Autel Robotics - EVO 4K Drone with Controller - Orange

==== Summary ==== The Autel Evo is an impressive drone that takes fantastic videos & pictures. It's very easy to fly with its excellent controller & safety features, flight is stable & smooth, and comes with many cool flight modes. The fit-and-finish is excellent ensuring long-term durability. Autel has created a very compelling & quality drone and app ecosystem. I love it~! *Pros: -Good-looking design with nice colors. -Quick & responsive flyer. -Easy to control. -Remote is well-designed & has a 330-nit 3.3" OLED screen. -Can fly without a smartphone & still have a live video feed. -UHD 4K video at 60FPS looks stunning. -3-axis stabilized gimbal = stable videos and pictures. -Obstacle avoidance (front, rear, & below). -Comes with a nice carrying case. -"Intelligent Flight" modes are cool, such as Dynamic Track and Orbit. -No "No-Fly Zone" restrictions & forced firmware updates. -Charger charges the drone & the controller at the same time. -No privacy & security scandals like Da-Jiang Innovations (DJI) drones. *Cons: -The drone is a bit sensitive to magnetic interference. -No automatic obstacle avoidance function when flying in reverse (just a warning). -Too easy to accidentally press the buttons on the back of the controller. ==== Design & Function ==== The Autel Evo drone is my first drone experience & I love it. Whether it's folded up into its compact travel form or stretched out for flying, I think it looks really cool with its striking color combo of glossy red orange with matte black color. Build-quality & build-material of the Evo are top-notch as well. The drone has been constructed with tight tolerances & all the seams and lines are clean and even. In other words, it has excellent fit-and-finish in a durable package. It's kind of embarrassing to admit but my first two flights ended in a crash - first inside the house & once outside during nighttime (not recommended by Autel). The Evo survived both crashes with no damages except some cosmetic scruff marks and a bruise to my pride. :P Handling the Evo is a simple & frustration-free affair. The folding front & rear arms actuate smoothly and the propellers fold and tuck away neatly. Gripping & carrying around the Evo one-handed is effortless thanks to its light weight and folded-up portability. The LED lights on the legs provide a quick visual status & orientation of the Evo. As for buttons & ports, there is a microUSB port (for file transfer) & a controller pairing button hidden underneath a plastic flap right below the two rear IR sensors. On the battery itself, you have a Power On button as well as a concave button you depress to slide off the battery from the Evo. Finally, there is a microSD slot on the right side of the Evo underneath a pull-back tab. Besides the drone and the controller, Autel also includes a carrying case with an adjustable shoulder strap that has ample room for the drone, the controller, extra batteries, and cables. Although the Evo is my first drone, I can still tell that it is a highly-crafted machine that has been meticulously designed with good durability in mind. It's stylish, very easy to handle and fly, and all the parts work harmoniously. 10 out of 10. ==== Controlling the Evo ==== The Evo can be flown in two ways - with just the remote controller & the embedded 3.3" live video screen or with the controller paired with a smartphone via a cable. The controller is quite a remarkable. The handles fold in and out smoothly from the body and is comfortable to hold. The smartphone holder can easily accommodate larger smartphones such as my Samsung Galaxy S9+ housed inside a case with its grippy rubber and secure clamping force. My S9+ was never once in danger of accidentally falling or popping out. There are many buttons on the controller that make it easy to operate the Evo. The four main ones are the "Take Off/Land" button, "Power On/Off" button, "Pause aircraft" button, and the "Hold to Start Go Home" button. On the shoulders are the "Record video," "Take photo," and "Screen navigation (DISP)" buttons as well as two Dial Switches - one switch controls the gimbal pitch/angle & the other is used to scroll through Settings & to select your choices by pressing down on the switch. On the back of the controller are the "A" and "B" buttons that are currently used to set Waypoints inside the Autel Explorer app. Per Autel, they will be customizable in future firmware updates. Due to their location, I found myself pressing them accidentally numerous times. I'm getting better at avoiding them with each flight session but they're still kind of annoying nonetheless. On the left and right of the screen are the two controller joysticks that you use to move/fly the drone. They work great and I had no issues with them. On the top are the two antennas that neatly fold away when not in use. Then in the middle of the controller is that nice 3.3" OLED screen. It gets as bright as 330 nits and that's where you will be viewing the Evo's "Flight Information Panel" data or a live 720P HD video feed, all without a smartphone attached. Sweet~!! The Flight Information Panel offers lots of condensed data in a straight-forward and easy-to-understand manner. It's a LOT of data but I never felt overwhelmed. By flying the Evo with just the controller, you won't be able to use the Evo's Intelligent Flight Modes (Dynamic Track, Viewpoint, Orbit, Waypoint, VR). Plus you won't have access to the more advanced drone settings. Pair up the Evo to a smartphone and launch the Autel app, however, then you'll have full