone”, not making cinematic films or racing through a park. A DJI video is way too large to share on most platforms without compressing and looking like garbage anyway, and this is FAR FAR and above what most people will settle for and buy at Walmart. The consumer price relative to this, DJI doesn’t offer half these features. The Tello is horrible to fly without a controller and the video is terrible, and the Mini 2se at $250 doesn’t even offer a follow me mode, or ANY obstacle avoidance.
For FAST hiking/biking/fishing close in aerial shots it CANNOT be beat. Perfect for fast video blogging shots you can’t do with a cumbersome regular drone.
This thing looks fun as heck... I like the way it split between the limbs at 14:17 towards the end of the Dolly Track chapter! I fly a Mini 3 pro and I'm pretty sure it would have turned the brakes on (in Normal w/sensors on). I like that it's purpose built for vlogging... I love my DJI, but it's just a whole different genre of flying. This isn't trying to take landscapes of the city at 400 ft, it's just focused on the host. Remarkably clever gadget.
Looks cool for such simplicity, definitely perfect for myself and my girlfriend for mountain biking and hiking on the trails, I have a Mavic air 2 and it's just a pain to get out then setup and before you know it, 15mins have gone, this little drone can be up and running in under a minute and that's a game changer in itself... Great vid and very informative.. thanks
The closest thing it reminds me of in the way it functions is the dji spark which needed no remote to use follow-me mode with hand gestures control and hand landing etc which I still own!, but for a 1 axis gimbal with digital stabilisation, the results are very impressive especially the follow me mode!
I have a DJI Mavic Air, which I've used exactly 5 times, before throwing it in it's bag and leaving it in my spare room for the last few years. I literally never use it, BECAUSE EVERY SINGLE TIME I try to use that POS I have to calibrate the compass again, update the controller, update the batteries, update the drone, agree to some updated privacy policy, agree to some other BS and by that time I've lost my cool with the thing and put it away anyway, cos it's spoilt the mood - again! So I just quit using it. Went for an amazing hiking holiday in Greece a couple of months ago, considered taking the Mavic... no. NO! Why spoil a perfectly nice holiday with something that just drives me fing crazy? So I left it at home, again. This drone however, I shall buy, and I shall use it.
@@tonyholland5337 The 2 spare batteries in my kit are sitting on my desk right now, charging. This is the drone that's just in my shoulder bag everywhere I go, love the little thing :)
It's currently 20 bucks more than the DJI Mini 2 SE on Amazon. Even with the impressive startup time and other pro's you listed, I'd still go with the DJI.
Idk about the mini SE, but I can get my mini 2 in the air in what has to be slightly over 1 minute. I started with a spark, then an original mavic air, now those 2 drones took a bit to get them airborne at times, if they just didn’t flat out refuse to launch for some other reason, ah yes the good ole days . The mini drones are very short time from powering up until take off, even faster if you override not having the minimum amount of satellites , you only have to do so once after that it will takeoff upon command. 5 is plenty for it to find it’s way back, with exception of wanting to do a precision landing upon return (something minis don’t have, precision landing) taking off with 4 or 5 gets the drone back to home point , you will get the satellites faster getting off the ground anyway. The price will hurt the little box drone in the review. I know what that thing is going to feel like when you hold it, people will return something that works flawlessly if they don’t think it will stand up over time. No one mentioned how loud it was either, people dislike the angry bee sound. To bad the little thing is so high, it could be useful it seems like.
@@ElderTechDragon if a person is going to take the leap into camera drones and they are thinking DJI , I would highly recommend going with a mini 2 rather than the SE, most people are going to be disappointed with the signal range with the SE over the Occusync on the mini 2. Don’t get me wrong, they are capable drones , just more subject to interference in my experience and this handicaps them in a few ways when it comes to range but mostly penetration.
@@noonespecific9463 From the specs on their site, it doesn't appear the mini 2 has a follow mode either. It's a pretty essential feature for the one-person creators out there.
@@noonespecific9463Range (signal strength as I prefer to call it) is irrelevant as there isn't any range on this thing. From memory I think it was mentioned that this thing will only fly up to 50m away. My Syma X5C-1 can go farther than that 🤣
Ideal for older folk like me who dont want to learn or fly the DJI's etc. Watch my son in law fly his with envy. This could be ideal for family walks and treks.
