HoverAir is teasing the impending release of two new compact self-flying drones that will be the successors of its very popular 2023 model, the X1.
The new drone editions offer major resolution updates from those of HoverAir’s original X1 drone and are called the X1 Pro and X1 Max.
Both are heavily beefed-up revamps of last year’s X1 drone, at least in their specs, because they conserve their predecessor’s compact build.
In the case of the X1 Pro, what you get are 4K video at up to 60p and FHD video at 120p. This little drone offers a Type ½ CMOS sensor with a 17mm-equivalent lens. The UAV is designed mainly for content creator video needs.
Specifically, HoverAir has built the X1 Pro to be good at flying next to or above a person as they walk or run and film them.
It does this through an auto-follow feature that lets the drone move at up to 42 kilometers or 26 miles per hour and it can attain a maximum tracking speed of up to 60km or 36 miles per hour. This lets it also follow users who are running at top speed or moving by bike.
As for the Pro Max, it offers the same Follow features as the X1 Pro but with much stronger camera specs. These include 8K video at up to 30p, 4K video at 120p and FHD video at even higher frame rates.
The X1 Pro Max can also deliver 4K in HDR mode at up to 60p with 0-bit HLG and has a slightly larger sensor of the Type 1/1.3 CMOS variety with a 16mm-equivalent lens.
Both drones are designed to fold in two for really easy storage in the field and thanks to their robustly automated flying modes, users don’t need to have any previous drone flying experience to use them.
In fact, because of their self-flying features, the two drones are designed to fly completely independently in most uses.
The X1 Pro and X1 Pro Max offer a whole range of independent tracking and following modes programmed into them to achieve their self-flying chops. They can also fly over water or around complex geographical features in a given landscape.
In a recent Instagram post, HoverAir showed off the two drones and explained that they make it “easier than ever for solo content creators and YouTubers to produce impressive content.”
The company hasn’t shared more detailed specs about the two drones but its promotional materials state that they have the same weight and speed as the original X1.
The fact that they’re made for content creators also means powerful connectivity specs. These are evidenced by a claim of including WiFi 6 with up to 12Gbps download speeds.
We don’t know when the two new drones will start shipping or at what price, and the main page of the HoverAir website suggests a whole range of accessories for the drones, so we expect to hear more about them soon.
Image credit: HoverAir
