DJI unveils the DJI Flip with foldable wings capable of shooting at 4K/60 resolution

Ultralight drones are experiencing a mini-renaissance leading up to 2025. We’ve seen more designs small enough to take off and land in the palm of your outstretched hand, but the new DJI Flip offers one of the best drone designs yet. Flip’s transforming wings fold down for easy transport, making him look like the robot you saw wandering around the cantina in Star Wars Skeleton Crew.

The Flip is another lightweight drone that can be launched from practically anywhere. He loves DJI Neo at $200 last year, It includes several automatic shooting modes for vloggers who don’t want to mess with the app or physical controls. The Flip’s best upgrade is a 48-megapixel, 1/1.3-inch CMOS sensor, which can shoot a maximum of 4K video at 60 fps with HDR. The Flip can also record slow-motion videos at up to 100fps in 4K resolution.

DJI let us fly the drone in a short indoor demo outside of CES. While we didn’t have the space to test its speed, I was impressed by its stability in the air. The four cages surrounding the fans are metal, not plastic. This would, in theory, make it more durable, although DJI will sell additional propeller blades. The drone is not heavy either as it weighs just 249 grams or just over 0.5 pounds. It may not be as light as the DJI Neo, but you should get better stability with the extra weight.

Folding the face up was also easy and smooth, although you have to remember to turn on the back fins before doing the front fins. I wasn’t able to delve into the image quality during the short demo. DJI promises that you’ll get video quality on par with the company’s Mini 4 Pro drone or Osmo Pocket 3 gimbal.

DJI’s last ultralight drone, the DJI Neo, was almost too good for its low starting price, and the Chia-based drone maker has a slightly larger design, is a little more expensive, but should deliver better 4K FPS and better battery life Three times. The Flip can run at 4K resolution at 60fps compared to 30fps on the NEO, and the new drone promises a flight time of up to 31 minutes. Battery life will likely be less during actual use, especially if you try to use it in Sport mode, but it’s a step up from the Neo’s 10-15 minute flight time on a single charge. The new drone still has the same quick shots that allow you to perform a quick panning motion or bounce if you’re trying to shoot a quick Instagram video.

If you’re familiar with drones, you’ll probably notice the similarities between the DJI Flip and the HOVERAir X1. This MSRP $520 drone can also be folded enough to slip into a purse or oversized pocket. Like the Neo, this device doesn’t include any GPS or obstacle avoidance technology, though the DJI Flip can detect nearby objects to avoid crashing into a tree. Obstacle avoidance on DJI can be very sensitive, but switching the drone into sports modes will allow you to crash into as many walls as you want.

The DJI Flip is positioned between the ultra-small and ultra-light DJI Neo and the DJI Mini. While the Neo was incredibly agile and noisy, especially indoors, the Flip is more stable thanks to its extended wingspan. It sounds more like a large buzzing insect than a small tornado, especially when flying indoors. The other advantage of a larger lens is that it also accepts ND filters for high-speed shots. DJI said it will sell a pack of 16, 64, or 256 ND filters, though they will be sold separately.

The DJI Flip retails for $440, although if you want the RC 2 controller, you’ll need to pay up to $640. The Fly More Combo with controller, three batteries, and charging hub costs $780. The drone should be available to order starting Tuesday. The American government is Still hemming and hawing On whether sales of DJI drones will be banned due to concerns that the Chinese company may threaten the United States. If you want to get a DJI drone, it may be better to act sooner rather than later. However, you should always check reviews, including ours, before hitting any buy buttons.