DJI’s latest drone launched this week and the NEO is a very different drone than we’ve ever seen from DJI. The NEO is small, fits in the palm of your hand, but is the most affordable drone in DJI’s lineup.
The DJI Neo starts at just A$299 for the drone, or A$539 for the DJI Neo Fly More Combo which includes the RC-N3 Remote Controller and 3x batteries with a charging hub. At those prices, this is definitely going to be a popular Christmas present in 2024.
Having used the drone for a couple of weeks now, I was able to spend time with it, learn it’s features, capabilities and limitations and now have a full review for you.
At DJI we are always studying everyday camera use so that we can help people capture their videos and photos in the most convenient way possible. The DJI Neo strives to give people the latest tech in the smallest form factor so that they can capture their daily lives, saved as treasured memories, safely and with ease.
Ferdinand Wolf, Creative Director at DJI.
Design
When I first starting flying DJI, it was with their phantom range of drones, which had fixed landing gear and were effectively a cube shape. This made the drone incredibly awkward to transport. Thankfully over the years, DJI has moved to foldable designs for most of their drones, making them easy to throw in a backpack for easy transport.
The DJI NEO is easily their smallest drone, which fits in the palm of your hand and even in your pocket, making it the ultimate in portable drones. Being so small and light, tipping the scales at just 135g, you’ll be able to take it with you more often and capture more of the world around you.
The weight also comes in under the 149 gram limit that has been universally established as the weight that requires additional approval. If this drone hits you, it won’t hurt you and with the included prop guards it probably won’t hurt the drone either.
If you hit 250 grams, then there’s a whole other set of regulations that apply to your drone use, so it’s smart for DJI to deliver an ultra-light ultra-portable drone. This opens the door to use by more people in more places and I suspect the DJI NEO will be very popular this Christmas.
It is important to recognise that many of the other CASA regulations still apply to drone use, that is flying at night is still off limits in Australia, as is flying over people, buildings etc.
The drone itself is a familiar matte grey colour that we see across the DJI lineup, with a fixed chassis complete with the familiar 4-prop design. This time we see integrated prop guards which technically are removable, but I’m not quite sure why you would, they’ve certainly saved me a couple of times.
DJI have once again offered a different battery format with the NEO and if you pop if off the bottom of the drone, it’s remarkable how light this thing is.
The drone is offers on-board storage (22GB) and no microSD card slot, however the footage is easily transferrable to the DJI Fly app. You can also offload the storage using the USB-C port on the rear of the drone.
On the front of the drone, you’ll find the camera that offers 4K quality, and while it rotates on the vertical axis, it actually features some impressive stabilisation in all directions.
Performance
The drone’s key feature is it’s ability to operate autonomous, just select a pre-set Quick Shots by pressing the dedicated flight mode button on top of the drone to select and you’ll hear audible feedback along with an LED indicator for which is selected.
To take off, just hold down the flight mode button and the drone will spring in to action from the palm of your hand.
The pre-set flight modes are really that, pre-set, there’s no ability for this to be expanded by software over time. This is one area I hope DJI improve on with the NEO 2.
The flights themselves happen reliably, something important when you consider this drone can and will be operated without a controller. Each pre-set flight takes a couple of minutes to execute and return to you, but is super simple, easy enough to be used by people at almost any age.
When you review the footage from the drone, it is impressively smooth, but the quality can suffer in lower-light, so you should plan most of your adventures during good light.
With the propellers being smaller, they have to spin faster to achieve the same velocity, as such the drone does produce a significant amount of noise while in flight. If you have pets etc then you may need to consider them before taking off.
While the flight time was impressive for such a small battery, I did notice that the drone was pretty keen to return home with plenty of margin. Given the small form factor, wind can be a serious consideration, so this isn’t a bad thing.
Features
Simply pressing the drone’s mode button and selecting the desired shooting mode, Neo automatically does the rest without the need for a remote control.
The drone can capture footage with its 1/2-inch image sensor to create 4K/30fps stabilised video.
AI Subject Tracking
Naturally any device released in 2024 will come with some form of AI and DJI has powered the NEO with AI algorithms that can detect and follow a subject (read: person) within the frame. Whether cycling, skateboarding or hiking, captivating follow shots are created with ease.
Additional creativity can be achieved by taking advantage of Neo’s QuickShots, which has six intelligent shooting modes, offering a range of different recording angles.
