I’ve played with a few DJI drones over the years, but always found them too bulky and cumbersome to master and use spontaneously. That’s not the case with Zero Zero Robotics’ $349 HoverAir X1. This so-called “selfie drone” is so easy to use right out of the box that it has become an indispensable tool for me both for work and play.
For example, the HoverAir X1 was responsible for taking this review photo, this 360-degree GIF, and this top-down photo, as well as all the follow, track, and zoom-in/zoom-out shots used in this e-bike packaging video and this ID Buzz Electric Camper Review. Each shot is done with the push of a button on top of the drone, no controller required.
The best drones are the ones you take with you, and the ultra-lightweight HoverAir X1 easily slips into your pocket so you can take it with you wherever you go. It launches so quickly that I can impulsively snap a more interesting drone photo than just defaulting to my iPhone. It will automatically return and fall into your hands.
The HoverAir X1 isn’t without its limitations, and I did break one of the review units after a fall. But I have to admit, I love this little guy precisely for its flaws, not in spite of them.
The HoverAir X1’s flying weight is about half that of DJI’s sub-250g mini drones, so it also requires no registration and licensing requirements in most countries. It folds down into a 5 x 3.4 x 1.2 inch (127 x 86 x 31 mm) package, making it small and lightweight enough that I can comfortably carry it in my thigh pocket on long bike rides or trail runs.
The X1’s primary user interface is the two buttons on the drone itself. One turns the device on, and the other cycles through five presets, locking the camera on the user as the drone completes its intended flight path, capturing video or taking photos along the way:
- Hover — float in a fixed space and track your movements
- Follow – Fly behind or in front of you at varying altitudes and distances
- Orbit – Draw a wide circle above your head around a fixed center point
- Zoom out – fly away and up, then back
- Bird’s eye view — for top-down shooting directly on a fixed point
There’s also a sixth mode that lets you specify a slightly customized flight pattern. Hover and follow modes can record videos or take photos for several minutes at a time, while other flight modes start and end at the launch point and last about 30 seconds.
The HoverAir app lets you adjust each of its autonomous flight modes, including altitude, distance, swapping between photo or video captures, portrait or landscape orientation, and image quality. After some early experimentation to see what I like, I rarely have to tweak them again.
By a measure I like to call “drone time,” I can take the X1 out of my pocket, unfold it, turn it on, select a predefined flight path, and take it from drone to drone in less than 20 seconds. rising from the outstretched palm. DJI drones are inaccessible.
That’s not to say the HoverAir can compete with DJI’s consumer drones in terms of features or functionality. The X1’s small size means compromises, starting with the maximum video resolution of 2.7K/30fps.
In a breeze of around 10 knots (5.1m/s), the lens will also start to look a bit shaky, and once the wind speed exceeds 15 knots (7.7m/s), the X1 can’t even fly. It’s also relatively slow. The X1 tracked me well on trail runs, but when I rode a road bike at less than 12 mph (20 km/h), it started to lose target lock. Even if it could keep up, it would disorient me when the elevation changes rapidly on steep climbs or descents.
Otherwise, X1’s computer vision tracking is Very That’s great – it’s the main reason you should buy this drone. But when it loses track of me for some reason, it stops, hovers in place, and eventually lands, even on water or a busy street. There is no return-to-home function to ensure safe landing and recovery. However, it can be configured to play a sound to help find it.
The X1 also doesn’t have any obstacle avoidance features. Instead, the drone’s four rotors are encased in a flexible plastic cage to protect the device from collisions. In most flight modes, the lack of avoidance techniques isn’t really an issue as long as you do a quick survey of the nearby area. This became a problem when the drone was in follow mode, for example, walking through narrow tree-lined paths, or around sharp turns inside my home. Often, if it encounters something, it stops and hovers in place, meaning I have to double back to re-lock the tracking lock on me or collect it. But if it hits something while going faster—like chasing me on a bike—it collapses. My review X1 has survived dozens of crashes where it fell to the ground. It’s okay, except for some signs of wear.
When I was testing some new clipless bicycle pedals, I literally destroyed another X1 when my full weight fell on it (don’t judge!). The X1 isn’t indestructible, but it’s surprisingly sturdy for such a lightweight drone.
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The HoverAir X1 also lacks any advanced GPS positioning capabilities. Instead, it opts for a VIO (visual inertial odometry) system to estimate its position in 3D space (indoors or outdoors) so that its preset flight modes can return the drone to its original starting point. It worked very well in my tests, often achieving what HoverAir claims is “centimeter-level accuracy,” even when flying in orbit with a 20-foot (six-meter) radius around me.
The drone also responds to various gestures when the user is stationary. For example, you can wave your arms to move the X1 left or right, or have it land with your arms crossed overhead. You can also grab the drone out of the air and flip it over to turn off those protected rotors.
HoverAir X1 does offer a manual Wi-Fi connected flight mode, allowing your phone to become the controller. It’s fun, but I found it to be unresponsive at times, making it difficult to really control the flight with precision. I think this is an extra feature you might want to use in a pinch.
The X1’s built-in storage is limited to 32GB without any microSD expansion option. I’m currently using just 8.8GB to store the 113 videos and 60 images I shot at maximum resolution during testing over the past few months. Use the HoverAir app to quickly transfer footage to your phone via a direct Wi-Fi connection, or to a laptop via USB-C. The USB-C connection can also fully charge the X1’s battery in about 55 minutes.
On the surface, the X1 is awkward and unremarkable. But HoverAir is so good at meeting the needs of a drone that many people actually need that its shortcomings simply don’t matter.
DJI is still the king of panoramic shots, but the HoverAir X1 makes a strong case that you can choose a drone to capture yourself indoors and outdoors, especially for social media.
I do wish it were more powerful so I could trust it to capture the action on the water while kitesurfing on a windy day, keep up with me on a road ride, or hold objects while I’m hurtling down a steep hill in the mountains Lock the bike. A 4K/60fps shooting mode would also be nice, as long as those aspirations don’t lead to a steep price tag.
The X1 can do 90% of the tasks I want a drone to do
Still, the X1 can do 90% of what I want a drone to do without adding GPS, obstacle avoidance sensors, and physical controllers that just make everything more expensive and complicated , more troublesome to carry and slower to launch. Maybe DJI’s rumored Neo will fill that last 10%, as it certainly looks like an answer to the HoverAir hype.
The HoverAir X1 sells for $429, but it’s almost always on sale somewhere, usually for $350 or less. But I’d recommend picking up the $400 or so package that adds a dual-battery fast charger and two extra batteries, each of which only lasts about 10 to 12 minutes and then requires 35 minutes of charging. Like the X1 itself, they’re small and light, so you can easily bring them along to help record your next event.
All photography by Thomas Ricker / The Verge
