Drone Reviews | The Verge

DJI Neo 2 review: I guess I’m a drone guy now

2026-04-08T12:04:13-04:00

The Neo 2 looks a lot like the first Neo, but it’s had plenty of upgrades.

I'm not a drone guy. In fact, I've always been a bit nervous to play around with them too much. They're big, fragile, and expensive, which is a dangerous combination for someone with my hand-eye coordination. But I've always sort of wanted one, mostly because I've been jealous of the mid-air photos and videos I've seen other people pull off.

DJI has been trying to make the smaller, simpler, cheaper drone to win over people like me for a while. It nearly got there with the $199 Neo, but that was held back by basic obstacle avoidance and odd omissions like no portrait video recording at launch. The fold-down Flip benefits from more advanced f …

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

2024-09-05T09:00:00-04:00

The Neo can take off and land in the palm of your hand.

The HoverAir X1 may have popularized easy-to-use selfie drones, but it's DJI's new $199 Neo we've been testing that looks set to dominate sales. It's launching globally today and does almost everything the $350 X1 can do and so much more.

Like the X1, DJI's new Neo is a drone you primarily buy to record yourself doing things for social media. It flies itself, no controller necessary - you simply push a button on the drone to cycle through a list of predefined flights like follow, hover in place, orbit overhead, and zoom in and out. It launches in seconds, begins recording, and then returns to land in the palm of your hand without requiring …

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The HoverAir X1 is the first drone I want to use all the time

2024-08-03T05:00:00-04:00

The HoverAir X1 launches and lands in the palm of your hand.

I've played around with a few DJI drones over the years but always found them to be too cumbersome to master and use spontaneously. The $349 HoverAir X1 from Zero Zero Robotics is different. This so-called "selfie drone" is so easy to use that it's already an indispensable tool for my work and play, right out of the box.

For example, the HoverAir X1 is responsible for this review photo, this 360-degree GIF, and this overhead shot, as well as all of the follow, orbit, and zoom in / out shots used in this ID Buzz e-camper review. Each shot was made with just a touch of a button on the top of the X1 - no controller required - including all the …

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DJI Air 3 review: old ideas, new package

2025-01-28T10:11:05-05:00

The drone world's worst-kept secret is out. And it's called the Air 3, and yes, all the rumors have been true. The new $1,099 and up drone from DJI has two cameras, 46 minutes of battery life, improved connectivity with Ocusync 4, a brand-new controller, and a brand-new design resembling the recently released Mavic 3 and Mavic 3 Pro. Here's a question for you: do any of these changes make you super excited? No? Same here.

Before you get mad at me for this hot take, let's set the record straight: the Air 3 is a fantastic drone. It's a capable flying camera that improves on a few things from its predecessor but makes do with a smaller image …

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A month with DJI Mini 3 Pro

2025-01-28T10:30:40-05:00

I always thought the DJI Mini 2 was the perfect drone for most pilots - either beginners looking for a reliable drone or experienced pilots who want a more portable solution. Aside from its compactness, it was also affordable at $449 and provided very good, if not quite great, image quality. The newly announced DJI Mini 3 Pro drastically improves image quality, but at a starting price of $759 (with the remote controller), it is no longer easy to recommend for everyone.

But I can also see the argument that the price hike is justified. After all, you are getting a lot more than you ever did with the Mini 2. For one, obstacle avoidance sensors …

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DJI’s new Mavic Air 2S comes with one big upgrade

2025-01-28T10:39:49-05:00

Despite it not even being a year old, DJI is already upgrading its mid-tier Mavic Air 2 drone. The new $999 Mavic Air 2S (yes, $200 more than the prior model) comes with some notable new features and upgrades, including a much larger image sensor. The new one-inch sensor is capable of shooting 20-megapixel photos, 5.4K video, and 4K up to 60fps. But hold your horses (or wallets), there are a few caveats to those impressive capabilities.

The Mavic Air 2S's camera sensor is the same size as what you get in the higher-end Mavic 2 Pro. It's much larger than the half-inch sensor used in last year's Air 2. The Air 2S should shoot almost equally …

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DJI FPV review: fast and furious

2025-01-28T10:39:52-05:00

Cinematic first-person view or FPV drones have been a growing trend in the drone industry for a few years. Now the world's biggest consumer drone maker, DJI, is hopping on that wave with its first FPV drone.

The new FPV (yup, it's just called the FPV) drone is bundled together with DJI's goggles and a new controller for the price of $1,299. That price is steep if you're considering this as your starter FPV drone, but it's quite comparable with the rest of the drones on the market, which are often sold with controllers, goggles, or cameras.

DJI believes this drone will be suitable for FPV professionals and also newcomers, like myself, who …

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DJI Mini 2 review: tiny dancer

2025-01-28T10:39:53-05:00

When the first Mavic Mini was introduced, it was clearly created with one purpose: make a drone with an adequate camera that weighs under 250 grams. That number is the key spec because anything under it still doesn't require FAA registration.

The new DJI Mini 2 hits that same sub-250g target but with fewer compromises than the first Mini. Where the original was mostly targeting people who were thinking about making that first step into the drone world, the DJI Mini 2 aims to satisfy not only beginners but also experienced drone pilots, photographers, and videographers.

As someone who spends a lot of his free time traversing the city with …

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DJI Mavic Air 2 review: great photos without the Pro price

2025-01-28T12:03:20-05:00

If you're looking for an intermediate drone that's easy to fly but still capable of capturing compelling photos and video, DJI's Mavic Air has long been the go-to model. It's small, light, and has enough technology on board to make both flying and shooting with it a joy. It also costs less than a thousand dollars.

The new $799 Mavic Air 2, which is available for preorder now and will ship on May 11th, carries on that legacy. It has more technology on board, an even better camera system, and still costs under a grand, even when you add on necessary extras like multiple batteries. The Air 2 is an upgrade over the prior model in almost every w …

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Skydio 2 review: a drone that flies itself

2025-01-28T12:57:36-05:00

How many people would buy flying cameras, aka drones, if they didn't have to fear every twig on every tree in the world? How much more could you do with a drone that doesn't crash into obstacles?

These aren't just rhetorical questions - the $999 Skydio 2 is that drone. Where one wrong move will send most drones to their doom, Skydio's self-flying system uses AI to duck under canopies and swoop around branches with finesse all by itself. The results have to be seen to be believed: People who've never flown a drone in their lives can fly this drone. My three-year-old flew this drone. Better yet, it can fly itself, automatically filming your …

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