Five months after the US government banned all foreign-made drones, US drone company Skydio announced a $3.5 billion investment that will expand US drone manufacturing, including components, over the next five years.

At the end of April, Skydio – the largest US drone manufacturer – announced an investment to expand its factory, add jobs, and help build up a US drone supply chain. As an American drone pilot, Skydio’s announcement is a sign of hope, yes – but it’s also a key example of why the FCC ban on all foreign-made drones is so devastating for aerial creators.

Most US drone companies don’t offer consumer drones

Skydio exited the consumer drone market in 2023 and no longer sells off-the-shelf drones for photographers like myself. Instead, Skydio shifted to drones for first responders and the military, as well as quadcopters for industrial uses. Most US brands don't offer consumer drones, instead focusing on industrial, military, agricultural, and Hollywood-level drones.

Skydio hasn’t announced a return to the consumer drone market amid the drone ban – which prevents all foreign-made drones, not just DJI, from gaining the FCC authorization needed to sell in the US. (Drones that already received FCC approval remain available to buy and are safe to fly).

However, as part of the announcement, the company’s CEO does mention the “civilian drone market” which encompasses categories like enterprise drones – which Skydio already offers – as well as consumer drones. “Skydio has proven that American companies can compete and win in the civilian drone market against products from our adversaries,” Skydio Co-Founder and CEO Adam Bry said.

Whether that mention of civilian drones may include consumer drones in the future has yet to be seen, as Skydio hasn’t made any official indication of a return to the consumer market.

Many critical drone parts aren’t made in the US

Skydio's $3.5 billion investment in US manufacturing is a move that will build a manufacturing facility five times bigger than its current space and create more than 2,000 new jobs within the company.

However, a key part of Skydio’s announcement is SkyForge, a program that aims to help expand US manufacturing of critical drone parts and makes up roughly $1 billion of the investment. The program invites other suppliers to work with Skydio to help grow the US supply chain.

The US supply chain is one of the key hurdles to building American-made drones. Both the motors and batteries inside a majority of drones originate from China. Around 90 percent of the magnets inside drone motors, for example, are from China, while China also makes 99 percent of the Li-ion batteries used in consumer electronics. The few US suppliers that exist tend to operate on a smaller scale and require more lead time, according to The Next Web.

Skydio is also a key example of why supply chain matters – last year, in response to tariffs, China blocked several drone companies, which left Skydio temporarily unable to secure batteries for its drones.

Building up US drone manufacturing will take time – and money

I’m ecstatic to see a US drone company create 2,000 jobs – plus the move is also expected to help create 3,000 additional jobs across the supply chain. But Skydio’s announcement is also a reminder that American drone manufacturing won’t happen overnight, and in the meantime, the drone tech accessible to US drone pilots like myself will stall.

Skydio’s investment, for example, is expected to be completed in five years – and that, again, includes no mention of returning to the consumer drone market.

Five years – if a US-made consumer drone even comes by then – is a long time in tech years. For example, five years ago, DJI was making the Mini 2, which had a 1/2.3-inch sensor and only downward obstacle sensing. Fast forward five years, and the DJI Mini 5 Pro offers a 50MP one-inch sensor, omnidirectional obstacle sensing, a longer battery life, improved transmission technology, and longer flight times. That’s the level of advancement that can happen in just five years.

Skydio’s investment isn’t the only spark of hope for US drone pilots. DJI has filed a lawsuit over the ban, which is still in progress. In March, Chinese drone brand SkyRover announced that it was “exploring” US manufacturing.

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As an American drone pilot, I fully expected to wake up to the news that the drone giant DJI and Autel were now banned from new launches in the US as the long-awaited December 23 deadline arrived – instead, the banned list now includes not just DJI but every foreign-made UAV. With few consumer drones made in the US, the move is a devastating pause on drone tech for American drone pilots and aerial artists.

The Federal Communications Commission’s Covered List, or the list of products that the federal organization will not approve for sale in the US, now includes “uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) and UAS critical components produced in a foreign country.” The foreign drone ban was added to the list on December 22.

The problem? Few, if any, consumer drones are made in the US. The move is a devastating blow for aerial photographers and videographers in the US, as well as all drone hobbyists, as it effectively freezes drone technology in place until an American company can enter (or re-enter) the consumer drone market.

China-based drone companies DJI and Autel were already facing a December 23 ban if the companies did not pass a security review. The security review never started, which means a ban on DJI and Autel was widely expected. But what I didn’t expect was for the list to span all foreign-made drones.

Pilots do not need to worry about the drones they already own, and previously announced drones will remain available in stores. But what the addition to the FCC Covered List does is prevent all new drones from being approved by the FCC for sale in the US.

All devices with any sort of communication capabilities, such as built-in Wi-Fi, require FCC authorization to be legally sold in the US. For example, the Leica M EV1 camera was delayed in the US because the government shutdown prevented the camera from receiving the proper authorization in time. (The camera has since launched in the US).

The move effectively means that the drones available for sale in the US will not change until an American company launches a new drone, though the Department of War or the Department of Homeland Security does appear to have the power to separately approve a foreign-made drone. Drones that were previously launched will remain available, but all new launches will not reach the US unless made by a US company or separately approved.

The problem is that few – if any – US drone companies make consumer-grade drones. The non-DJI drones that we recommend? None of those are made in the US either. A foreign-made drone ban doesn’t just eliminate options from DJI, it also removes drones from Autel, Potensic, Skyrover, Antigravity, Anzu, and HooverAir.

The US-based Skydio and Parrot previously made consumer drones, but left the market to focus on enterprise drones. Other American-made drone brands, including Freefly, Teal, WISPR, and Hylio, similarly do not produce consumer drones but focus on industrial, agricultural, and public safety sectors.

The foreign-made drone ban effectively pauses consumer drone technology in the US. I’m fully expecting some US drone companies to return to consumer drones in the absence of key competitors like DJI. But, drone development does not happen overnight. I wouldn’t be surprised if some companies began working on consumer models a year ago with the threat of the DJI ban, but I’m expecting a true US-made consumer drone to take some time.

Hopefully, the drone makers that already have experience with consumer drones – like Skydio and Parrot – will return to consumer drones in the absence of competition, and new drones will once again arrive on US shelves.

I’m hoping these new USA-made consumer drones come from companies that already have experience with UAVs. The failed GoPro Karma drone is the perfect example of just how challenging it is to design a drone for the first time.

But, such a change will require time, and the lack of competition may not bode well for prices either. If the only other drone options are ones launched years previously, new USA-made drone launches likely won’t need to be quite as competitive in their pricing.

Don’t get me wrong – I will happily reach for the product with the Made in the USA sticker if I have the option and the budget to do so. The foreign-made drone ban will hopefully lead to additional American manufacturing jobs, in addition to easing security concerns.

But, these changes take time and, in the meantime, American drone photographers and videographers will effectively be using drone technology placed in an indefinite pause.

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Adam Bray: "The future is here, it's just not evenly distributed" Skydio CEO tells people – before going on to introduce a number of companies using Skydio tech which he suggests will be the future.

Bray did say "the one bit of bad news" is that the company isn't able to keep up with demand for the X10 drone, before going to say that it isn't the only class of drone that matters... before turning to the idea of an FPV drone and showing pictures of hacked DJI Avata 2 drones and others.

The R10 FPV style drone is designed to serve for police officers aiming to fly into buildings, perhaps to negotiate with criminals, so features speakers and a mic. It will sell for $5,995 and features turtle mode, so it flips itself over if it falls the wrong way up, and enough power that if it gets indoors and lands it can support up to 3 hours of negotiations, relaying video.

The most impressive thing in the presentation, though, was that it was struck by a baseball bat and could still fly... I thought for a moment. Sadly though this was just a promo for the replacement insurance scheme!

Bray told the assembled crowd that "we've always thought these things were aerospace devices," as an explanation of why the company has always built its products in the USA.