I totally love my X1. Seems every time I deploy it, they have new software updates. Shooting native portrait at full resolution is the best yet !! I can shoot and drop a video to TikTok in minutes. No futzing around involved. I use a Bluetooth lapel microphone and have amazing audio. I also discovered that you can shoot video with the X1 without flying it. I thought that was interesting... For my uses and needs, it is a bargain.
I already purchased this drone and love it to death. I have a magic Pro and I have vision problems so I can’t fly my Mavic Pro like I would like to. Because I can’t keep track but visually. Also, it has a lot of regulations and things right now that are a little bit more difficult to follow. But this little drone is fun, and it’s pretty much what I hoped to drone would be when I bought my Mavic Pro. I love the fact that so easily follows you. My Mavic Pro doesn’t easily follow me. And I love all the different things you can do with it. It’s a lot of fun. I even use it as a tripod. Well, it isn’t a tripod obviously, but it goes into a hover mode which is basically a tripod. What’s interesting is when you see it moving around a little bit while facing you you’re talking but when you review the video, it’s a steady as can be that little camera does a great job. You’re right it’s not for everyone, but things are getting so strict anymore that something like this really turns out to be a lot of fun. I love mine. I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world thanks for your review. It was honest and I like that..
Perfect. That what I was looking for, as solo hiker and biker 😮 👍 no crazy setup's, no conwcting here and there, no smartphone connection issues, no GPS issues, no wasting time and trying everything again. Just press on/off button, click your mode, thats it. Move to next amazing hiking spot, and do different shot. 👏 I think the stabilization could be bit improved, but hey, so far is ok. Cool video. Thanks for that 🤙
Thanks for the informative and honest video. I sold my DJI drone because there were many places I could not fly it and it was mainly collecting dust. Bought this for the convenience and to add some interest to family and friend videos I make. Mine is supposed to arrive tomorrow.
@@Talpiot_Program you are correct the hover air x1 is not nearly as good as a dji drone. The camera, battery life, distance you can fly, and avoidance system is a lot better with a dji drone. If I was doing professional work or landscape video I would have kept the dji mini 2. Size and ease of use is the reason for the Hover Air X1. Even my 6 year old grandson can fly it (under my supervision).
I'm forced to wait. Not available in my country. Will wait patiently to see if something better and cheaper appears. Delayed gratification. This definitely is a game changer. Thank you for the review.
First drone I've seen that's quick easy and convenient. But it's a bit pricey and quite loud. Can't wait to see if they come back with a bit quieter and a touch cheaper.
Agreed. The noise seems not only quite loud but also very unpleasant so a bit of a turn-off for me which is a pity and otherwise it’s all I would really want from a drone. The DJI clearly outperforms it in almost every way but I’m not interested in “flying” personally so speed and ease of use is paramount for me.
@@johnnybgood7812 I'm guessing the extra noise is caused by the wind blasting through the protective cage around the props - I doubt there's much they can do about that, it's always going to be noisier than a drone with exposed props.
I actually don’t understand why so many people think this is so expensive, it seems like a reasonable price to me, given everything that it will do, and so easily. Are people expecting too much these days? For someone like me, who doesn’t want to go through a steep learning curve of learning to use a drone, this seems ideal.
Great video! I just unboxed mine and can't wait to get outside and play. And now it makes sense about the Dolly Track orientation...direction true. Once you realize the initial direction, you can use it for properly aliening shots and scenes. I have the Mavic 3 Pro, Air 2S and the Mini 3 Pro and now this little baby is going to add that extra level! (But JFR, NOTHING comes close to the Mavic 3 Pro...I Love it!)
Thank you for this video and drone knowledge. Appreciate you. Was thinking about getting one... so I copied and pasted... yo vid came up... love the explanation and awesome shots and vid.
Will orbit mode work if you are riding your bike or running fast? Will it orbit around you showing you riding or running 360 degrees? Or do you have to be stationary for it to orbit around you?
Regarding the earbuds, just a thought, you might want to try again but also have both earbuds in not just one. I think there's something that may help but I'm not 100% sure.
Seems like more of a selfiecam which is really attractive for people who want to be filmed riding a bike,PWC,slower move boarding,ect.... What I can truly appreciate is the size,ease of preflight setup,and the cage around the blades.Anyone with a drone will tell you theyve broken blades.Even with obsticle avoidance.....And really ? the price isnt bad at all for all of what it gives you. Not bad at all. Made for the simple common users who want video or images... A vacation or free time enhancer for far less than a DJI which is more. I dont think most basic users are wanting to sit back with goggles on and try and fly it while hiking or ,biking,or whatever.... Its a great accessory for traveling or moving around.
