Hands On with AUTEL EVO 2 at CES2020 : 3 Gimbals, Max Flight Time and SO MUCH MORE!

In the last year drone consumers have been in a holding pattern. Caught between the features they want, trade wars and increased regulation, they’ve been holding out for something more.

That ‘something more’ is the Autel EVO 2 Series of drones, and we can tell you first hand that this drone absolutely stole the show at CES2020 in Las Vegas.

Being the most talked about drone company at CES, 4 years after drones were the big thing is actually an even bigger thing on many levels.

But it’s one thing to write about a product, and even more to have actually experienced it first hand.

What Makes Evo 2 So Special

If we backtrack about a year or so, to when DJI Global launched the Mavic 2 Series of drones, we realize we were at a breakthrough moment.  The new Mavic 2 drone, available with 2 different, but incredible, camera gimbal configurations helped DJI take yet another leap forward against it’s marginalized competition.

But the first question everyone asked about the Mavic 2 Series back in 2019 was “are the gimbals interchangeable?”

They weren’t, although a cottage industry of tech enthusiasts is swapping gimbals for users in the most inefficient way possible.

What makes the EVO 2 so special is more than just interchangeable gimbals.  It’s the ease with which the gimbals can be swapped(see below).But if that weren’t enough to steal the show, it’s the fact that the entry level Evo 2 shoots 8K video and 48MP stills with a price point of $1495.

Think about that.  The “base model” shoots 8K video and 48 MP stills. Autel’s team knew they were in a gun fight and showed up with a bazooka.

If you watch our YouTube interview (above) with Tim Matthews, Senior Creative Director at Autel, you’ll hear him say “it’s not entry level at all.”  And he’s right. A quadcopter with 40 minutes of flight time, 3 swappable gimbals, 8K video and 48 MP stills is so far from ‘entry level’ that anyone producing a drone below these specs just got parked.

If you’re Autel’s competition, the price point is the final punch to the gut.  Here are the options and pricing:

The ‘base model’ 8K EVO 2 will retail starting at $1495. That’s $234 LESS than a 4K/20MP Mavic 2 Pro (for buyers in the United States).

But that’s just the starting point for the EVO 2 Series.  EVO 2 has 40 minutes of flight time, or 35 minutes at hover…which is almost 30% more than a Mavic 2.

Next up is the 6K version, called Evo 2 PRO with an adustable aperture and other features.  Still photo resolution drops down to 20MP, but still on par with the 4K Mavic 2.  You’ll be able to buy the 6K EVO 2 Pro later this year for $1745….a mere $16 more than the Mavic 2 Pro.

The top model. the EVO 2 Dual features the base model’s 8K camera along with a 640×512 FLIR sensor

Easy to Swap

Changing gimbals is as simple as removing 4 screws and disconnecting one ribbon cable. That’s it.  The gimbal mount itself connects to the drone body with two pins at the front of the drone.  Once in place simply insert the two connecting screws and ribbon cable, and then replace the outer plastic cover with the other two screws.

So simple, yet so incredibly smart.

On Board Storage

EVO 2 can take cards up to 256G and has 8GB of additional internal storage as a bonus, for those times when you forget an microSD card. And on board storage has emerged as a necessary feature on new drone offerings these days.

Shipping by Spring

Autel definitely doesn’t want to over promise and under deliver on shipping expectations, so they’re not providing firm dates yet on when the first drones will be available.

The demo units at CES came straight from the production line, but we expect Autel to being shipping by late February / early March once further testing is complete and fligth software is given the final green light. 

Everyone in the drone community, from serious recreational pilots to commercial operators, has taken notice of the Autel EVO 2 and the buzz is real.  Autel EVO 2 is the first serious challenger attempting to displace DJI’s stranglehold on the global UAV market.  With products like the EVO 2, it almost certainly will happen.

Autel EVO 2 will be available through Autel’s traditional retail channels at BestBuy, B&H Photo and Amazon.  Due to ITAR requirements, contact Autel directly for purchasing options for the EVO 2 Dual.

Be sure to subscribe for notifications to be the first to know when the Autel EVO 2 is available for order as well as key shipping dates!

If you’re a drone enthusiast, 2020 is going to be a great year.  Will you buy the Autel EVO 2? Let us know in the comments below.