Bray use the rest of the keynote to tell Skydio users that the company intends to be very open about reliability issues that is has addressed over the years before the annual 'Ascend' events, and highlighted issues with the design of the remote controller, and another with grinding on drone's motors.

A red light of death had, apparently, caused the number of mission failures.

The company went on to announce its 'flight incident rate' will now be public – Bray called them crashes on stage, but suggested it was a term that wouldn't be used again! The information will share where the issues are 'human factors' or technical, and the 'reliability dashboard' will be public.

Bray also took the chance to highlight that a parachute was an option on the X10 to further reduce safety, which he compared against the risk factor of a DJI drone without a parachute falling on someone. Yes, the presentation was not shy of sneaking in the odd reference to Chinese competition.

Interestingly, he also suggested the data suggested dock-launched flights are 3 times safer than controller-launched flights.

Other new features include the option of an RTK attachment, and software to correct the camera's rolling shutter, but the one that got a round of applause was a 'dropper' – an attachment that can drop small items from the drone.

After the specifics, the presentation turned to present the software that allows an operator to control four drones at once – FAA approved. The scenario shown was distinctly dystopian, but it did work!

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Check our guide to the best camera drones, the best non-DJI drones, read my review of Skydio's last consumer drone, the Skydio 2+ review.

Following the American government's bans on Chinese drone manufacturers in general and market leader DJI specifically, China has hit back with bans of its own.

Leading American companies Skydio, BRINC and Boeing's Insitu, and eight others, are now on China's "Unreliable Entity" list.

The sanctions followed President Trump's introduction of a tariff of 10% + 34% on all goods imported from China – but that's old news , as that's gone up to 145% now.

It's worth remembering that many historians will tell you that trade wars are often the driving force behind shooting wars – certainly the view of the FEE and (for now) even the US government historian warns of the perils of protectionism!

Tensions have been high in the drone industry for a while thanks to legislation aiming to ban Chinese Chinese-manufactured drones .

Skydio CEO Adam Bry denied lobbying for a ban on DJI while making it very clear that it was something he'd support. It's very clear to the outside observer like me, safely in the UK, that Skydio's company's competitive struggles would seemingly be solved if the choice of better or cheaper Chinese drones were removed from American customers by their elected representatives. Skydio already charges more and doesn't like to sell on the open market.

Shortly after what was widely interpreted as an admission that his company was seeking to imbalance the US drone market through lobbying, Skydio found it was unable to source batteries for its "American" drones because they were made in China, as explained by this poster on Reddit.

Both governments use security justifications for the bans – America suggests Chinese drones are used in forced labour in Uyghur, while China links Skydio drones to action in Taiwan (which the country views as Chinese territory).

What's probably most interesting here is the lessons that the companies on this list can learn from Skydio's experience and other companies beyond the drone world since – now Trump has shown he is willing to apply trade sanctions without warning – American companies will want to understand the effect it will have on their supply chain.

Be prepared for life to get very difficult.

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If you're based in the USA and unable to buy the best camera drone because of laws restricting your freedom, check my guide to the best non-DJI drones.

Adam Bray, CEO of Skydio, tackled the comments about Skydio's lobbying spend on drones head on in his address at the Skydio Ascend 2024 keynote today, but what he had to say won't calm DJI users.

Essentially Bray waited to the end before diving hard into politics, and with just a few slides – and a very few words.

One slide highlighted a number of organizations that had expressed concern about Chinese drones in the USA, making clear Bray and Skydio are taking a nationalist protectionist stance – which is inherently opposed to the choice to buy all drones.

Bray made this clear by saying drones were now a part of infrastructure with the potential for many to be controlled by one person, and that the USA was right to want to develop its own tech.

Bray highlighted the fact internet commentators had expressed concern about Skydio's lobbying – seemingly keen to have the debate. He even had a slide prepared to say (as has been said before) that DJI spends more on lobbying, and that Skydio's spend is "mostly" on gaining customers (he was clear not to say exclusively, suggesting that at least some of the money is anti-competitive).

In other words, Bray did not specifically deny that his company is lobbying to eliminate DJI (and indeed cited the company specifically immediately after using the word China).

He was also suggesting that no one should "bet against the US in aviation" – clearly evoking a bit of patriotism with a picture of the Wright Brothers Kitty Hawk. (Of course, you might say that this remark effectively acknowledges that his company wouldn't yet be the natural choice of customers in an open market!)

That was the context. The meat of the warning was in Bray's words: "It doesn't mean it is not painful... our focus is on the future... there's people out there that have built businesses on [DJI drones]"

So, both in context and, presumably, Skydio's CEO seems to support an anti-DJI stance and be prepared to lobby for it.

By acknowledging the pain caused by moving from a brand, he is also essentially warning DJI customers that they will have to pay for change to a US alternative at some point.

The other part of that statement, curiously in the middle, was the phrase "Our focus is on the future," which felt as much targeted on Skydio customers with a less multi-drone focus than the company as it is on businesses who Skydio, presumably, feels need to move to their future.

None of this will help photographers and video makers, of course, who haven't actually been offered a new product since the Skydio X2+ an event focussed essentially on law enforcement and military deployment.

Given people selling to the government are often inclined to put prices up, it'll be interesting to see if Skydio have any hope of appearing on our best camera drones list, one criterion of which is still value for money!

We've been talking spooky, but as the costumes are still very much out and about, we're already looking ahead to the holidays so the drone market is moving into being a more toy and gift-based discussion.

That's especially odd since the DJI Air 3S has now been launched and a good bit of the rumor attention has turned to the possibilities of a Mavic 4 – but that's something we'll look at in more detail on the DJI Rumors page.

A big headline, though, is the likelihood of cheaper goggles – compatible with the DJI Neo – so the total gift price of a FPV bundle for the new DJI Neo is lower.

Oh, and there is also the matter of the massive trade war!

Yes, a few weeks ago I was enjoying talking about lovely things like the role of drones in the making of Ridley Scott's Naoloeon (which I learned about at DroneX), but later that week Adam Bray (Skydio CEO) fired a warning of pain for DJI owners in America.

That might prove to be just a small salvo in a trade war which has gone from cool, to pretty warm as shipments of DJI products to major retailers in the US have been blocked at customs. That didn't stop Reddit users getting the new Air 3S, but it has focussed attention on what has looked like it was just internal US politics until now.

Now it seems that the Chinese government might be starting to have an opinion. This can be discerned because the Global Times, a state-owned newspaper, published an editorial which noted that DJI is being targeted and said "What is being done to Chinese companies today is not novel; any outstanding company from any country could become a US government's similar target."

To be fair – writing from outside either China or the USA – it doesn't look like international free trade is being entirely respected from the American side, but it's probably fair to say that you can substitute the words "international community" with "Chinese Government" in the last paragraph of that piece: "The international community is watching closely, and when the rules and facts are clearly laid out, what choice will the US make between adhering to the rules and engaging in political trickery?"

Perhaps, though, as I report elsewhere, the US government might finally be realising just how much switching away from DJI & Chinese drones is costing it (and by extension taxpayers) thanks to an auditors report.

Those hoping for a DJI competitor should look instead at HOVERAir, where the IndieGoGo campaign has more than comfortably passed 6250 backers for the 8K model. Since the drones seem to offer real remote controllers and high res, DJI might actually have a high-end consumer rival.

• IndieGoGO HoverAir X1 Pro campaign page

Interestingly 'beyond line of sight' tech is also being normalised for drones as small as the Mavic 3, which I'll be posting about very soon, I promise.

What about the other big names in drones? As I mentioned Parrot drones have been returning to French roots this September, 3D-modelling the Palace of Versailles in the company's largest project of the kind yet.

What of DJI? Turn to the next page...