Thanks for a great and honest review. I just bought mine. It arrives tomorrw; I will see how I like it…my use case is to just “pull it out of my pocket” when I’m on vacation with my wife in BVI soon. I’d like some selfies. Some videos with beautiful backdrops etc. However, the wind there is generally on the higher end, so I know I will have to choose my moments with this device. We will see!
Ive had mine up in 10mph wind without issue, I did just try flying it in higer wind, once it sensed the higher wind it stopped its flight and came back to autoland.
Awesome awesome video. Yours was the best one and most honest. The price is steep but here in nyc it’s so difficult to fly a drone. This one is just so low key and fast to get your shots off. I think I’m going to pull the trigger. I liked and subbed.
I thought that you cannot do the orbit over the cliff or as in your video - when you stand on the big stone and there is big drop in height, but it worked just fine in your example. I thought hover x1 measures the height from the ground and the drop would confuse him? that one meter setting that you change - is it one meter from your palm ?
A great video, thank you. Some constructive feedback if I may, my humble suggestion is that when you're showing a device like this that's about video capture, that you produce your videos in 4K not 1080. Yes, I know that this drone only does 2.7 K or HDR at 1080 but viewers are interested in your review and video quality is a core interest.
I do all my videos is 1080 becuase that's what Im able to shoot in, the camera Im running right now will shoot 4k, but in 4k it compromises autofocus and makes the video almost unusable..... but..... I've got a new 4k camera showing up tomorrow, so videos from here on out will be shot in 4k!
This may sound like a stupid question and I apologise in advance. The drone comes back to you and lands on your hand. It follows you around. What happens when there are multiple people around, how does it know it us you? Thanking in advance.
I have tried to trick it into following someone else, the only way we did manage to trick it was both of us walking behind an object, and then the other one walking out into view. If that happens it will follow the new person.
i hope the market expands in this area having more drones coming out at this price point. I deff prefer to not fly the drone and have it fly for me..for someone who likes trail running or snowboarding or climbing.. I think this i perfect for solo missions.
Great video, your obviously a professional and it wouldn't be your first choice but for me I crashed a cheap drone then I bought a dji mini which honestly I was scared to fly incase I crashed that too so I ended up selling it, now its not the best drone in the world but a great starter drone
Would I be correct in presuming that this drone would be affected by the Remote ID requirements? 1 - Does it have it built in? 2 - If not, any idea if it can handle the weight of a module?
Quite tempted by this, despite already owning a Mini 2. Only dealbreaker for me currently is that it only does 30 and 60 fps. I'm based in the UK, where we use 25 and 50 fps, as do the rest of my cameras that I use for video production. Mixing and matching different framerates on the same timeline is fine when they're multiples of each other, but 60fps on a 50fps timeline is going to look nasty. OK so I could slow it down a bit if it's just b-roll, but that's no good if I'm hoping to talk to camera! I hope the manufacturer can add 50 and 25fps options in a firmware update, I might just pull the trigger then!
Great review! Great idea, great features and the price is not bad. though I am not sure where you are seeing DJI prices, because Mini2's are about 2/3 the price of this.
as a non drone guy this looks pretty amazing. My only gripe would be the video quality. The demo's I've seen seem to be a little grainy especially about the central figure it is focusing on.
It's intriguing, and just the kind of thing I'd love to take along on some kayak adventures. But, from what I understand, it's not reliable over water.
Thanks for the quality review. Two observations, first the price is too high to consider this a DJI killer, sub $200 and I'd own it. Next, it appears that the drone will not fly particularly high, just 15m or about 50ft. I might have accepted a higher price if the device had any chance of ascending above the tree line for some territorial shots. I have walked a few Caminos in Europe, and this drone would have been a dream to have.
I think the AI is running in the Google AIY vision bonnet because the drone's body is almost identical to the bonnet's width of 1.2 inches. The jetson nano's width is 1.8 inches. The bonnet retailed at 60 dollars about a year ago, and the nano retailed at 200 dollars a year ago. Now either board's prices are halved. The jetson nano is used by UZH to compete with human (world champion) racers at 100mph. Jetson nano is overkill for this X1 product.
Great review, although I wish you posted a screenshot of how the manual control mode look on your phone, besides that, the review was great and very honest, Thank you!
