Resembling a multi-wheel penny-farthing, DJI’s new Flip foldable quadcopter definitely cuts a new look even for a company known for innovating and testing new boundaries. The Flip is poised to one-up the company’s own Neo and HoverAir’s Pro and ProMax by not just offering automated operation with a single button press, but also possess range and operational distance like that of DJI’s higher-end siblings.
Today, the long-rumored DJI Flip has finally gone live. At $440, the DJI Flip slots (not officially, anyway) between the $200 DJI Neo and the Mini 4 (or upcoming Mini 5, for that matter), merging the unique foldable design with quality optics and longer flight time. While the under 249-gram Flip doesn’t fold down compactly to fit into a jacket pocket like the HoverAir Pros can, it makes for rapid deployment and storage; it turns on and off when you fold/unfold it. The larger motor and ducted rotors provide higher horizontal speeds (12m/s or 27mph) and resistance (10.7m/s, Level 5) against winds compared to, say, the smaller Neo.
Optically, the Flip boasts a three-axis gimbal for stable video capture and that content creators and professionals can leverage 10-bit D-Log M recordings. The camera sensor is a 1/1.3-inch f/1.7 4K/60 unit with a comparatively narrow 82.1° field-of-view. Users have the ability to shoot 2.7K vertical video and up to 48MP photos as well.
Similar to both the Neo and Pro/Pro Max, the Flip can be launched and used without a controller. Using a button and front display to cycle through various auto flight modes, users can initiate aerial selfies and auto-tracking modes. Unfortunately, the Flip only possesses front 3D ToF and plus downward visual and IR sensors for object detection, which prevents it from flying backwards, such as to perform auto dolly tracking.
Where the Flip has the upper hand over the similarly priced HoverAir Pro and ProMax is operational range. A larger battery pack allows for a maximum of 31 minutes of flight compared to 16 minutes on the ProMax. And then there’s the fact that the Flip can be controlled by either the RC-N3 and RC 2 controller. With GPS on board (which the HoverAir doesn’t have) and O4 video transmission between drone and the controller, the Flip is claimed to have a 14km (8.7mi) unobstructed range.
The DJI Flip is available today starting at $440 for the drone and the RC-N3 (that uses your phone as the view finder). Upgrading to the RC 2 controller with built-in display will set you back $640, while the More Combo which adds two extra batteries on top of that will be $780. So far, DJI doesn’t sell the basic RC-N3 set as a More Combo package.