The Xiaomi Mi Drone is now officially on the market. The drone is a quadcopter and rotates on a three-axis gimbal and it offers a very good incentive to entry-level consumers. Priced at just about $460, customers get the premium 4k version. While, the 1080p version is even cheaper and goes for $380.
There are other features that set the Xiaomi Mi Drone apart. For one, many of its parts are removable including the camera module and all the rotors. This drone also has a powerful battery pack. The battery is a 5100mAh one and offers 27 minutes of flight, according to The Verge. This longevity of the battery already rivals most of the consumer drones currently available on the market.
The Mi Drone also has other features that make it an excellent competitor to today's drones. It uses GPS and GLONASS for its positioning. When it cannot get a signal, the drone automatically goes on a stable and low altitude using a visual positioning system found at the bottom of the drone.
The drone also packs automatic features such as autonomous takeoff, landing, return home, waypoint navigation and orbit. The Xiaomi Mi Drone can also geofence itself to limit its range of movement. The 1080p version has a 1 km range while the 4k version can go up to 2 km.
The built-in gimbal also stabilizes the Sony-made sensor at 2,000 vibrations per second commented, Xiaomi vice president, Hugo Barra. At this rate, the camera is able to avoid blurring. The remote control of the Mi Drone also uses a smarthphone as its viewfinder.
According to Tech Crunch, the Mi drone was made in collaboration with China-based Flymi. Xiaomi is supporting the product and will be selling it through its own channels.
The 4K version will be available for testing at the end of July using an open beta program. Whereas the 1080p version will be crowdfunded in the Mi Home app. There is no update yet when it will available outside of China.