DJI Rumors

DJI Mavic 4

We've not seen an update to DJI's premium folding drone since the Mavic 3 Pro in April 2023, but there is a lot of evidence that's about to change, some from pretty good sources. The phase 'Mavic 4' has appeared on more than one tweet, or, er, 'X'!

When the first DJI drone bearing the moniker Mavic arrived in 2016 – the Mavic Pro – with its then-revolutionary folding legs it marked the beginning of the end for the iconic Phantom line but, with the Insipre already out, there it wasn't clear this was the shape professional operators would be adopting, despite the 'Pro' in the name!

Over time we've seen lighter options (and weight regulations) bring the Mini, Mini Pro, and Air series drones arrive, while craft roughly the same size as the original Mavic have become ever more capable.

Anyway, the evidence...

Credibility Assessment: High

Jasper Ellens is one of the most reliable DJI rumor tweeters. He shared accurate images of the Mini 4 Pro, Action 5 Pro camera, and the DJI Neo drones ahead of their releases, so it's fair to assume he has accurate information. At the end of September he's also added what he thinks is a Mavic 4 FCC registration.

Here he might just be reposting an image from China, but the 'perfect sphere' which is a new camera mount has been seen in previous rumor images. He could just be a quick researcher though – Igor Bogdanov posted this image a day earlier, as well as this image of what looks to be the same camera module way back in July which suggests the testing cycle has been going on a while now...

Oh, and don't forget that in my own interview with DJI's Head of Global Policy he also happened to say "Mavic 4"...

It looks to me like the word 'Hasselblad' is there on the front, and until now that's only appeared on the high-end Mavic.

Anyway that FCC registration that has him convinced might be the icing on that cake:

DJI Goggles N3

Perhaps the most interesting is another tweeted image appearing to show new "Cheaper" goggles. Youtuber DroneCamps RC posted a tweet by Jasper Ellens (yes, from all the other rumors/leaks!) and suggested that chaper LCD panels instead of OLED might be used in (what he calls) upcoming 'Goggles N3'.

The pic still seems to show pass-through cameras though – that can't be free!

Credibility-wise it's hard to say much about that detail, but it would make sense to get cheaper goggles out before Christmas given the relatively low price of the DJI Neo and the whopping price of the current Goggles.

Credibility Assessment: High

Again we're looking at very reliable source Jasper Ellens among others, and a FCC approval which is always toward the end of a product cycle. Personally I'd imagine DJI have Christmas in mind – or at least did have when they submitted to the FCC – who knows what the customs kerfuffle (see drone rumors) will have done to that?

DJI Air 3S is here (unless you're American)

The DJI Air 3S is an amazing drone and I've thoroughly enjoyed my time reviewing it, but it also seems to have been the one that an over-zealous customs official took the opportunity to try and block the sale of DJI products in America.

As of late October, the Air 3S wasn't shipping in the US in major retailers like Amazon, though there were – it seems – plenty of ways to get your hands on it, as some Reddit users found out (not just driving to Canada).

Credibility Assessment: High

Relying only on sources from Reddit would be a bit crazy, but the fact DJI has kept its store open to the US lends a lot of extra credibility to the details of the story.

Professional drone rumors

Perhaps the most interesting thing I saw at the DroneX show in London was more than a rumor, but the real-life presence of SkyWash in the UK, meaning the skywash drone – which is, in essence, a pressure-washer strapped to a drone – now has an international presence.

The drone is remarkable because it's capable of delivering a powerful water jet to windows without needing anyone to climb to them and, as UK Managing Director Aidan Coyle pointed out to me, the largest cause of death in the workplace in the UK (according to the ONS) is falling from heights.

The device operates like a tethered drone, save that a hosepipe – not a power cable – is the tether (in fact to my slight surprise batteries were still used on the demo unit I touched at the show).

Very excitingly, inductive power for drones might be on the way thanks to the tech of Inductive Power Projection – this is definitely a company to watch.

DJI is the largest manufacturer of consumer drones, and by far and away the best in the market if our best camera drones guide is anything to go by (and it is). Despite – or, more likely because – of that success, it is currently subject to restrictions and facing a ban by the US government.

Understandably a lot of DJI users – and indeed impartial observers – have looked at the potential advantages to US drone companies of a ban on DJI and other Chinese companies. It has not escaped their attention that Skydio, a relatively high-profile  brand, has a rapidly-increasing lobbying budget, spending around $500,000 on lobbying last year.

After Adam Bray testified at Congress's China Select Committee hearing "Chips, Ships & Drones," a defence-bias meeting with a lot said on national security.

This, of course, has been the problem for the camera drone world. Skydio has already abandoned the consumer market after the Skydio 2+ in part because, despite great AI, it couldn't really compete with DJI. But the company has been keen to sell to government and government-adjacent roles like police departments.

Unusually, Skydio, CEO Adam Bray has gone on the record to note the issue and respond, though the answer might not do much to assuage DJI owner's fears.

In his LinkedIn statement, Bray says "As the leading US company, a few folks have aimed a pretty extreme level of hate at Skydio, claiming that we are “responsible for restrictions on Chinese drones because we’re focusing all of our energy on trying to lobby our competitors out of the market.” I’m writing to address this head-on."

"Are increasing restrictions on Chinese drones really just protectionist measures based on lobbying by the US drone industry? No.

BUT

"Do we believe that relying on these drones for applications like national defense, critical infrastructure inspection, and public safety is generally a bad idea? Yes. Do we advocate for having a strong US drone industry? Absolutely. And does this sometimes involve conversations with policymakers about the risks of Chinese drones? Yes."

He goes on to claim that Skydio didn't lobby for the Countering CCP Drones Act - again, but is able to say it "was approved 21-0 in subcommittee and 43-0 in full committee. The Department of Defense, the FBI, and the Department of Homeland Security have all declared Chinese drones a national security risk."

He also seems to subtly accuse DJI itself – rather than fans – of seeking to escalate around this point, which is not something we've heard in any of our communications with DJI:

"I am not surprised or bothered that DJI’s talking points on the issue focus on Skydio. They are desperately trying to misdirect. I’m also not surprised that their network of resellers and other folks with an economic dependence on DJI repeat these talking points. The only thing that bums me out is to see a few folks within the communities of drone users we serve attack Skydio - especially public safety - for whom we have so much respect, and are so motivated to support."

Sadly he rounds off by failing to address the thought of Skydio selling to the consumer market again.

It's difficult to pick the highlight of 2023 in the drone world. A lot has happened, both in terms of product and the political environment which looms around us as regulations never quite seem to settle. Let's start with the saddest news, which came as a bit of a surprise (though a rather drawn-out one): Skydio's abandoning of the consumer market. 

As an American brand, Skydio's seemed to have an advantage – the US protectionist restrictions on Chinese drones could only be helpful? (While costing Americans $1billion!) The rules, however, apply to a broad range of government uses, including police, all of which come under a commercial umbrella so, in reality, probably made it easier for the firm to step away from the complex consumer space and concentrate all it's AI powers on commercial drones. This might well have been the plan all along, simply using consumers as a test bed for the AI.

It is sad to see, but Skydio is still firing on all cylinders, launching the new X10 drone to cater to this market. The Skydio 2+ is still around, too, just don't expect any consumer-focussed firmware updates (that said, most of the features we need as photographers or video makers are already available, including very smart tracking and 3D-shot planning).

For the loss of one very expensive AI-powered consumer drone, though, consumers have been rewarded with a new market entry which began on Kickstarter – the HoverAir X1. With relatively slimmed-down tech, this is a much less expensive proposition which nevertheless lives up to the promise that Skydio used to inspire many consumers: automatic subject tracking. It even dispenses with a remote, so you can get on with your action while the drone handles the videography!

The other exciting 'new' consumer products don't come from a new brand, but represent a sea-change in quality from Potensic. Already one of the big names in competitively priced consumer drones, this year they produced the Atom and Atom SE (in the other order), which give DJI's entry-level drones a real run for their money. There is no skimping on resolution here – both have 4K, but if you want to save as much as possible Potensic's SE option ditches the mechanical gimbal for the cheaper option of electronic image stabilization.

