Should you get the Xiaomi Mi Drone?

The Xiaomi Mi Drone is a collaboration of Xiaomi and another company, Flymi, which is also based in China. The Xiaomi Mi Drone is designed with a three-axis gimbal and comes in two models. One is capable of 4K video recording while the other version is a 1080p model with a 12-megapixel sensor and a 16-megapixel Sony sensor, respectively, mounted on motorized three-axis gimbals.

The Xiaomi Mi Drone can be folded flat to make it possible to carry on a backpack without being too bulky. It also is designed with propeller guards and the gimbal camera is also detachable. The gimbal is made of 149 grams of polycarbonate and carbon fiber material.

This flyer can record at 3,840 x 2,160-pixel resolution, 104-degree wide angle lens and has autopilot options, among others. Aside from the capability to record 4K video with the 4k version, this drone can also take RAW photos. Also, this quadcopter can hover over an object on the ground, can take off and land automatically and capable of waypoint flight path planning. Another interesting feature of the Xiaomi Mi Drone is its ability to track location in real-time which makes it easier for the user to find the device in case it crashes unexpectedly. It can also determine if the battery is already running low and once it detects this, the drone automatically returns to base, so to speak.

This Xiaomi Mi Drone is equipped with GPS and Glonass support that makes it easy to use outdoors. Other features include a visual positioning system to ensure stability when GPS is not available when hovering below 2.5 meters and flying time at a maximum of 27 minutes with the power supplied by a 5,100 mAh battery that can be removed and can perform well even at a distance of three kilometers. This device also comes with a remote control that is compatible with the Mi smartphone that also doubles as a viewfinder.

Pros
– Very modular design. Easily foldable & stowable.
– 3 Axis easy snap-in gimbal with tilt control
– Camera 1080p 60fps or 4K
– Long range (1K/2K) 2.4 Ghz control and FPV achieved via printed circuit board (PCB) antennas.
– Extra precise GPS + GLONASS + Visual Positioning
– Automatic return to home/landing on loss of signal or low battery, or manual return to landing at push of a switch.
– Automatic takeoff and landing
– Orientation Lighting
– Large Battery 17.4V 5100mah. Gives up to 27 minutes flight time

“Mi UAV” App Features
– Compass and controller calibration
– Satellite and quadcopter status monitoring
– 720p FPV
– Three automatic flight modes: Fly to Point, Waypoint Route, Circle Point
– Real time position tracking

Cons
– Excessive flight restrictions. Can not fly further than 50m altitude or 100m horizontal range until the Xiaomi Mi Drone has achieved 5 hours (300 minutes) of cumulative flight time. Additionally, the quadcopter will not proceed beyond hover if flown in restricted areas.
– Official Xiaomi “Mi UAV” app is in Chinese. It’s somewhat impossible to use unless you know Chinese. There is a non official translated version in English, however it is an older version of the app.
– The English translated version of the app kept crashing on me. First would lose FPV view, then would lose app connection with Mi drone (although I still maintained manual GPS position hold flying). However, people are not having much better luck with the official version either
– Smartphones (like mine) can be very hard to see outdoors in daylight. Might be a good idea if Xiaomi included an AV output port for goggles.

Should you get the Xiaomi Mi Drone 1080p version which sells at $400 and the 4K recording version at $456.

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