DJI Neo

Can this 'follow-me' drone be all things to all people without compromise?

- Adam Juniper

From £169/$199 (standalone)

www.dji.​com

Let's not beat around the bush. At its core, the DJI Neo is built around an idea borrowed from another company. The question isn't how revolutionary it is because, for once, DJI isn't the innovator here.

The question is 'Has DJI done it better?' From that perspective, the existing rival that DJI is looking to unseat is the HoverAir X1 - though history records a much less impressive 'selfie drone' (or 'follow-me drone'), the Snapchat Pixy. There are other ways we can look at the DJI Neo, though, because it does do a lot.

With DJI in the unfamiliar position of being behind the market, the company has gone all-out in terms of features, including a 4K camera and the option to control the craft 'properly' using one of the company's RC-N3 controllers - in addition to all the cleverness of automatically orbiting the owner. That means you can buy the drone as a 'selfie drone', using AI and/or an app to follow you, or you can opt to fly it more like a conventional drone. That flexibility isn't something the HoverAir X1 can do out of the box.

That perhaps hints at another of DJI's legacies - the Tello drone - now long in the tooth, but still a popular drone for beginners. Some will reasonably be asking whether this is a successor that is safe (and even educational) for children. It feels like this drone is trying to be at least three different types of models... but can it manage it?

Build and handling

DJI has opted for a rigid frame for the Neo which puts the four props in whoop-like vents, not unlike a larger version of a toy drone but built from the same matt grey plastic familiar from its Mini series drones.