DJI Launches the Neo, A $199 Voice-Controlled Selfie Drone
BY Zacc Dukowitz
10 September 2024Over the last several weeks we’ve seen more and more leaks of the DJI Neo—and now it’s finally here.
At just $199 the Neo is DJI’s cheapest drone that it’s currently selling, and its second cheapest ever. The only DJI drone that was cheaper is the Tello, which sold for $99—but since the Tello isn’t being made any more, the Neo takes its spot as least expensive.
Described as “your personal videographer,” the Neo is the ultimate selfie drone. It was designed to fly with minimum piloting knowledge, with features that make it super easy to use, including:
- Controller free flying
- Palm takeoff/landing
- Voice control
Credit: DJI
In making the Neo, DJI has actually created the drone that people have imagined, dreamed about, and even lied about having invented—an inexpensive flying “follow me” camera drone that can shoot dronies, extreme sports, or just capture vacation photos without you having to think about flying much at all.
(When we say lie, we’re talking about Lily Robotics, a company that said it was making a drone like the Neo way back in 2017. Lily gathered 60,000+ preorders before it was revealed that its promotional video—key to getting all those preorders—used made up imagery, and it didn’t actually have the tech to back up its claims. It’s a pretty fascinating story.)
Specs & Details for the DJI Neo
Here are the primary specs for the Neo:
- Weight. .3 pounds (135 grams)—under the FAA’s registration threshold of .55 pounds (250 grams).
- Camera. 1/2″ CMOS 4K ultra-stabilized video / 30 fps.
- Flight time. 18 minutes.
- Range. 164 feet (50 meters).
- Max flight distance. 4.3 miles (6.9 kilometers).
The Neo comes with full coverage propeller guards, which can help you fly in tight indoor areas. This gives some validity to early rumors that the Neo was a mini-Avata, DJI’s first cinewhoop made for cinematic flying indoors.
While the Neo isn’t a smaller Avata, you could imagine using it to get short clips indoors that might be useful for social media posts. But its limited range—just 164 feet—wouldn’t make it a good option for the long, trick-flying-filled tours of stadiums, concert halls, and other venues that cinewhoops like the Avata are known for.
Credit: DJI
Multiple Control Options
Of course, the main thing that makes the Neo stand out is how easy it is to use.
And a key part of that is the new buzzy feature that drove the internet crazy when it was first leaked: the Neo can be flown using voice control.
In addition to voice control in the DJI Fly app, you can also fly the Neo several other ways:
- Using FPV goggles with the DJI Goggles 3
- Using the DJI Fly app to control the drone manually
- Using motion control with the DJI RC Motion 3
Quick Shot Modes and Other Preset Flight Options
Although the Neo has multiple control options, it doesn’t really have to be flown by a pilot at all.
That’s because it comes with several modes for letting the drone basically fly itself.
The Neo’s Quick Shot modes include:
- Circle
- Helix
- Expanse
- Rocket
- Spotlight
- Boomerang
Here’s what the Helix mode looks like in action:
These are all essentially self-flying modes.
In addition, the Neo has AI subject tracking, which works similarly to the Skydio 2+’s ability to use autonomous tracking to follow a subject.
While Skydio is renowned for its autonomy, it’s unclear just how sophisticated the Neo’s ability to follow a subject will be, and how it will stack up compared to Skydio’s capabilities.
That being said, the Neo is just about $200 compared to the Skydio 2+’s $1,100—and there’s also the fact that you can’t buy a Skydio drone for fun any more, since Skydio only sells drones to major organizations now, which makes the comparison somewhat a moot point.
With the Neo’s incredibly low price coupled with being so easy to use, it’s poised to further lower the barrier for entry into flying drones. Also, the Neo is so inexpensive that even those who are wary of investing in DJI technology due to the possible ban that could be passed may still feel like it’s worth the risk.