Then, of course, there is DJI. It's been a massive year for the company which rode into 2023 on the the back of the Mini 3's launch, but in spring began refreshing first the Mavic 3, which became the Mavic 3 Pro in April. Then – seven years after its predecessor – the enormous Inspire 3 finally arrived to redefine professional photography drones.

If your budget didn't stretch to that (or, indeed, a mid-sized SUV – you'd have to budget about the same), 2023 was also the year of the DJI Air 3 – an update in which the mid-tier drone picked up a second camera. Finally, the enormously successful Mini 3 Pro has been effectively replaced with the Mini 4 Pro which gains all-round sensors and spectacular 20km radio range. And that's just the camera drones – we've also seen action cameras, enterprise drones more, begging the question: "What can DJI do to maintain the momentum in 2024?"

Or perhaps "Do they need to?"

I suspect we will see a slight slowdown, though a Mini 4 not-Pro seems a reasonable prospect for the near future. The Mini 2 SE has also been very reasonably priced toward the end of 2023, so perhaps a Mini 3 SE is in the offing? Perhaps something from left-field (from a photographic perspective) is the Avata which is a little older now, but there is no real need for the Air or Mavic series to get any attention in 2024 unless we get some big surprises from the competition.

That means now probably is a good time to pick up a drone of your own. Where we'll see the most change in the year ahead – I'd guess – is in higher-end accessories like Sony's screenless camera and in governmental agencies around the world in the race to prepare for drones controlled beyond visual line of sight (BVLoS). That is seen as the growth opportunity by many businesses (including Skydio) and, as photographers, we'll just have to make sure we don't lose our share of the air!

Read our guide to the best camera drones and the best drone for beginners, or check some of DJI's other tech in the best action cameras.

In their own ways the Skydio and the HoverAir X1 are both amazing drones, but from the consumer's perspective they both have the same basic premise: to follow you or your subject and record what you do. One of them uses all-round cameras and AI processing to see where it's going. The other has a safety cage.

You might imagine, in a year in which AI is seemingly everywhere, that Skydio – the Silicon Valley firm which has been perfecting the tech for the better part of a decade – would be everywhere. But it's the one in retreat, hiding in the largely protected niche of military and enterprise (though it's still producing new Skydio drones for that crowd).

Co-founded in the same year as Skydio, however, Zero Zero created the HoverAir X1 (or HOVERAir, or Hover – it's had a few name changes). Instead of fitting the drone with vision cameras all around, and the processing power to handle data from all of them, the company went with simple, light and elegant. One camera does the tracking, never letting you out of its sight, and safety is boosted by surprisingly low weight and simple cages for the propellers.

I've got to admit, having reviewed both, that I can see why, even before people tried it, the promise of the HoverAir X1 was enough to smash through its Kickstarter (it's now on sale in the UK and USA) while Skydio has retreated into the enterprise and military markets.

Not that those aren't big, potentially significant areas of income, but they also come with a good deal of government protection that keeps Chinese firms out – meaning it isn't necessarily the best that wins. Those spaces are also a little more likely to tolerate high prices than the average consumer.

The HoverAir X1 is around half the weight of an 'ultralight' drone like a DJI Mini 4 Pro, and costs less. It has a distinct and limited feature set – it doesn't even come with a controller – but for some people that's actually a massive plus. The drone makes you the star and, once it's finished, comes back like a loyal puppy, landing on your hand without risk of injury.

We often forget about simplicity in the rush to solve issues with tech, and the HoverAir X1 still uses tracking technology and AI but sets itself limited goals – which happen to be all that most users need.

Personally, I loved the Skydio 2+ and all the deep functionality, and still hope that the company will one day see the light and challenge the big Chinese firms in the consumer space. 

It's hard to imagine that it will, though. Chinese companies had it beaten on price and portability, and its one selling point – smarts – has also been achieved for the average user (and far more conveniently). The American tech might be able to do more, but did anyone stop to think who needed it?

If you're interested in where these drones sit in the wider market, read our guide to the best drones for beginners, or take a deep dive into the best camera drones overall.

If you're interested in where these drones sit in the wider market, read our guide to the best drones for beginners, or take a deep dive into the best camera drones overall.

Skydio CEO Adam Bry today took to the stage to announce the new Skydio X10 drone, aiming squarely at the wide commercial market, bringing "big drone features to a medium form factor" and building on the company's established lead in the field of AI.

• See our guide to the best camera drones 

The new drone boasts a new night vision navigation system, using lighting systems and AI to overcome the longstanding problem of seeing obstacles in the dark. The drone still has GPS, but Skydio's autonomy system's ability to view objects and navigate using them makes it more versatile.

The drone has a triple camera block with a main 50-megapixel camera which can read a licence plate from 800ft (240m) and a 640×512 Teledyne FLIR Boson+ radiometric thermal camera. The drone's AI can use the thermal camera to keep a person in the camera's view automatically, without the use of the pilot's sticks.

The drone is also IP55 weather-resistant – the video shows the drone flying in the rain. The battery time is stated as 40 minutes.

The 85 teraflops of compute power on board, however, is what unleashes the ability for the drone to build a 3D model in the field rather than requiring pilots to shoot on location and then return for processing. 

The company made clear that night vision – Skydio are calling it NightSense – was a feature built with the military in mind, which we can take as a clear indicator that there hasn't been a change of heart – there isn't likely to be a replacement for the Skydio 2+ consumer drone. There is a battlefield version for the military, however, 

Speed of deployment is also important; Skydio think it can be out of the backpack in 40 seconds. Cellular is an option too, and we're told there will be a dock soon (but X2 and Skydio 2 are still good to go for commercial users).

All this comes days after we've seen the leaks of DJI's similarly sized device which looks to be competing on size and possibly at least some level of smarts. This could be the beginning of a very interesting battle, though of course, Skydio will have US trade regulations on its side in its home market.

Check out the best thermal drones that we've already checked out, or to get started look at the best beginners drones.

Drone maker Skydio, the biggest US-based drone company known for its smart autonomous drones, recently switched focus onto its strong commercial and growing military business – now it looks like we might see the tech that'll drive it, and the invitations aren't as exclusive as expected.

• Read what we thought caused Skydio to leave the consumer market

Skydio are inviting everyone to a live keynote at an event called Ascent on September 20th at 9:00 Pacific time (12PM EDT, 5PM BST, 2AM AEST). I've signed up and you can register for the live keynote on my ticket if you want to follow online, though this is an external link – you'd have to give your email address to Skydio.

Speakers will include Adam Bray, the CEO, Chief John Chell of the NYPD, Bob Brock, the Director of Aviation at the Kansas Department of Transport, but if we're honest, the most interesting thing is the teaser.

At the moment, the company is still offering the Skydio 2+ (though only in the Enterprise edition) and the more rugged-looking Skydio X2 which boasts lights for night operations, and a thermal camera, but retains the company's all-round obstacle avoidance and AI. Both drones, in other words, can use their all-round vision rather than GPS to fly, so work largely autonomously indoors and out.

What's especially interesting about this invitation is that neither of these drones look quite like the one in the teaser silhouette which appears on the sign, so perhaps we're about to see a new form factor? There appear to be two cameras on the humps of the fuselage which aren't in the same position as the AI cameras or the main cameras on Skydio's existing aircraft which is very interesting.

Skydio, of course, has told us only "This isn’t going to be your average drone event. Ascend is the drone event of the year. At Ascend you'll witness the benefits of combining the world's most intelligent flight software with the data-collecting capabilities enabled by the latest in precision-engineered hardware."

Nothing definite, for sure, but the words 'latest' and 'hardware' near each other are hard to ignore, and even if you're not looking to spend on hardware this will no doubt be an important event for American drone operators who work with government agencies to learn more about the capabilities of non-Chinese drones.

