The DJI Neo is a powerful and lightweight $200 drone

[Music] this is dji's much leaked Neo a $200 drone designed for social media and recreational users it has propeller guards for indoor use and a tiny size but it is not a toy it comes with Advanced features like Palm takeoff subject tracking quick shots and voice control at the same time the Neo supports dgi's controllers and you can even pilot it with a smartph phone video specs are decent but with no obstacle detection it depends on the rugged design to resist crashes I was able to test it out here in France albeit with some features disabled and was frankly astonished by what it could [Music] do the Neo is dji's smallest drone to date at 135 G and has a very pixie likee feature a second button on the front that allows you to select from different smartshot modes like follow droney and others it comes with removable propeller guards that protect it for use indoors and around people be careful when you fly though as there's no obstacle avoidance apart from a downward-facing infrared Landing sensor the camera gimbal can tilt up 60° and down 90 though it doesn't flip for vertical video the half-in 12 megapixel sensor has an ultra wide angle 13 mm equivalent focal length with an f2.8 aperture good specs for a drone in this price range range the 1435 Mah lithium ion battery is incredibly light but supports up to 18 minutes of flight or around 13 to 14 minutes in the real world the small size means they charge quickly but most users will want the two extra cells and a charger included in the Neo combo kit to charge the batteries and transfer footage there is a USBC port at the back you won't find a Micro SD Port though as it relies on 22 GB of internal storage that holds about 50 minutes of 4K 30p [Music] footage though small the Neo is feature Rich novices can fly it easily by placing it in hand and pressing the mode button then it'll automatically record video while performing one of six pre-programmed smart shots settings can be tweaked with a new DJI fly app that now works with a a controller and connects to the drone over Wi-Fi for the smart modes you can change things like follow distance and height drone radius and flight path Circle radius and more you can also adjust video and photo resolution the Neo is dji's first model with voice control letting you launch the Drone and perform certain actions that feature wasn't available in the beta software so I couldn't test it but DJI said it will be there when the Drone goes on sale today if you want to Pilot the Drone yourself without buying a controller that's doable now too manual mode brings up touchscreen controls for all drone movements along with camera video modes and a return to home toggle it works surprisingly well letting you fly the Neo with decent Precision outdoors with a GPS lock the Drone is quite stable but without a GPS signal it can drift around a bit inside for more exact control the Neo also supports multiple DJI controllers including the rcn3 model that comes in the combo kit however you can also use it as an fpv drone by connecting it with dji's RC motion 3 and DJI goggles 3 controller mode offers the same features you get with drones like the Mini 4 Pro with Cinema normal and Sport modes manual and auto video quickshot features and more using it with the fpv goggles and controller gives you the same experience as the Avada 2 and other drones including one press acrobatics albeit with a large drop in performance the Neo does perform surprisingly well though maximum horizontal speed in sport mode is 18 mph or 36 mph in manual mode pretty damn fast for such a tiny drone however the ladder is only available if you're using the fpv controller 3 and wasn't enabled for our testing the Neo can resist winds up to 18 mph compared to 24 mph for the mini4 pro realistically though it's only good for light winds under 10 mph it's maneuver able and precise as well particularly with the optional controller that makes it ideal for events as it's very safe around people and small enough to fit in tight spaces it is very noisy though with a propeller sound that's not unlike a hive of angry bees it turns out to be an awesome fpv drone as well particularly since there's less fear of crashing given the $200 price it's not nearly as fast as the Avada 2 of course but it's wildly fun when using the RC motion 3 remote active track Spotlight and point of Interest all work the same as on other DJI drones and track subjects tenaciously another mode Direction track lets you do walk and talk type vlogging with a drone keeping your face in view with no rare obstacle sensor though you need to be careful in this mode when using the Neo with a smartphone under Wi-Fi control don't let it get too far away as 165 ft is the maximum range with a controller and dji's 04 transmission though it has a 6.2 M line of sight range in the US or about 3.7 mi in Europe that's impressive given the size though you'd be braver than me if you let it get that far away the Neo supports up to 4K 30p video and 1080p at up to 60 frames per second with no dlog am like the Mini 4 pro video is very sharp and color accurate though above what you'd expect for something in this price range with a small sensor low light capability isn't great however stabilization is excellent thanks to dji's rock steady and Horizon balancing systems those offer action camlik stability while correcting tilt up to 45° again I was pretty Amazed by the smoothness of footage even in a stiff breeze finally you can record audio via your smartphone's microphone just by tapping on the DGI fly apps audio record button and you can boost the quality considerably using the DJI mic 2 by connecting it to your phone over Bluetooth and we're going to see how well the sound here with that will help us to eliminate that terrible whining [Music] noise when I first told my photographer friend about the Neo his first thought was that it would be ideal as a backstage or behind the scenes drone that's because it can shoot high quality video around people without risk of injury with only the noise being bothersome it's also a great drone for vloggers Content creators and recreational users on a budget who only need a drone occasionally it executes cool shots automatically and the image quality is at the level of a smartphone easily good enough for social media the most exciting part of the Neo is the price though at $200 or $289 in the combo kit with three batteries and a charger it's an incredible value considering the capabilities it doesn't really have any serious competition either with the closest being the $350 hover air X1 which costs more and shoots lower resolution video with all that the Neo is dji's most exciting drone in years and likely to be another hit thanks for watching and if you enjoyed this video please hit like And subscribe and for more on technology check out engadget.com [Music] a [Music]