We thought we’d learned all we could about the upcoming DJI Neo drone during last week’s rumor fest, but the leaks just keep coming – this time with some marketing materials revealing just how easy it should be to pilot the tiny selfie camera.
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A series of marketing promos shared on X (formerly Twitter) show why the Neo may be DJI’s most approachable drone yet, thanks to in-app flight controls, meaning you don’t even need a controller. The drone itself is expected to be lighter than an iPhone at 135 grams.
>>>>>>>>>>>>DJI Mavic 2 pro Remote Control – Battery 623758-1S2P 3950mAh the Neo is depicted as a flying selfie camera for families, with screen-based controls in the companion app. DJI currently offers the Fly app for drones like the DJI Mini 4 Pro, but it doesn’t have on-screen controls for flying the drones.This means the Neo could be a spiritual successor to the DJI Spark, which also included a direct connection to your phone (albeit with a maximum range of 100m).
The app in the promo includes most of the controls you’d need, from direction to ‘return-to-home’, and a shutter button for video or photos. There’s even a voice control function, which would be a first for DJI drones. The app doesn’t appear to let you control the movement of the drone’s camera, because the Neo likely doesn’t have a gimbal – instead, it’s expected to have a fixed camera.
That would make the Neo more like an FPV racing drone, which appears to be another of its skills from a different leaked slide showing compatibility with DJI RC Motion 3 controller. That controller, which is already compatible with the DJI Goggles 3 and DJI Avata 2, lets you control the drone with the movements of your wrist.
While you would need a ‘spotter’ companion with you when using the Goggles 3 with the Neo, it should be capable of some ‘cinewhoop’-style shots – particularly as some leaked specs show it can fly at a nippy 16m/s (or 57.6 km/h) when in sports mode.
Other DJI reviewers on X (formerly Twitter) are now speculating a possible early September announcement, but there’s no sign of an actual release date leaking yet. However, considering what’s been revealed so far, the DJI Neo is definitely coming soon.As for the camera specs, previous leaks have suggested that we’ll see a 1/2-inch sensor (the same size as the one inside the 2020 DJI Mavic Air 2) that can shoot 4K/30p or 1080/60p video.
Of course, the video bitrate is capped at 75Mbps (compared to 150Mbps for the Mini 4 Pro), but for such a compact drone, it should be able to achieve impressive results as long as it’s filmed in the right light. We look forward to comparing the Neo to the new HoverAir X1 Pro and Pro Max drones soon.