DJI Neo 2 drone – out now, if your government lets you have it!

The DJI Neo 2 drone was released yesterday in China, featuring significant improvements to the flight time of the original Neo. It'd no doubt be a popular choice for the holidays were it on sale in the USA, it has already cleared registration with the FAA, and you don't need to register it because it only weighs 151g (not much more than the original).

But it was only released in China. So far anyway. Although that does mean that the DJI Neo is now very reasonably priced in the USA.

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The DJI Neo (1) with three batteries and a real controller is very safe because of its built-in cage design and because it is well below the weight that requires FAA registration or even makes it a danger to others. It has GPS for return for home, and can also be safely flown indoors thanks to its downward sensors, plus it has a 1-axis and software gimbal-stabalized 4K camera.

📸 4K with stabilization

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The new DJI Neo 2 features a LiDAR sensor, so it has a little bit more when it comes to collision sensing, and it has a larger image sensor, at 1/2-inches compared to 1/2.3-inches for the original. It also supports 4K at 60fps and 4K at 100fps flow mo, and an increase from 16GB to 49GB of built-in storage – though of course you can still use a MicroSD card.

However, despite the fact the new model hasn't arrived in the USA or UK, the discounting does seem to have arrived.

I'd also point out that my son physically tossed a powered-down DJI Neo (1) out of his hand while demonstrating his skills as a potential YouTuber and it impacted the floor fairly hard, but continued to fly just fine – without needing new props – thanks to those safety cages in the design. Obviously that's just a one-off personal experience, but it does suggest that a LiDAR collision sensor might not be that useful!

That said, we've heard there might be a European launch at least from online leaker Igor Bogdanov. He has shared images and, interestingly, tweeted/x-ed? that he felt it was now to be expected that DJI would release products in its home market of China, then Europe and, finally (if at all) in the USA.

Everyone understands that the USA has made a democratic choice not to import Chinese products – Trump's tariffs and other trade restrictions are the issue for drones and other electronics as well as many more products. But it is a little less clear why Europe might be delayed – Igor just offers this theory: "a strategy of segmenting markets based on geopolitical and regulatory risk."