HOVER AIR X1
- Home
- HOVER AIR X1
Your personal aerial photographer
They call it “the flying selfie stick” and, after appearing in May 2023 for a period of crowd funding on the platform Indiegogo amid various skepticisms due to innovation and the high expectations that were exponentially created with each update by Zero Zero Robotics, finally saw the light of day a few months later to everyone’s amazement while keeping its promises: theHoverAir X1 Is finally available on the market!
Within a few weeks the first reviews began to populate the web thanks to all the “earlybirds” who bet on the product and fortunately displaced the wary, assured the incredulous, and surprised all the “outsiders” who were waiting for confirmation before making a purchase.
Yes gentlemen, theHoverAir X1 confirms expectations and stands as one of the best novelties of the year!
What are we talking about
TheHoverAir X1 is, summed up to the bare minimum, an autonomous portable drone equipped with artificial intelligence that allows us to capture in photo and video format every noteworthy moment of our day without the aid of any remote control, with astounding simplicity and speed, so that we can share it with friends, familia and on any online platform at a moment’s notice. A true pioneer in its genre.
Main features
-
Weight: 125 grams (including battery), making it lighter than most smartphones on the market.
-
Dimensions: open measures 127x86x31mm, closed 127x145x30. Comparing it with a smartphone, for example my iPhone 12 pro max, it turns out twice as thick but a few inches smaller.
-
Memory: 32gb built-in (not expandable, but more than enough). It should be noted that of the total memory, 24gb remains available as the operating system and system files occupy 8gb.
-
Wind resistance: level 4 certification, ossía has the ability to fly in a maximum wind of 8m/s (about 30km/hr). To get a clearer idea, you can use it safely until you see any flag stretching out completely in the wind.
-
Flying distance: about 15 meters. Distance that, thanks to the lens (of the camera and the product itself), is sufficient for any shot.
-
Flight speed: about 25km/hr. That is, you can film yourself running or riding a bike (in follow mode). It is also plausible to do this while on a motorcycle but it is more limiting even though, depending on the shots you want to get, you can achieve optimal and impressive results.
-
Image quality: video recording at 2.7k @ 30fps , 1080 @ 30fps, 1080 @ 30fps HDR, 1080 @ 60fps. Shots can be taken in horizontal or vertical format despite the latter being a “crop” of the former.
-
Lens stabilization: is provided by a triple stabilization system consisting of a gimbal (like a single-axis gimbal), an electronic image stabilization system (EIS) and a horizon leveling system.
-
Battery: 11 minutes of flight time with a charging time of 55 minutes (with direct cable to drone) or 35 minutes with auxiliary (dual) charger.
-
Protection: the drone is protected entirely by a high-strength and elastic plastic cage that allows it to take off and land safely from the palm of your hand without any worries, including in the presence of people and children. Even in the event of a collision, it is incredibly protected. Only note: the only part that remains unprotected is the target for which perhaps a better situation should have been studied.
-
Updates: constant, firmware-level and software-level.
-
Colors: white or black.
Bullet points
-
Ultra lightweight: its record-breaking weight, despite making it more vulnerable to wind makes us forget we have it on us by taking it with us everywhere.
-
Ultra compact: the size allows you to place it almost anywhere, including in the pockets of sweatshirts, jackets, pants or in any fanny pack without ever thinking of leaving it at home because you don’t know where to put it.
-
Smart: no need for cables, remotes, gps signals, prohibited areas, selections of subjects to be tracked… Two buttons, the end.
-
Durable: never say never, but it turns out to be really hard to be able to break it thanks to the cage enclosing almost the entire drone; and also thanks to the maximum distance/height and top speed.
Hotspots
-
Autonomy: with the press of a button, the drone takes off and lands directly from your hand.
-
Obstacle sensors: the drone has no real sensors to avoid obstacles, but it solves the absence of obstacles egregiously through the AI of the camera itself (VIO Technology – Visual Inertial Odometry) and with ToF (Time of Flight) laser distance sensors placed below the same and accurate to the centimeter.
-
GPS: no GPS system is present. The artificial intelligence and sensors mentioned in the previous point process en information in milliseconds without the need for a satellite signal. This results in less weight and no wait for satellite lock.
what it allows us to do
TheHoverAir X1 is capable of taking off and landing directly from the palm of your hand by simply pressing a button located on its back. It does not need any remote control (although with the app you can also control it in manual mode) or even to frame the subject because the AI takes care of everything by tracking it automatically and with great accuracy.
The required smart flight mode is selected directly through a button on the drone itself and located on the back near the power on/off button. Through the app, beforehand, it is also possible to change and set certain interesting parameters such as flight distance and height, photo or video mode, image quality, format… as well as being able to download content from the gallery and including editing it directly.
TheHoverAir X1 also has a microphone to record audio which, clearly, includes the very noise the drone makes while flying. But… if we record the audio through the app itself while recording video, the AI of the software will cancel out the sound of the drone leaving the voice and any other sound intact! In addition, after testing it, I can also confirm that it is possible to record audio using regular wired or bluetooth earphones without having to use the smartphone as a microphone (and thus even with a helmet on..) !
Flying modes
There are currently 8 flight modes of which 5 primaryand 2 secondary can be configured through the control key, and 1 manual flight through the app; the latter can be activated after 5 completed automatic flights.
In all modes it is possible to configure (with memory) the type of recording (photo or video), flight distance, height, video quality and format (horizontal or vertical).
The primary modes are:
-
Hover: the drone will take off and then position itself at the selected height/distance and remain motionless following the subject by rotating on the vertical axis. You can program it to stay indefinitely or by selecting a variable time after which it will return and land.
