Despite the burgeoning popularity of drones today, it remains quite difficult for consumers to get their hands on one for personal use. Determined to change that, DJI released its new Flip foldable drone, causing quite a stir with the launch. The lightweight and affordable drone is a good option for beginners to get started with their recording adventures, however, the DJI Flip drone specs have been slightly overshadowed by the news that the company has lifted its geofencing restrictions.
The threat of drones in restricted, no-fly zones is one of the main reasons why the sale of drones doesn’t match those of a GoPro or another camera, however, DJI is now planning to leave it to the user’s conscience to stay away from these areas. At a time when the U.S. is moving to ban TikTok over security concerns with DJI also expected to encounter a similar block in less than a year, the decision is an odd one to be sure.
Image: DJI Flip
Let’s Hear a Round of Applause for the DJI Flip Foldable Drone
Drones serve one primary purpose for an average consumer—to capture unique aerial footage of different locations, getting a new perspective of all their special events. Yes, they have a more important role to play in shooting movies or stealing enemy secrets, but for personal use, the DJI Flip foldable drone appears to be a perfect fit.
Over the years, DJI has established itself as one of the most affordable and reliable brands of drones on the market, and while the Flip isn’t the cheapest or the most sophisticated option, it provides a comfortable middle ground for beginner drone enthusiasts who want to test the limits of drone technology.
If you’re wondering about the DJI Flip’s release date, the drone was announced on January 14, and is now available to order. You can expect shipping to begin by January 16, so it won’t be long before you can get your hands on the device.
DJI Flip Drone Camera Specs—What to Expect from Your New Floating Buddy
With the promise of a 31-minute max flight time, the DJI Flip drone features a 1/1.3-inch CMOS sensor with Dual Native ISO Fusion, offering 48MP photos and the ability to make the most of the 4x zoom. Its SmartPhoto technology allows the images to speak for itself without leaving all the work to the editor in post. With the support for shooting 180°, wide angle, vertical, and sphere panoramic photos, you’re guaranteed to find the perfect shot every time.
When it comes to video recording, you can take advantage of the 4K/60fps HDR technology to record content that is true to life. A drone works best when it is able to offer stabilized footage and auto-track the subject without having to solely rely on the flier’s skills, and the DJI Flip provides that support well. The drone has six intelligent shooting modes to simplify the experience of capturing the perfect videos and the FocusTrack feature helps keep your subject in the shot consistently.
The drone also supports slow-motion recording at 4K resolution and 100 frames per second, so if you have some cinematic shoots in mind, this flying gadget should be able to help you turn your vision into reality. If you intend to use these videos for social media, the 4:3-aspect-ratio CMOS sensor also leaves enough room for you to hold on to the subject, and the 2.7K resolution ensures the videos are primed for sharing at once.
The Battery Life and Storage Abilities of the DJI Flip
The new drone’s 3,110 mAh battery offers around 31 minutes of flying time, giving you enough room to explore and return with the right shot. The DJI Flip drone supports 1080p/60fps video transmission up to 13 km or around 8 miles, so you can let the drone out of your sight to a degree at least.
The DJI Flip Parallel Charging Hub has room to charge two batteries simultaneously, so if you decide to invest in the hub, you can extend the flight time more easily. You’ll also need to invest in high-speed microSD cards as the drone does not have any built-in storage to record your content.
Other Details of the DJI Flip That You Might Need Before Your Purchase
Weighing in at only 249 g, the drone is extremely easy to carry around but you do have to be wary about flying it under extremely windy circumstances. Its three-axis gimbal does provide some stability, but depending on your shoot location you may want a heavier drone. Additionally, you should also note that the DJI Flip does not support any FPV headsets as of now and this is unlikely to change.
The DJI Flip drone is priced at $439 and comes with a DJI RC-N3 controller that lacks a screen, but you can connect your smartphone to use it as a display. If you want the screen built in, you can buy the more expensive combo, which gives you a DJI RC 2 controller instead, for $639.
Using Wi-Fi to connect to the DJI Fly app also gives you direct control of the drone on its new vertical screen interface. The app also supports voice control, which is an interesting capability for the gadget to offer.
The Foldable Camera Drone DJI Flip’s Safety Considerations
Using a similar LiDAR system seen in the Air 3S, the drone has an obstacle detection system that should help navigate around the many challenges encountered in the open world. The 3D Infrared Sensing System helps the drone with automatic braking, so even if you miss something while flying the drone, it should be able to keep itself a little safer on its own.
The DJI Flip drone’s foldable nature makes it compact enough to carry around easily, but that’s not all. DJI explains that “The guard features a carbon fiber support structure that is only 1/60 the weight of traditional Polycarbonate (PC) material while maintaining the same stiffness.”
Apart from lending itself to a cute unicycle appearance, the propeller guard ensures the gadget is lightweight while also making it safer to be close to the drone. Considering that the drone supports a palm takeoff, you don’t have to worry about physical injury being the price to pay for a good shot.
DJI Geofence Lifted—What’s Next for the Organization?
In a blog post, DJI revealed that it had lifted its geofencing system so users will no longer be blocked from flying into restricted airspace. Instead, when users are about to enter such regions, they will receive a warning informing them that they are entering a zone where they might get in trouble.
“In these zones, in-app alerts will notify operators flying near FAA designated controlled airspace, placing control back in the hands of the drone operators, in line with regulatory principles of the operator bearing final responsibility.”
—DJI
This change had already been announced in the UK back in January 2024, so it isn’t unprecedented but it is still an odd change to make. Considering that Meta and other major companies are also kicking away the guardrail on the content on their platform, it’s inevitable that other major businesses will also start to do the same, however, as a Chinese company, DJI does face more challenges in guaranteeing the future of its business in the U.S.
Only recently, DJI was granted the opportunity to take a year to prove that it was not a threat to the U.S. population and its government, but the latest move threatens to weaken any case they may have built up. For now, users who use the DJI drones or any drones, in general, should take it upon themselves to look into avoiding any restricted areas or interrupting the rescue operations in wildfire-struck areas currently, as the FAA still has its restrictions in place.
Should these changes prevent you from investing in the DJI Flip foldable drone? Not necessarily in the present, considering any big restrictions on DJI are a while away, leaving you with enough room to fly your camera around joyfully as you please.