Shots also start looking a little shaky in light winds around 10 knots (5.1m\/s), and the X1 can\u2019t even fly once winds exceed a moderate 15 knots (7.7m\/s). It\u2019s also relatively slow. The X1 can track me fine on a trail run, but it\u2019ll start losing its object lock when I\u2019m road biking at a not-very-fast pace of just 12mph (20km\/h). Even when it can keep up, it\u2019ll lose me when the elevation changes rapidly on a steep climb or descent.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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Otherwise, the X1\u2019s computer vision tracking is very<\/em> good \u2014 it\u2019s the main reason you\u2019d buy this drone. But when it does lose track of me for whatever reason, it\u2019ll just stop, hover in place, and then eventually land, even over water or a busy street. There is no return-to-home feature to ensure a safe landing and recovery. It can, however, be configured to play a sound to help find it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The user interface. Going clockwise starting at six o\u2019clock, you have the big on\/off button, then flight presets for Hover, Zoom out, Follow, Orbit, Bird\u2019s eye, and custom. The smaller button in the middle is the flight mode selector. <\/em><\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
The gimbal has a controllable pitch of -90 to 15 degrees for the camera that can shoot up to 2704×1520@30fps video or 12-megapixel stills.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The cage protects the props as well as the hands of the user.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
The protective cage is built to expand and contract upon impact.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
The X1 also lacks any obstacle avoidance. Instead, the drone\u2019s four rotors are encased in a flexible plastic cage to protect the device from collisions. In most flight modes, the lack of avoidance tech isn\u2019t really a problem so long as you give the immediate area a quick survey. It becomes an issue when the drone is in follow-me mode through narrow tree-lined trails, for example, or when walking around a sharp corner inside my home. Usually, it\u2019ll just stop and hover in place if it runs into something, meaning I\u2019ll have to double back to re-engage the tracking lock on my person or to collect it. But if it hits something when going faster \u2014 like chasing me on a bike \u2014 it\u2019ll crash. My review X1 has already survived a few dozen crashes that sent it plummeting to the ground. It\u2019s fine, other than a few scuff marks.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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I did destroy another X1 when my full weight landed on it while testing some new clipless bike pedals (don\u2019t judge!). The X1 is not indestructible, but it\u2019s surprisingly robust for such a lightweight drone.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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1\/10<\/p>\n
It takes a licking but it keeps on ticking.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n\n
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1\/10<\/p>\n
It takes a licking but it keeps on ticking.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
The HoverAir X1 also lacks any kind of advanced GPS positioning. Instead, it opts for a VIO (Visual Inertial Odometry) system to estimate its position in 3D space, indoors or out, so that its preset flight modes can return the drone to its original starting point. It worked very well in my testing, often living up to the HoverAir\u2019s claim of \u201ccentimeter-level precision,\u201d even when flying orbits around me with a 20-foot (six-meter) radius.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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The drone also responds to a variety of hand gestures when the user is standing still. For example, you can send the X1 left or right with a wave of an arm or tell it to land with your arms crossed overhead. You can also just grab the drone out of the air and flip it upside down to turn those protected rotors off.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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The HoverAir X1 does offer a manual Wi-Fi-connected flight mode whereby your phone becomes the controller. It\u2019s fun, but I found it unresponsive at times, making it difficult to control flight with any real precision. I consider it a bonus feature you might want to use in a pinch.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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The X1 is limited to 32GB of built-in storage without any option for microSD expansion. I\u2019m currently using just 8.8GB to store the 113 videos and 60 images I\u2019ve shot at max resolution over the last few months of testing. The footage transfers quickly to a phone over a direct Wi-Fi connection using the HoverAir app or over USB-C to a laptop. That USB-C connection will also charge the X1\u2019s battery in about 55 minutes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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Hover mode selected and recording.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
On paper, the X1 is dumb and unremarkable. But the HoverAir is so good at doing what many people actually need from a drone that its shortcomings rarely matter at all. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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DJI is still the king of sweeping panoramas, but the HoverAir X1 makes a strong case for being the drone you choose to capture yourself doing things \u2014 indoors and out \u2014 especially for social media.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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I do wish it was more capable so I could trust it to capture action over water when kitesurfing on windy days, keep up with me when road cycling at pace, or maintain its object lock when I\u2019m bombing down a steep hill on a mountain bike. A 4K\/60fps shooting mode would also be nice so long as none of these wishes increase the price too much. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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The X1 does 90 percent of what I want a drone to do<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Still, the X1 does 90 percent of what I want a drone to do without adding GPS, obstacle avoidance sensors, and a physical controller that\u2019ll just make everything more expensive, more complicated, more cumbersome to carry, and slower to launch. Maybe DJI\u2019s rumored Neo<\/a> will fill in that last 10 percent because it certainly looks like a response to the HoverAir hype.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n