You can learn more about the Skydio 2+ drone in our review, or if you're looking for a more consumer-friendly alternative consider our guide to the best camera drones. Skydio don't have it all their own way in the thermal world either, as our guide to the best thermal drones reveals.

What gives? We're a big and growing consumer market? We ought to be getting attention from everywhere, but instead, there's one looming presence in the shape of DJI, making it very hard to see and hear the other contenders. That's a shame because we want to flirt with more possibilities than ever-improving battery life and camera specs. Skydio was perhaps the most interesting alternative out there – the Skydio 2+ had a whole different way of thinking with its on-board AI – so it seems especially sad to be typing a lament for the demise of its consumer division.

It's happened before, though, and, tragically, it wasn't hard to anticipate here either. Here's why. Remember Parrot's snappy, innovative little Anafi drone? It was doing the rounds in around 2019 while DJI had yet to release the Mavic 2 but was attempting to woo consumers with the plasticky Mavic Air. Parrot didn't just attempt to compete on camera or battery spec grounds, but even came up with an FPV option that wasn't out of reach for normal consumers.

Where is Parrot now, though? It's now marketing its drones exclusively to professionals and leaning hard on the not-being-Chineseness of the drones in question (in the US and Australia, among others, buying Chinese is becoming a political hot potato.)

So Parrot's prices went up, and they instantly didn't have to advertise or deal with fickle consumers or complicated supply chains. You can understand why they abandoned consumers. If we're honest, it was even easier to anticipate with Skydio; its signature automation technology has obvious appeal for all kinds of commercial applications where organizations have the resources to negotiate with aviation authorities and get special exemptions to operate beyond line of sight.

It is also something the US government effectively encouraged, by taking away the competition from the commercial market while leaving it there in the consumer space.

For sake of argument (and because it's more or less true) let's say that DJI's tech is – with exceptions – the best. You can either compete by being better within a niche which, to be fair, Skydio clearly tried. Or you can get the government to block sales of your competitor. Whether Skydio pushed for this or not, that's what happened – the door to the US government & state services markets was opened for them artificially by trade regulations and shouty politicians.

The flip side of that is that Skydio's AI tech had a unique potential for a follow-me action (still has, if you're buying the end-of-line Skydio 2+). In that respect the drone's AI whipped the equivalent tech in every competitor we've tried – including DJI's Mavic 3 Pro and Air 3.

That's not to say there aren't some worries. If you're honest, was (is) it a technology that promotes trust? Not exactly. The Skydio was clever and quick to respond to things its multitude of digital 'eyes' detected, but that also made it difficult to understand, and when you can't quickly understand how a device is making decisions, you can't truly be in control of it.

That made the Skydio the same legislative nightmare that self-driving cars are, though if we're honest we don't think that was what capped sales. In the fight against DJI, the drone would benefit from a better main camera – sure, it captures 4K, but it'd have been nice to see some of the same innovation in terms of sensor size and multiple cameras as seen in DJI's higher end.

Perhaps the idea of a fly-and-forget craft isn't really about artistry, so the customers aren't willing to pay a high price for the camera?

Perhaps, but in a fair playing field I feel there would have been at least a sustainable demand for tech like Skydio's. The problem was that Skydio sat on the edge of two unfair playing fields – one in which small-scale use of autonomously piloted craft is viewed with suspicion by aviation authorities, and another unfair field skewed hugely in Skydio's favor.

It's no wonder it took its ball away.

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American drone specialist Skydio has announced that it is pulling out of the consumer drone market. The move comes as a big blow to those looking for a best-in-class non-Chinese drone to fly - and ensures that industry leaders DJI has even less competition than ever before. Skydio will now concentrate on producing drones for enterprise customers – to big businesses, the armed forces, and first responders.

"The impact we’re having with our enterprise and public sector customers has become so compelling that it demands nothing less than our full focus and attention," explains Skydio CEO Adam Bry in an announcement on the company website. "As a result, I have made the very difficult decision to sunset our consumer business in order to put everything we’ve got into serving our enterprise and public sector customers".

The California-based company's Skydio 2+ was one of the best camera drones - which prioritized subject tracking and autonomous control. It was popular in the USA (and rarely found on sale outside North America) - appealing to those looking to avoid buying Chinese drones.

Skydio is not the first mainstream drone company to sunset its consumer drone business. Parrot stopped producing its popular Anafi drones in 2021, and saw its profits swell by concentrating on the enterprise zone.

Skydio says that it will continue to sell accessories - such as beacons, controllers, batteries and propellers - and provide customer support for those who bought a Skydio 2 or 2+.

Meanwhile, Skydio has announced that it will be unveiling its next generation of drone technologies at its first-ever user conference on September 20.

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Inspired Flight Technologies seem to have looked to a Chinese competitor to prompt their company name, founded as it was well after the DJI Inspire emerged. Unlike that drone, however, the new IF800 Tomcat is made in America. That makes it safe to buy for US government agencies –  because lawmakers in some states are starting to ban Chinese drones for unproven alleged spyware.

Anyway, bad news for Chinese vendors is good news for American ones, and the new IF800 is a medium-lift commercial drone aimed at customers who need NDAA compliance (National Defence Authorisation Act).

The drone has a flight time of up to 40 minutes and has a dual battery system with hot-swappable batteries. The payload is up to 3kg, and Inspired Flight already has a range of cameras available camera mounts available. These include gimbals for Sony RX100, Sony A7R, and Sony RX1R II, as well as a Lidar and infrared scanner.

The airframe itself folds for travel, and is able to tilt the gimbal 30˚ upwards (as well as down) for easier surveying of things like pylons and turbines.

Inspired Flight is based in California, and so far as we know is only planning to sell this drone to customers in the USA. They are looking for customers in business, government, and enthusiasts (though their prices suggest otherwise), and are clearly proud of the company's location.

Company CEO Rick Stollmeyer put it this way: "Most of the key technologies that enable the impressive performance and utility of modern, commercial drones were invented in the United States. The Inspires Flight team is honored to play our part in restoring these capabilities to our shores."

For now, that's all we can say as the drone is "set to ship before the end of" 2023. If your needs are more immediate, perhaps check our list of best camera drones. In the meantime, there are Chinese options that do meet this spec, and we have reviewed the American Skydio 2+.

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US drone company Skydio has long put autonomy front-and-centre, and built up a software inspection platform – Skydio 3D Scan – to take advantage of it. The latest feature, 3D Scan Indoor Capture is a free addition to the platform to improve exploration and detailed scanning of indoor spaces.

The Skydio drones – including the Skydio S2+ – are able to fly into an indoor space (where the is no GPS), explore it, and capture three dimensional imagery. Images can be sent to the Skydio cloud and compared to others taken at different times.

As Skydio put it "The operators job is simple." Operator, which might once have been called pilot, simply sets the drone off with a little guidance as to the area being scanned, and the drone will create a 'digital twin' of the environment which can be viewed in remote 3D software by "decision makers" (again, Skydio's term) who never have to visit the site. 

One possible use of the 3D survey is in landlord's property records – before and after a location is let – so tenants can be charged for any issues. Others, of course, involve the monitoring of projects in which material is moved, since the software also allows measurements of size and volume to be made on the digital scan.

Given the speedy deployment and the thirst for data, this technology could offer serious competition to 3D photography in the real estate market. At the moment our best cameras for real estate includes the expensive Matterport Pro 2, and with the growth of consumer devices the Insta360 X3 there can only be more demand for detailed, explorable imagery. This tech will beat a view you can 'look around' for the user (though it'll be harder to tidy the house you're selling for!)

There are other new features in the latest update, include an AutoCrop feature which will will keep the subject in frame when exporting and a Smooth Mode for, you've guessed it, smoother subject tracking – these might be more use to video makers.

