The DJI Phantom 4 has been, pretty much, the default choice for anyone interested in the high-end of the consumer drone market. If the price of DJI’s flagship flyer is a tad too high for your liking, though, then you may want to check out the Autel Robotics X-Star Premium.
Designed to match the DJI Phantom 4 spec-by-spec, it does everything the market-leading drone can do while coming in at a more affordable price. That means, you can enjoy everything from 4K recordings and HD live streaming to easy operation and sophisticated autonomous functions.
The Autel Robotics X-Star Premium has an integrated 4K UHD camera and three-axis gimbal that lets you shoot stabilized 4K video at 30fps, along with 12 megapixel stills. Both are removable, by the way, allowing you to easily upgrade to a better video setup over time. During filming, it can transmit 1080p footage over distances of up to 1.2 miles, so you can see everything it captures in real time. It uses both GPS and GLONASS for navigation to ensure accurate positioning, all while optically tracking its position to ensure it can keep flying accurately even when GPS/GLONASS signals go out.
Features include multiple autonomous flight features (follow, orbit, waypoints, and more), up to 25 minutes of flight time on a single charge, and integrated safety features (e.g. it automatically flies back home when it detects magnetic interference). It comes with a 2.5Ghz controller that sports an integrated LCD for showing critical flight telemetry data and a dock for your phone (so you can watch the live view from the companion app).
Available now, the Autel Robotics X-Star Premium is priced at $780.