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Natt Garun
US EditorNatt Garun is the former US Editor at The Next Web, managing the North American team on content, events, features and reviews coverage. She Natt Garun is the former US Editor at The Next Web, managing the North American team on content, events, features and reviews coverage. She previously wrote for Digital Trends, Business Insider, and Gizmodo. Facebook | Twitter | Google+
Xiaomi’s first drone is official, and you can probably guess what its name is.
The Mi Drone features a 104-degree wide angle lens camera capable of taking 1080p or 4K image-stablized video, and can stream 720p live video. Specifically, the camera use a Sony 12.4 megapixel sensor, which captures video at 3,840 x 2,160 and 30 fps.
The battery life is estimated to last up to 27 minutes of continuous flying, and has automatic lift-off and landing modes. Other autopilot functions include flight path planning, circling around an object on a map, and targeting a place on a map to fly.
Of course, it being Xiaomi, price is very competitive with others in the high-end drone space: The HD version starts at $380, and 4K video model at $450. But don’t get too excited – the lower-end version will launch through a crowdfunding model on Xiaomi’s site, and the 4K model will arrive later this July in an open beta.
If you’re able to wait a bit, it’s a steal compared to DJI’s drones.