We've noticed that Skydio has picked up the pace with their software improvements recently, from what was already a very strong position compared to the leading competitor, which is why the drone is on our list of best camera drones. Given the clamp down on Chinese products, we can see it being very popular in the USA especially going forward.

Last week Skydio CEO Adam Bry launched the long-teased Skydio Dock and Remote Ops software platform via a streamed event. Right from the start, he explained that the aim of this product was to “break the one-to-one dependence between the pilot and drones.” 

Bry continued by stating that “enabling drones to do work on their own is an extremely powerful concept; in fact, it’s the future of the industry for most applications.” That is where their new Skydio Dock will step in – providing a safe home the drone can take off and land from, before going on to operate self-piloted missions.

An example of the kind of mission Skydio have in mind is autonomous regular inspection. With the aircraft able to regularly return to specific locations in 3D space and capture an image, the software can provide a regularly updated view without a pilot needing to be involved.

The key new device, the Skydio Dock, occupies around 4 square feet and weighs 28kg / 62lb, significantly less than the DJI Dock (for the Matrice 30). It can maintain standby between -40˚ - 60˚C (-40˚ - 140˚F), and is IP56 weatherproof. When the drone is to be deployed, a door opens, from which a landing arm is extended. The drone doesn’t take off until the door is closed behind it, so dust and liquid aren’t pushed into the dock. Built-in LEDs are used as part of a propellor inspection process.

Skydio’s has already solved a lot of the necessary issues with aircraft able to sense and understand obstacles in their environment, even without GPS, thanks to the built-in 6-camera system. In fact, Skydio notes that indoor operations are as much part of their thinking as outdoor – unlike other docks. They call this Skydio VPS – Visual Positioning System – which essentially re-uses positioning data over and over as the drone flies repeated missions. Objects (or at least those which don’t move) help provide highly accurate positioning for the drone, indoors or out, without requiring RTK.

Also demonstrated was Skydio Dock Light, a small landing pad big enough to include a QR-like symbol and somewhere for the battery to fall, supported by a simple tripod a little bigger than the drone; this specifically for indoor use.

Both devices work together with the Remote Ops app, which allows missions to be planned, sending the drone to points in 3D space which it can return to and gather more imagery or video at regularly scheduled intervals. The result can be viewed later “like a time machine.”

During their presentation, Jenn Player, Skydio’s Senior Director of Regulatory Affairs, explained how her team helps customers get successful waivers from the FAA to operate operations beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS). Skydio specifically noted how successful they have been in getting FAA approval when drones are operating low to the ground, and the investment they’ve made in having a team to help customers take advantage of existing installations.

Skydio’s autonomous equipment is available now, in the United States and Japan, and the company is keen to supply interested parties directly so they can develop the technology as needed. Coming soon are autonomous 3D mapping missions, security patrols with person detection, and other features. There is a Skydio API allowing the technology to be implemented directly by some companies, though the Remote Ops app means missions can be planned from a simple laptop

This initial launch – the ‘Early Access Programme’ – is available only from Skydio directly, via https://www.skydio.com/skydio-dock. 

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The drone world (leaving aside the FPV enthusiast community) has concentrated on improved cameras and, more recently, safety features. There is some discussion of subject tracking and AI pilot assist, but never has it been so fundamental to the promise as it is with the Skydio.

Putting autonomy first – a software-led approach – has led Skydio to seem like an entirely different brand to competitors DJI and Autel (both of whom offer some level of subject tracking). In 2021 it joined the “unicorn club” (a $1 billion valuation), and while still somewhere short of DJI, they do have a distinct advantage: In a hostile trade environment, the company is based in California so can appeal to US agencies.

As well as its professional products, the company continues to develop its signature consumer product, which is what we’re looking at here. The first ‘R1’ consumer Skydio appeared in 2018, and since then the software, airframe and batteries have all developed. The Skydio 2+ is marketed almost like an automated flying GoPro, but can it be so ‘fire-and-forget’?

Build and handling

Out of step with the trend for folding drones, the Skydio 2+ kid built on a solid airframe made from a mixture of blue-painted lightweight metal and hard plastic. The 27-minute battery is attached beneath and clips in with a little help from magnets, which gives a nice MagSafe-like quality. Atop the main cross frame is a USB-C socket which is used in syncing controllers and can charge the battery.

The front props are below the fairly flat frame, while the rear ones above. Each side has three fish-eye lenses making a total of six ‘eyes’ connected to the electronic brain, while at the front a tapered gimbal holds the 4K camera. Recesses in the front arms also hold fold-out antenna which, presumably, the AI vision is able to ignore. 

At first glance the black and blue design echos the look of some FPV self-builds. Not so long ago there was a trend for solid airframes like this, but it quickly becomes clear it is more thoughtful and offers the quality you’d expect from a consumer product. The batteries feature charge level meters behind a diffuser for an elegant look. Any concern the magnet won’t be enough to grip the battery soon evaporates too, while having it as a central low point assists with hand-landing as it avoids the need for feet at each corner.

Skydio 2+ bundles

Almost all drones are offered in differing bundles, from the price conscious to the maximum functionality. For some drones – and you can count the Skydio 2+ amongst them – the difference is more than just the number of batteries, so we’ll explain now:

• “Starter Kit” ($1,099 RRP) relies on your phone’s wi-fi for control, so has a very limited range, and has a flat case. A single battery is charged via the drone.

•  “Sports Kit” ($1,549 RRP) has a total of 3 batteries and the Beacon, a GPS wand which offers a degree of control, extends the range to 1.5km and can help the drone follow you.

• “Cinema Kit” ($1,949 RRP) adds a traditional drone controller and a hard travel case to the Sports bundle.

• “Pro Kit” (`$2,169 RRP) adds a controller grip for tablets and Polar Pro ND filters to the Cinema kit.

Beacon build and handling

The beacon is an unusual device in the drone world, but makes so much sense in the context of this drone. It is a little like a TV remote with a small mono LCD display, but allows you not only to make commands but also to ‘drag’ the Skydio across the sky. In that sense it is more like a magic wand. It is made of a firm plastic, and the different shaped buttons are easy to find by feel. At the base is a USB-C socket to charge it (and for a one-off pairing procedure).

Inside is a GPS unit which helps provide data for the drone should the visual tracking fail; that makes sense given the extended range.

As a small device it is relatively discrete, though the GPS does prefer a clear view of the sky. Cyclists should probably invest in a handle-bar attachment to get the best of it. We also found that the (already paired) beacon and drone took a while to get ready for take-off even in an open field. In theory you can place the Skydio in your hand facing away and send it on its way; as it takes off it turns back and spots you. In practice we found it took about 30 seconds before it was prepared to do this, but after that we were able to fly with the beacon and nothing else, making for video without a big controller spoiling the shot.

Remote controller build and handling

The dark grey plastic of the remote doesn’t feel quite the same as the rest of the Skydio package and there is a reason for that; it is a Parrot design from the Anafi (which we liked, back in the day). Like Autel’s standard remote the device could look better but feels good in the hand, the main exception being the non-removable control sticks which feel a little cheap (and exposed) compared to the trend for screw-in metal parts. Luckily the hard travel case which comes with the Cinema Kit (the first to include the remote) has cut-out storage for the controller (and cables) so you should still be able to keep it safe.

If you’re used to flying a standard drone, you’ll likely want one of these in your kit. It’s not perfect – we found ourselves wanting to tweak the PIDs – but it still feels reasonably natural to an experienced pilot. The shoulder levers, rather than fingers wheels, could be better through. Nevertheless we found it very useful for setting up a flight using the KeyFrame tool. This feature allows you to set specific positions in the air for the drone to navigate between, and then to re-run a complex path over and over. It’s such a good feature, and so well implemented, that users of all other brands will be jealous. Better still the feature is still being improved; as of the week we were testing it’s possible to include camera roll for that FPV effect, and the drone can calculate the roll for you or let you set it.

