Earlier this year we told you about Skydio R1 — a new, autonomous drone being developed by former Google engineers Adam Bry and Abe Bachrach. Back then we only knew the drone was in development could be operated by an iOS Apple or Android device.
Today we learned that the Skydio R1 has officially been released and is available now at the Apple Store ($1999). Which makes a lot of sense now that we know you can control the Skydio R1 with an Apple Watch.
The Skydio R1 is a truly autonomous drone that’s designed to fly and capture it’s subject without an operator manning a controller. It does this through complex machine vision and artificial intelligence that has taken years to develop.
While Apple users will still need an iPhone to launch the Skydio R1, you can use an Apple Watch to do a host of functions that access various features of the Skydio R1. You can select subjects on your Apple Watch, that Skydio sees, so they can be tracked. Or you can use your Apple Watch to chose a different flight mode. Even the digital crown of the Apple Watch comes in to play allowing you to rotate the Skydio R1 in flight.
Product highlights:
- 4k, 30fps
- 1080p, 30, 60fps
- Sony IMX377 — 1/2.3″ sensor
- Vibration isolated
- 150° FOV
- 64GB onboard storage
- 1.5 hrs @ 4K, 4.5 hrs @ 1080p30
- Stabilized
(2 axis mechanical gimbal,
1 axis flight control) - Pitch range: +50° to -105°
- Roll range: +35° to -35°
With a Wifi controlled range of just 300 feet, Skydio R1 is designed for close control. Other consumers drones, such as the DJI Spark, Mavic Air and Mavic Pro, also have smartphone with range up to 80m (about 260 feet). But the DJI drones also have controllers that allow for longer distance with better reception. The Mavic Air can be controlled up to 4km under ideal conditions.
And DJI’s newest drone, the Hasselblad equipped Mavic 2 Pro has a range up to 8km (almost 5 miles).
With a 16 minute battery, it’s may look like Skydio R1 isn’t looking to conquer great distances, but you’d be wrong. Skydio R1 lives to track it’s subject. Whether you’re trail running in the foothills or skiing in the backcountry. Because it’s autonomous, all of that battery life is going to be spent tracking and filming.
From what we’ve seen, Skydio R1 is the best flying action-camera available today. But it’s better than that because it’s “self flying”. We’ve been using drones for years, and there are times when it feels like we’re spending more time adjusting settings and piloting than actually filming. Skydio R1 is like a self-flying GoPro with such incredible obstacle avoidance that it can run circles around drones that are operated by a human; and help you capture more footage from more areas where a human piloted drone would be afraid to go.
We’re looking forward to getting the Skydio R1 in our offices to do a full rundown of it’s features. Stay tuned.
Until then you can order Skydio R1 from their website or pick one up at your local Apple store. For their first product, the team at Skydio have hit this one right out of the park. The price honestly isn’t crazy, but the technolology inside Skydio R1 is.
We can’t wait to see what they do next.
