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Today I get the chance to introduce a pretty popular drone for content creators who want aerial shots focused on their movement, basically a drone designed to follow and record the user.
I’m talking about the HOVERAir X1, which is also an extremely lightweight drone. The drone itself weighs just 42 grams, reaching about 125 grams with a battery. So it was definitely interesting to test it and see both its strengths and where there’s room for improvement.
Unboxing
Right out of the box, I found the drone, two batteries, a dual charging hub, a charging cable, a carrying pouch, and the user manual.
And yes, just like you might be thinking, this drone does not include a remote controller, mainly because it’s not meant to need one.
The main idea behind this drone is that it’s designed to follow you at all times, so if you want natural-looking shots, the last thing you’d expect is having to control it manually. That’s exactly why it’s so popular among content creators. That said, you can still control it using gestures, even while it’s in the air, through the built-in buttons on the drone, or through the app.
As you can see, this drone has a different design compared to what I’m used to.
I like that the propellers are protected. Most drones have exposed propellers, which has always felt a bit dangerous to me since they can cause injuries. Drone propellers can spin really fast.
So since the HOVERAir X1 will be flying close to me most of the time, I feel more comfortable knowing the propellers won’t cut me if it accidentally bumps into me.
Flight test
Taking off with this drone was quite an experience because I’m used to doing it manually. Seeing it basically control itself felt a bit strange at first. Instinctively, I kept watching it just to make sure it was actually following me and not heading straight into a wall.
By this point, I already trusted the HOVERAir X1, so I started jogging a bit, and the tracking worked really well. Even the stabilization impressed me. I thought it might struggle, but it did a solid job.
The possibilities with this drone are pretty wide, because it’s basically like having a cameraman following you around all the time, but for free. Recording while riding a bike, training outdoors, or even hiking becomes really easy. It’s a really, really good drone for that.
I’m surprised that despite being so small and light, it’s actually a very smart drone.
The image quality is good. It records at up to 2.7K resolution, with HDR available when set to 1080p. It also includes 32 GB of internal storage, so there’s no need to buy a separate microSD card.
How long does the battery last?
This combo includes two rechargeable batteries, and each one gives about 11 minutes, so you get around 22 minutes of total flight time.
Downsides
The drone is great because it’s genuinely smart and reliable, even though it controls itself about 99% of the time. The only downside I found is that it’s not meant for high altitudes. Ideally, you’ll want to keep it around 10 to 15 meters. Again, this isn’t a drone designed for height, it’s designed to follow you constantly, so keep that in mind.
Is it worth it?
If you’re a content creator or someone who wants to post on social media, it’s definitely worth it. It’s one of the easiest drones to use and set up because it basically flies itself most of the time.
It’s very different from other drones we’ve covered, so it’s aimed at a specific audience looking for constant movement and tracking shots.
Where to buy the HOVERAir X1 drone? Available here on Amazon!