Making a flight

Getting used to the Skydio isn’t the same as other drones, but if you’re keen to keep the camera on a moving subject and let the machine do the work it is difficult to fault it. You can take off using the phone app, the Beacon or the remote controller.

The first time you use it the phone app offers a tutorial. On balance this is a good idea, but we found it did seem to spend much too long on tilting the camera. With that in the rear-view the software is a triumph of usability. It manages to be graphically elegant while displaying 3D information (like camera positions) when relevant. 

Where you can, we recommend lowering the drone’s minimum height, since it’ll swoop lower for even more dramatic footage, but we appreciated the ability to set a floor (for the safety of those nearby) as well as the usual height limit. 

The phone app is still an option with the Beacon, but the fact you don’t need it at all means this is likely the best tool to get all your drone-tracking-you action shots (the camera starts automatically). It is simple to re-position the drone in terms of distance and where it follows you from. When you’re traveling in a reasonably straight line, its easily possible to position the drone to capture you from in front or 45˚ to one side (indeed you can opt for any quadrant on the virtual compass). When you make a turn, it takes a moment or so to correct itself, but keeps following and we were impressed how small an object it would circumnavigate.

Skydio make no bones about their enthusiasm for taking off and landing from the hand. This is very cool, especially compared to competitors’ gloomy safety-conscious guidance. If you’re not keen on using your hands (and we did find it easy), then the drone can also identify a design on either case and automatically lands onto it, which is also impressive.

Performance

While the camera is 4K, it doesn’t have the same generous sensor size as the DJI Air 2S or Mavic 3 Classic, and this is apparent in the quality of the video. There is more noise in the image than similarly priced DJI drones, but the better the light the less noticeable this is. Left to its own devices, though, the exposure is sensibly set and creates engaging video.

The gimbal does a good job of keeping the camera steady, though a couple of times in our tests flights it seemed to glitch in response to a sharp manoeuvre. Given most of the time the aircraft will be deciding how hard to pitch or turn this is likely not much of an issue, but it does speak against using this as a manually controlled aircraft. 

Inevitably the AI isn’t flawless, though it’s a lot quicker to turn with the subject than anything else we’ve tested (yes, including the Mavic 3). Skydio told us that, while the software could identify a moving subject, it wasn’t able to identify other moving objects. That’s not that it won’t avoid people if it can (we avoided a few volunteers to test this), but really it’s happier away from crowds.

A feature we didn’t get the opportunity to try (yet), but we did see demonstrated is the new panorama function. DJI drones are able to capture stills and assemble a panorama, but for its new equivalent the Skydio goes one better, allowing you to compose your shot through a 360˚ combined stream from the collision cameras. Since these cameras also make it possible to position the drone more accurately than GPS – even in the steelwork of a bridge – the opportunities are exciting. 

In our sample footage, you can see how quickly the drone alters its path when the subject it is following – walking or on a bike – alters course. Equally, when heading down a tunnel of trees it was able to take the prudent path and avoid obstacles. It did eventually get trapped and need guiding out with the Beacon, but it still didn’t crash, despite the presence of many thin branches. 

By comparison the Mavic 3 is far less certain in its maneuvers when the subject it is following changes path, gives up more easily in the trees, and – when we tested with a single shrub as an obstacle – didn’t seem to return to its path in the way we’d expected.

Skydio 2+ verdict

It’s not flawless, but we should start out by saying the smart tracking AI is a country mile ahead of the competition. There are some not insignificant prices to pay for this ground-breaking tech though; the battery life is just average, the drone doesn’t fold (except its antenna), the Parrot remote is somewhat bulbous and the main camera could be better.

You also have to accept that – despite every effort on Skydio’s part to create a smooth user experience – there are some additional responsibilities, like checking each of the six vision sensors is clean before take-off. It’s also true that the Beacon is a very useful tool, but making sure it doesn’t get its signal swamped by other devices (i.e. your phone) means it’s wise to look for mounting brackets.

Quirks aside, the Skydio 2+’s abilities make it easy to recommend for anyone looking for an angel on their shoulder; a drone that expects to travel with its subject and (assuming decent weather) will capture more exciting video than most. If you’re looking for the best camera possible and some collision sensors look elsewhere, but if you want those sensors to offer a new easier flying experience then only the Skydio will do.

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Mention autonomy in drones and Skydio, not DJI, is the name most will mention first, but since the October 2019 announcement of the Skydio 2 drone customers have looked for more.

Finally, at CES 2022, a revised Skydio 2+ has been announced, with improved 5GHz radio for a range of up to 6km (3.7 miles) and batteries capable of 27 minutes flight time. The key improvements, though, are to the software, most notably the “Skydio KeyFrame” tool. This enables a hybrid of the firm’s well-known subject tracking abilities with a flight path set out using points in three-dimension space.

The Skydio 2+ takes the points defined by the user – the key frames – and establishes a smooth spline between them which it can fly along (repeatedly if necessary). Once the route has a start and end point, the drone can fly along it automatically, speed being tweaked along the way as required; crucially the camera will stay on the subject the whole time.

This provides a distinct alternative to the approach offered by dual operators (or subject tracking systems) in a professional drone like the Inspire, and perhaps we’ll see something like it in DJI’s upcoming ActiveTrack 5.0 (as yet unreleased for the Mavic 3).

For those expecting an all-new airframe or camera, it appears they’ll find themselves waiting a little longer. The new antennas can actually be folded out from the front of the Skydio’s otherwise nearly identical body. The blue and black shell and six autonomy obstacle avoidance cameras are all the same (each is a 4K CMOS, building a 1-million point-per-second 3D world). 

In terms of video quality, the retained 1 / 2.3” 12.3MP CMOS has 4056 x 3040 pixels, meaning the drone is far better suited to 4K60 HDR video than capturing high-res stills (though it can capture RAW). The 20mm EFL lens with electronic shutter is the same as the Skydio 2 and video is captured at 100 Mbps to a UHS Class 3 Micro SD.  

The improvement to the batteries (5410 mAh v 4280 mAh) hasn’t changed the pin layout, form factor or, significantly, the voltage so you’ll be able to add these to your collection for the original Skydio or vice versa. The Skydio 2 can also take advantage of the new software, leaving only the improved antenna as the key update which can’t be transferred. This is also true of the Beacon which have been physically updated to match the new radio system.

See our full Skydio 2+ review

New users coming in at the lowest price point won’t be able to take advantage of the radio improvement straight away though. As with earlier Skydio models the Starter Kit ($1,099 in US) comes with a single battery, albeit the improved one, and charging cable, but the only means of control will be wi-fi from your phone unless you dip into your pocket for either the Beacon, Remote controller or both.

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The Skydio X2 drone brings the company’s famed autonomous flying to the lucrative enterprise market with a thermal-imaging camera and “360˚ Superzoom!”. Building on the technology in the recently-release Skydio 2  – which is essentially a very good "selfie drone" – this is a larger, more powerful device will help Skydio capitalize on the deals the firm already has with the USAF, army and police.

Hot on the heels of the Parrot’s Anafi USA, this latest announcement from Skydio takes full advantage of the hostility faced by the world’s leading drone company, DJI, in the USA. The increasingly hostile environment for Chinese products gives California-based Skydio a real opening, and they have perhaps the strongest claim to being truly ‘American’. Distasteful or not, it seems Skydio are more than happy to capitalize on the opportunity, and with US-assembled aircraft and founders who met at MIT, it seems they hit all the right notes for the US government.

Skydio’s commercial offering is an all-new folding frame, built with carbon-fiber legs, an under-slung 35-minute battery and a dual optical/thermal imaging camera. In that respect, it has more than a few similarities with the Parrot Anafi USA but, while the French firm’s CEO dismissed collision avoidance as “a gadget,” it is Skydio’s signature technology. This drone – for the first time on a folding drone – features the company’s 6-camera system which can not only avoid obstacles but plot its own course through them while tracking a subject. The drone has a range of 10km, in the US at least, which is 6.2 miles.

