Parrot's latest drone features smartphone-powered FPV safety glasses

Parrot's latest model on its flagship Anafi drone is everything about immersion. The new Anafi FPV (for first individual view) is being offered as a plan with a headset that places pilots in their drone's viewpoint. Yet rather than a devoted screen inside the safety glasses, Parrot's strategy is to have individuals slot a smart device in, similar to headsets like the Samsung Equipment VR or Google Cardboard.

The Anafi FPV bundle will cost $799 when it takes place sale later this month. It will certainly consist of the drone, the glasses, a controller, extra props, a battery, a 16GB microSD card, and a USB-C cable. The Anafi FPV also features a brand-new knapsack that Parrot states can "function as a secure platform" for introducing the drone.

FPV drones are experiencing a little bit of a boom right now. Drone racers are leveraging the abilities they've created in competition into side gigs firing commercials, creating videos that go viral, and even catching live video throughout sporting events like Solution Drift. DJI recently released its own pair of FPV goggles as well as a small, high-def transmitter that can be attached to almost anything in an attempt to wade into this brand-new piece of the market.

Parrot's modular, smartphone-powered technique to FPV headsets is bound to offer a lower-resolution experience than the purpose-built safety glasses sold by companies like DJI or Fat Shark. It works with mobile phones as big as 6.5 inches, though splitting a smart device screen to two eyes has a tendency to be a lousy experience. But just like a lot of points Parrot does, the company is most likely betting that a slightly reduced cost will certainly be enough to persuade some consumers who can not manage to shell out $700 or even more for simply the FPV safety glasses.

Parrot's Anafi drone was viewed as a type of direct solution to DJI's Mavic Air when it was released in the middle of 2018, as it's similarly small and also can fold up for easy storage. The Anafi does have a distinct camera that turns backwards and forwards 180 degrees, yet we were ultimately disappointed with the picture quality coming off of the 1/2.4- inch, 21-megapixel sensor when we examined the drone last year.

The Anafi likewise lacks several of the flight setting and also security functions found in the Mavic Air. But Parrot is attempting to even the score a bit by including a couple of new flight attributes to the Anafi FPV. There's a motion picture mode that secures the cam's perspective to the straight tilt of the drone. There's a racing predetermined that guarantees even more "aggressive"- looking footage. And the Anafi FPV has an "gallery setting" that automatically matches the drone's flight path to the direction the camera is sharp.

None of these brand-new settings do anything to deal with a few of the Anafi's efficiency shortages (when compared to the Mavic Air), but it behaves to see Parrot continue improving its flagship drone-- especially considering that the business is leaving the toy drone market. Parrot issued a blitz of software updates in the Anafi's earliest days that substantially enhanced the drone's photo top quality, as well as previously this year the firm released a brand-new variation outfitted with a thermal electronic camera.

All that might not be enough to place a damage in DJI's stranglehold on the consumer drone market, however it reveals Parrot will maintain attempting to please the consumers that keep coming back, while also still attempting to sway a couple of new ones.

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