Shoot, you're right, I should have. The manual controsl that I mention are strage. Every other phone controled drone had typical left and fight stick controls. This one doesn't they are above and below each other and not really intuitive. Its not really means to be a manually flown drone (I wish it was better though).
Can you change the mode from your phone while it's in flight? Example, you start out in Follow Mode, then via phone change it to Birdseye Mode, then back again?
Nice. A fun little flying camera, fast easy set up ,people think my hoverair is cute, try flying a dji around people, especially Karen on horse. Ps I love my dji spark!
👍 Tx, great review! It would be interesting to see how it performs indoors, following you from room to room, up and down stairs, when you close the door behind you, etc. And if it might work as a dynamic alternative to a tripod for YT videos.
I’ve got a dji which is by far superior in options, use, flying camera quality etc So I just ordered one of these …. For exactly the reasons you say … The dji takes a small ages to set up for a 10 second blog shot, the drone plus batteries plus controller plus cables etc weigh a whole load more than this Mostly, I just want a different blog perspective and not to have to bother … Bikepacking, canoe expeds local sights etc. This is enough The manual mode I’d only use a bit so if it is in some simple way usable, it’ll be good enough and may improve through update. Thanks for a great review by the way, covered what anyone may need and was well presented Ps. If that is where you live, you are a lucky man
Hi, I have a few question about the drone. How is the drone behave in medium wind speeds? Also can you take photos with this when it's like in orbiting option?
I think it was only using your airpods noise cancellation, not the app cancellation. For that I don’t think you can use airpods, you’d need a dji mic or such variant that would pass through the lightning. I saw other vids reviewing this using that method and it was as clear or clearer than when you just used the phone alone, not the airpods. Cheers!
Helpful vid...I have a Mini 2 that's been great except for every time I'm out in the desert, mountains or other internet-free zone and the damn thing can't login to DJI to unlock the altitude or other features so my nice shots can't be shot (needs to "phone home" every 3 months, and I often go 3-4 months without using it...annoying as hell). This Hover looks good but not yet sold on the low res images...that and the fact I don't have a ton of use for a flying selfie stick but that's a personal-use issue ;) That said, nice unit and great vid. Cheers from Montreal ;)
Thanks for that video. Awesome review…Man I wanted it so bad after watching….but 400$ for the combo. I’ll buy a plane ticket to Florida and pretend I’m a drone!… lmao bad joke, awesome drone tho for those who can afford it!!
Great video and it is something I may look into getting as I’m an rver but my concern is the noise of the propellers when flying especially if I’m in an rv park it could be a nuisance and wonder if there’s anything to make it quieter.
It is really great, no doubt.... on the other hand...though, i know, they are not comparable..., but turn the avata on, put on the googles integra and turn it on... they start to sync, in the meantime turn on the motion controller 2... it syncs also... and in one minute ready to fly...
I’ve got the DJI FPV, same idea, just slightly larger. They’re great, but completely different drones for completely different purposes. The whole point here is you don’t need to unpack the goggles, controller and drone to get it in the air.
I just purchased this drone, and I like it! But there are pros and cons. On the positive side, it does most of what it says it does; on the negative side, there is only a 10 or 12-minute battery life, even though it comes with two batteries, and it takes up to 4 hours to charge 1 battery. I see the advertising showing people getting followed on their bikes; I guess the bike ride is less than 10 minutes long. There is minimal instruction on how to really use it; also, when sharing the video or picture, it's not as clear as the original. I had to research RU-vid to find how to work things; with that being said, I give it a 7.5 out of 10 rating.
18:04 I realize many drones already use active track, but like any new technology, more users brings incidents and preventative regulation. Since you’re never really in control of this thing, I can see some issues down the road with this feature.
You did a good job in editing. When in hover mode, the camera feels like a fish eye on the side of the screen. Overall, I wasn't a fan of the camera and lens quality. I wonder, when in dolly mode, can you adjust the angle live with your phone? Some other reviewers mentioned that if you fly it over a cliff, it might get confused about altitude at more than 15 meters and crash. But it seems you didn't experience that. However, I'm left skeptical about two things: first, the noise of the propellers; second, the quality of the camera and lens. And for what it's worth, I just bought a DJI Pocket Creator, and it's a nightmare to learn how to use. It's very user-unfriendly. Since you sound like a fan of them, could you please make a tutorial on how to use it