-
Zoom Out: the drone will move horizontally (and if desired vertically) away from the subject and then return to the same trajectory. In this mode we will get two separate videos: one of the outward and one of the return.
-
Follow: The drone will position itself at the selected distance/height and follow the subject from behind in its movements by maintaining the distance and accelerating/decelerating according to the subject.
-
Orbit: the drone will position itself at the selected distance/height and make a 360-degree turn (or 3 turns, or just 180 degrees) around the subject.
-
Bird’s Eye: The drone will move vertically away from the subject until it reaches the selected height and rotates on the vertical axis at the required speed, still maintaining a view of the subject. Again there will be two videos, one of the ascent and one of the descent.
The secondary modes are selected through the app on the “custom” button and are:
-
Snapshot: the drone will position itself at the selected distance/height and take photos in the moments when we stand still. You will get the photos taken and an edited video with music of video and photos.
-
Dolly track: one of the most interesting modes, although not always usable accurately, by which the drone will perform the same tracking as the “Follow” mode but following us from the front (the drone will fly in reverse gear).
The manual flight mode allows you to control the drone through the app as if it were a remote control where there are two joysticks and a record button. Since it was not developed for this purpose, the mode is very basic but still allows you to record some worthwhile scenes.
Why ?
Why it is interesting for us motorcyclists
Because, thanks mainly to size and weight, it allows you to carry it anywhere without needing additional space and very easily and get photos and videos in a moment even while sitting on the bike. It solves the “problem” of when we want to take a selfie or a photo/video with friends but we never know where to place the smartphone, who to ask to take a picture or we don’t have a portable “tripod” with us.
Why choose it instead of (or in addition to) a conventional drone
Personally, for the following considerations:
-
not having to carry a remote control (which is sometimes bigger than the drone itself..), connect the smartphone, cables, satellites, prohibited areas of flight and the time we lose every time.
-
the ability to put it anywhere as if it were a wallet and use it for any kind of shooting: alone, with a couple, with friends, with family, doing sports…
-
being that it does not stray more than 15 meters, that it is ultra-protected and that it weighs only 125 grams, there are not even any legal problems in its use if used consciously.
-
The ease and speed of use. Pull out, open, power button, flight mode button, takeoff, landing, shutdown button. 1 minute and I’m ready to go again.
-
image quality, although not excelling, is still optimal for posting photos and videos on social media and for nonprofessional videos on youtube without needing performance computers to handle 4k formats and with the ability to process everything “in app.”
-
the app itself is very easy to use, is intuitive, and is compatible (in terms of menu size) to use with gloves.
Main limits
Clearly, theHoverAir X1 also has limitations: some are peculiar to the drone itself, others I have noticed during its use over time.
-
Wind: 8m/s – 30km/hr. A fully extended flag and game over. I must say that the drone still holds up very well but the stabilization starts to suffer a lot.
-
Maximum distance: 15 meters, although for the purpose for which it was created and the wide-angle lens are more than enough.
-
Sensors: distance sensors watch over the terrain constantly, and the camera tries to avoid whatever obstacles come into its view through AI. And I must say that theHoverAir X1 does an excellent job. But… in some modes such as “Dolly Track”, “Orbit”, “Bird’s Eye”… we will have to supervise a priori that the area is clear as the side, top and rear areas are uncovered.
-
Types of terrain: again due to the type of sensors used, it is not possible to fly the drone over bodies of water (the reflection knocks out the sensors) or outside of precipices, where in any case the difference in elevation between the subject and the drone changes considerably. And I say this knowledgeably because by performing all the relevant tests...I left an X1 in the sea….
-
The camera records with good quality relative to the negligible size of the sensor, but only in optimal light. In other contexts of low light or large difference between light and shadow, the loss of quality begins to be noticeable. The absence of the 4k format limits us a little in case of “cropping.”
-
In the manual mode, there is no possibility, for now, to adjust the movement speed. If we want a slower “slow motion” style shot, it is best to record in 1080 @ 60fps so that we can slow down by 2x during editing while maintaining the smoothness of the video.
-
Very useful clearly the possibility of download content with very good transfer speed through the app but I would also have liked to be able to download files directly to the computer to avoid a round of transfers (and loss of time) by passing content from the drone to the app, from the app to the smartphone, and finally to the computer. However, the files are renamed with the flight mode and date, and it is therefore easy to reconfigure them.
Do I have to use my hand for takeoff or landing ?
No, although it is the greatest convenience and incredibly simple. But another question that arises is: what if I am not ready to reach out when the drone tries to land what happens?
No problem, theHoverAir X1 will start communicating through the LEDs the will to land and once the time comes, thanks to the laser distance sensors with the ground it will approach the same slowly until landing in an extremely safe and stable way.
Why buy it ?
If you like to take photos and videos to send to your friends or to post on your social platforms but every time you don’t know where to put your smartphone or you don’t want to bring your selfie pole or a tripod… or you like to accumulate memories when you go out with your friends, family etc.. it’s a must! In fact, you will have a thousand eyes on you from all the people who will be amazed…!
Finally
After using theHoverAir X1 for a period of time, I never had the feeling of insecurity typical of some drones, especially small ones. I have enjoyed using it and have created content that I otherwise could not have created except at greater expense. Do I recommend it? Currently the price is discounted by about 10% but it is still a challenging price; if you like to take photos and videos, take selfies and are a frequent user of social media… then yes. The freedom it gives and the results you get is unmatched to date in the market. And I emphasize that this review is neither sponsored nor paid for by Zero Zero Robotics, is my peronal and disinterested opinion.
For any information, elucidation or dispute on the matter… please feel free to contact me at my social profiles or through a comment in the appropriate section below…!
Gas to life!