The Skydio X2’s FLIR Infra-red thermal camera is 320x256 pixels, while the main camera is a slightly more pedestrian 12 megapixels. It’s tricky to imagine how a sensor this size will perform at 100x digital zoom (that’s the 360 Superzoom), but it’s worth noting that the system has access to the navigation cameras too from which it can assemble 360 or 180-degree images.

In the pipeline is also a new 3D scanning feature which appears to solve many inspector’s problems. This will be available for both Skydio 2 and the new X2 drones, and can determine its own route around complicated objects like girder bridges, or fly tight in on a roof for a detailed inspection. This kind of additional software skill is a key part of Skydio’s plan, similar to the way a Tesla might be fitted with the tech for Autopilot but you need to pay extra for it. Expect to see other skills, like cinematography, arrive later as the company continues to push into DJI’s market.

With the Skydio X2, the firm are also offering a much larger controller – the Skydio Enterprise Controller – featuring a large monitor, dispensing with any need for phone apps for quick setup (though it must be said the videos shown of the 3D Scan tool appeared to be on an iPad). At the same time improvements to manual control will include a precision mode should make commercial operation easier.

The Skydio X2 will ship in Q4 2020 according to Skydio. The drone will be offered in two editions, the Skydio X2E – for enterprise and civilian agencies – and Skydio X2D – for the US Army. No word yet on pricing.

It is fair to say that the firm has struggled to meet previous self-imposed deadlines, including shipping the Skydio 2 consumer drone. While the February 2018 Skydio R1 was $2,500 and only really sold as a kind of public beta, the current $999 Skydio 2 was announced in October 2019 and is still hard to get hold of, with customers typically having to order from Skydio directly and then wait patiently. It also remains to be seen how the accessories will be packaged – the Skydio 2 drone doesn’t come with key accessories, like the controller, for example.

Nonetheless, this is a significant announcement, coming at the same time as a $100million funding injection from German tech-giant Siemens. Skydio has said they won’t be turning away from the consumer market or weaponizing their tech (the X2D is for recon and R&D), but it is extending its manufacturing capacity which means it’s definitely time to see the firm as more than just a Silicon Valley experiment.

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Update The American-made Skydio 2 has been, up to know, one of the best drones that you couldn't buy. At last we have the news that the self-flying drone is back in production in its California factory after the long Coronavirus lockdown – and that means that you can now order one (although the company admits it will take them three months to get through previous back orders).

But at the same time, Skydio also tells us that since the $999 drone was originally announced last year (see below), it has made major updates to the software. 

"Our most popular feature request is here! We’ve worked hard on updating Skydio Autonomy, our breakthrough AI engine, to be able to track you from further away for those awesome framing shots of both the subject and the surrounding landscape," says the company announcement "Maximum tracking distance with the Skydio Beacon has increased from 10 meters to 40 meters (130 feet). Maximum tracking distance with the phone has increased from 10 to 20 meters (66 feet)."

There are also improvements to the landing capabilities of the drone - it can now be made to land on the drone's carry case - using the company logo a its destination. And a new nudge feature, allows you to shift the landing spot slightly if you see the drone coming down in, say, a puddle. 

Original story 01 October 2019 - For some months, Californian drone company Skydio has, as they put it, been selling their equivalent of the Tesla Roadster, the expensive proof-of-concept. Its breakthrough with its first drone, the R1, was autonomy... the ability to follow its owner through forests and down mountains. But at $2,500 and with what the company itself called “a very narrow feature set” the Skydio R1 wasn’t for everyone (even if we rate it as one of the best drones). The Skydio 2, announced today, is set to change things.

The new drone has a far more palatable price point, $999, still features the unparalleled AI-driven smart cinematography system, but adds the features the wider drone market has come to expect. In other words the Skydio can be both the angel over your shoulder capturing amazing action moments as you concentrate on your sport, your flying camera for landscapes and events, and even a DroneDeploy-compatible surveying tool.

Part of that newfound flexibility comes via the optional Skydio Controller. The $149 device is visually identical to the Parrot Anafi controller (no bad thing) and has a 3.5km range. It gives the option of traditional 2-stick flying, so you can direct your own swooping landscapes and establishing shots like any other drone. Under manual control the pilot is, of course, still able to take advantage of all-direction obstacle avoidance. You might feel, after checking air regulations in some countries, that the Controller is even a legal necessity.

Skydio Beacon

There is also the Skydio Beacon, also $149. This compact wand can be used to position the Skydio 2 at up to 1.5km as well as having tactile buttons to initiate dronies. It also has the advantage of being something you might take somewhere you wouldn’t take your phone

Although it is pretty compact, the blue-colored Skydio 2 does not fold – a measure to ensure the accuracy of the navigation cameras. There are six of these, each with 4K Sony cameras which combine to give the AI system 48 megapixels of information with which to build its understanding of the world around it (The Mavic 2, DJI’s best equivalent, has under 5 megapixels for its object collision system). The body must also act as a heat-sink for the on-board NVIDIA Tegra Jetson TX2 which tracks the 3D world at over 1 million points a second. It is capable of identifying people and vehicles – up to ten simultaneous points of interest – using 256 GPU cores.

Skydio 2 camera specs

In terms of photography, the main camera is a Sony 1/2.3” 12.3MP CMOS which captures video at 4K and 60fps H.264 or H.265, or 12 megapixel JPEG or RAW, through a 20mm EFL lens. That makes it competitive with other similarly sized drones. Skydio call it “best-in-class” and provide a NomiCam report comparing it favorably against all the DJI Mavic series drones. It is also supported by a 3-axis gimbal which projects from the front, blending into the design more than many ‘copters. 

The aircraft features folding props and ships with one battery, a USB 3 lead for charging, and a USB 3 plug, and a hard-shell case. The flight time is 23 minutes and with a weight of 775g and the max speed is 36mph.

You can pre-order the Skydio 2 now, with shipping set to start before the end of November. 

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American drone manufacturer Skydio has been teasing that it has a 'spectacular' new autonomous drone coming this fall for a while – and now it has released test footage of the self-flying camera drone in action. 

"Building a drone that can actually fly itself and avoid obstacles is an incredible challenge. In fact, we’re the only company that’s managed to do it," brags the company. 

"Now we’re raising the bar again on what a self-flying drone can do and how incredibly cinematic its video can be. How? We’ve developed an entirely new and breakthrough flight algorithm.

The drone can do so much more than just avoid crashing. Now it can determine exactly where and how to fly to get the most stunning cinematic shots possible. The type of shots that until now only expert pilots were capable of capturing."

This might sound like marketing hype from a company that has only released one drone so far in its short history, but that one drone was something special – and features in our guide to the best camera drones. 

The Skydio R1 ripped up the rulebooks in terms of tracking moving subjects and collision avoidance. This is a drone that could follow cycling you down the mountain path, ducking its way through the branches of trees, to ensure that you stayed perfectly in shot. And it could follow you around as you walked through a building in super-smooth - using two cameras to aid its visual navigation system.

Now Skydio is telling its customers and visitors to its website "If you are thinking of buying a drone, wait. We've got something new coming this fall". 

In an earlier email to fans it stated, "we’re about to launch something even more spectacular. It’s the next chapter in fully autonomous flight…. It’s the culmination of everything we’ve learned from our first drone and all of the feedback we’ve received from our first customers. 

"We’ve listened closely and worked tirelessly to build something that truly redefines what a drone can do, opening up new possibilities in aerial video. Here at Skydio we’re all about awesome autonomous drones and are super excited to have you along on this incredible journey to push the boundaries of aerial autonomy."

The new footage is very impressive indeed, and has the potential to be absolutely massive within the world of cinematography. We will let you know more, when we find out more!

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