- Dronie: The drone flies backward and ascends, with the camera locked on the subject, and records a video.
- Circle: The drone circles around the subject.
- Rocket: The drone ascends with the camera pointing downward.
- Spotlight: The drone rotates while keeping the object of interest within the frame
- Helix: The drone ascends and spirals around the subject.
- Boomerang: The drone flies around the subject in an oval path, ascending as it flies away from its starting point and descending as it flies back. The aircraft’s starting point forms one end of the oval’s long axis, while the other end is at the subject’s opposite side from the starting point.
Control it Your Way
The DJI Neo has been designed to be operated without an additional remote control, however, it can also be paired with the DJI Fly app, remote controllers, RC Motion, DJI Goggles, and even voice operated, for increased flight and camera control.
A Wi-Fi connection to smartphones enables Neo to be controlled using virtual joysticks on the DJI Fly app interface with a control range of up to 50 meters. The app also allows the tracking angle and distance to be set, giving extra freedom to shoot from afar or up close.
When combined with the DJI RC-N3, DJI Neo can achieve a maximum video transmission distance of 10 kilometers1 and offers the opportunity to flexibly operate the camera using traditional RC control sticks to capture professional-level shots.
Something I wasn’t able to test was the FPV option, which requires the DJI Neo to be paired with DJI Goggles 3, RC Motion 3, or FPV Remote Controller 3.
For those who already have the latest FPV equipment, this is a really important inclusion, allowing you to use the RC Motion 3 to control the drone and provide what is effectively the closest experience to being a bird.
Stabilization as Standard
DJI Neo is equipped with a single-axis mechanical gimbal and is capable of handling high-speed or flights with lots of manoeuvres, as well as up to Level-4 wind conditions.
When combined with RockSteady or HorizonBalancing stabilisation, overall image shake is significantly reduced and horizon tilt is corrected within ±45°, for smooth and stable footage that maintains clarity in both highlight and shadow areas.
Using an infrared and monocular vision positioning system, DJI Neo can hover steadily in the air, maintaining stability even in wind conditions up to Level 4. It also supports automatic Return to Home (RTH) for convenient, worry-free operation. This means if you do get low on battery life, the drone will enter RTH mode and get you back safely.
Content creation made easy
Audio can also easily be recorded by connecting Neo to a smartphone. A simple tap of the audio record button on the DJI Fly app will start recording through the phone’s built-in microphone. For those looking for additional audio quality, the DJI Mic 2 can be used via a Bluetooth connection. The app automatically eliminates propeller noise and merges the audio track with the footage, ensuring clear sound even when shooting low-angle vlogs.
The DJI Fly app offers a vast selection of templates, sound and image effects, for quick and easy editing. Create and share videos efficiently without needing to download the footage to edit, saving storage space on the phone.
Connect the aircraft directly to a power source using a Type-C data cable for convenient charging. Additionally, DJI Neo’s Two-Way Charging Hub can charge three batteries simultaneously1, increasing both charging speed and efficiency.
Issues and Opportunities
While there’s a lot to love, not everything is perfect. The low-light performance was probably my biggest complaint, which I’m sure was a the result of complex decisions at DJI in senor size versus price considerations.
The drone also lacks the sensor technology available on higher-priced models, meaning that it’ll happily take your controller inputs left/right and backwards, even if there are obstacles in the way.
While no drone is uncrashable, the technology and sensors in a Mavic drone are clearly superior to the NEO.
Price and Availability
The DJI Neo is available to order from store.dji.com/au and authorised retail partners, with shipping starting today, in the following configurations:
- DJI Neo retails for $299 AUD.
- DJI Neo Fly More Combo retails for $539 AUD.
Overall
Ultimate the DJI is an amazing product that really fights at the entry level price point for drones. Historically you may have wanted a DJI drone because of its quality and technology, but were scared off by the $1000+ price tag.
The DJI NEO allows them to capture a new portion of the market they’ve never had access to. The kind of more casual drone user that may not want to invest substantially for casual use.
I think for the money, there’s no better drone you can buy and those who can step up to the Fly More Combo with the controller will be best served by a cross-section of use cases.. allowing you to fly with control when you want it, or hand it to your kids for simple operation with the in-build flight modes.
I can’t wait to see how DJI evolve this product in the future, but regardless of the feature set, the price point may be the most significant feature of this drone, making it accessible to more.
Expect DJI NEO to by on the Christmas list of many Aussie kids this year.
