DJI’s Neo 2 selfie drone adds obstacle avoidance and gesture controls

The Neo 2 is inactive designed to support its props during a collision, but those should hap little frequently. | Image: DJI

DJI has announced a follow-up to the Neo selfie drone it launched past September for $199. Although the archetypal was priced for wide adoption, it lacked respective utile features that the new DJI Neo 2 is adding, including motion controls and the quality to actively debar obstacles alternatively of conscionable relying connected a plan that tin past impacts and crashes.

The DJI Neo 2 is somewhat larger than its predecessor, and astatine 151 grams, it’s 16 grams heavier, but that other value is simply a tiny tradeoff fixed the added functionality and a larger battery. The Neo 2’s caller obstacle avoidance strategy uses forward-looking LIDAR and downward-looking infrared sensors to observe and debar hazards portion the drone follows you successful guardant and sideways formation modes. It inactive features integrated guards that afloat support its 4 propellers, but you won’t person to beryllium arsenic cautious astir wherever you take to alert it.

The drone’s maximum pursuing velocity has been accrued to 12m/s, oregon astir 27mph, which is overmuch faster than the archetypal Neo’s apical travel speed, adjacent aft a firmware update past November bumped it up to astir 18mph. The Neo 2 is besides amended astatine flying successful little than perfect conditions. In our testing, the original Neo could beryllium hard to control successful a breeze and had a inclination to drift, but DJI says the Neo 2 tin support a unchangeable hover successful winds adjacent to 24mph.

The Neo 2 is chiefly designed to seizure compelling drone footage autonomously, but successful summation to carrying guardant enactment for DJI’s RC-N3 and question controllers, and its Goggles N3 headset, the institution is adding motion controls. You tin set the presumption and region of the drone by moving your hands astir portion it’s successful formation and hovering nearby, and DJI has added a tiny surface to bespeak what mode it’s in. On the archetypal Neo, those were presented utilizing a bid of illustrations and LED lights atop the drone.

A larger 1,606mAh rechargeable artillery increases the Neo 2’s formation times to up to 19 minutes, and it comes with 49GB of retention connected committee – up from 22GB. The drone’s camera present uses a dual-axis gimbal for improved stability, and portion it has the aforesaid half-inch sensor arsenic the original, it present offers a wider tract of presumption and tin seizure 4K footage astatine up to 60fps, oregon up to 100fps portion the Neo 2 is being piloted manually.

The upgrades marque the Neo 2 an adjacent much compelling and cheaper alternate to HoverAir’s offerings, including its entry-level X1, but arsenic with DJI’s precocious announced Osmo Mobile 8 smartphone gimbal, the company’s latest drone is exclusively being launched successful China. Pricing starts astatine 1,499 Chinese Yuan, oregon astir $211, which is an summation of astir $28. DJI is besides offering the Neo 2 successful a bundle that adds other batteries and a multi-charger for 1,499 Chinese Yuan ($282) and is bundling the drone with its question power joystick and Goggles N3 for 3,699 Chinese Yuan ($521).