28 March 2024
Over the last decade and a half, I’ve tested almost every autonomous follow-me drone made in the market. During that time period, we’ve seen many newcomers attempt to break into the market. Albeit, with less success these days given DJI’s dominance. Of course, their dominance is for good reason: They generally make some of the best drones out there.
But when it comes to follow-me type features, while DJI has had the best image quality and other drone features, they haven’t always had the best follow-me technology. That award was Skydio for years, before they got out of the consumer business last year. One key feature of Skydio and other sports-focused drones (AirDog, Staalker, etc…) is that they don’t require you have a remote controller open, whereas DJI does.
Thus enter, the tiny little HoverAir X1.
This unit aims to bridge that gap by essentially creating drone the size and weight of a small paperback book, but with an autonomous follow-me mode that requires no controller or phone app be open. Just tap a button, and go off and run.
I’ve been using it over the last four months, since buying it as part of the Christmas/Black Friday sales. These days though, the price is as low as I paid for it, usually about $350, for the combo pack with an extra battery and charging hub (Note: There’s virtually always a $80-off coupon toggle-box that can be selected on the Amazon listing, including now.)
The question is – is it any good for sports tracking purposes, especially running, hiking, and cycling? In the above video, I dig into that over the course of 130 flights and about 40 crashes.
Enjoy!
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