access to ALL the flight modes & the advanced settings. In addition, your smartphone's display will now act as your live visual feed (1080P resolution). My phone gets much brighter than the controller screen so it was my preferred way of viewing the live feed. With that said, I think it's wonderful that Autel provides the user with such flexibility to allow flight without a smartphone and still offering a live video feed. It's a very thoughtful & brilliant design by Autel. ==== How Does It Fly? ==== The Evo is one smooth operator and it flies great~! It performs all flight maneuvers very well - smooth take-off, graceful landing, quickly making turns and orbits, speeding forward, quick reverse, etc. With the built-in safety measures augmented by sensors and obstacle avoidance, the Evo is a great drone for novices and first-time fliers such as myself. More experienced users will have a blast thanks to modes like the "Ludicrous" mode which changes the top speed of the Evo to 45 MPH. 10 out of 10. ==== Video & Photo Quality ==== I was BLOWN AWAY by the quality of the UHD 4K 60FPS videos the Evo took. I've never before seen such high-quality, well-stabilized, and splendid video from any of my tech gadgets & toys. Auto-exposure & white balance are handled very well & 4K 60FPS is simply awesome. Here are two short videos I took & uploaded to YouTube - one in a residential neighborhood with mild wind & one at the beach during windy conditions: https://youtu.be/D8uh64AebFU https://youtu.be/MsI4W0Banuc When it comes to photo quality, the Evo was pretty good as well. The 12MP 94-degree camera in Auto Mode takes good consistent pictures with good dynamic range, exposure, and contrast. For more control, Autel offers many customizable settings within Settings. Low-light scenarios introduce some granniness and noise in the pictures but that's to be expected. Still, photos came out decent and useful. Overall, I'm very satisfied and happy with both the video & photo capabilities of the Evo. 10 out of 10~!! ==== Autel Explorer App & Intelligent Flight Modes ==== The Autel Explorer app is well-designed, comprehensive, and simple to use. Besides granting the user access to ALL the drone settings & the special Flight Modes, firmware updates are handled here as well. Inside Settings, there are 8 main entries on the left column & inside the "Intelligent Flight" menu, there are 6 modes to choose from - Camera (default startup mode), Dynamic Track (Evo follows a subject), Viewpoint (Evo flies toward a subject), Orbit (Evo flies in a circular pattern around a subject), Waypoint (Evo flies a predefined flight path), and VR (Virtual Reality goggles). I had lots of fun playing around with all the special flight modes (except for VR) & they all worked very well as intended. My favorite one is Dynamic Track, which I used often to chase around my hyper toddler. ==== Wish List ==== I'm very happy with the Evo but I wish it could do a little bit more. The highest on my list is for the automatic obstacle avoidance system to work while the Evo is flying in reverse. Please, Autel, include this feature in an upcoming firmware update~! Second, I wish it was less sensitive to magnetic interference. At times, the Evo's compass had to be recalibrated because I put the Evo down on some concrete (such as my driveway) & the metal inside caused a calibration error. Third, I wish the Waypoint Flight Mode will let me select flight points on the map first then having the Evo fly toward them instead of me having to fly the Evo to each Waypoint first. ==== Conclusion ==== Flying around in the skies while recording videos and taking pictures with the Autel Evo has been a highly fun and joyful experience, filling me up with child-like wonder and delight. I now have an additional tool to capture wonderful memories of my family and pets. I highly recommend the Evo to everyone for its user-friendly design & flight control, excellent build quality, and all the fun flight modes & safety features that work harmoniously together. Autel has engineered a high-quality drone & app ecosystem and I look forward to their future endeavors and products.

As an FAA part 107 licensed pilot and an owner of several drones, I was very interested to get my hands on the AUTEL EVO. Competition for “the best selling drone company” is very needed in my opinion. With its folding capability and compact shape, I would say that this drone has indeed been released for direct competition. Again, this is good for everyone. These companies will now strive to outdo each-other and therefore the technology will undoubtedly become better, faster. Not to mention it is better for consumer prices. It’s a win, win! After dinking around with this drone for a little while now, I can say that I would easily recommend the EVO to anyone looking for a portable drone that shoots 4K. Sometimes lugging around a bigger drone with a case isn't always feasible, but tossing this in your camera bag or using the bag that they give you with the drone, makes it an easy decision to keep this with you pretty much at all times. Obviously image quality is a very big deal when considering any camera gear. The sensor in this unit is no slouch and captures rich, detailed images in good light. I do highly recommend purchasing a set of ND filters before trying to capture any daytime footage. When shooting at the correct frame rate, you'll definitely need them in any bright condition. That said, the reason I docked one star is that since it is a smaller sensor (Sony 12MP CMOS ½.3”), the low light capability will suffer. It isn’t horrible, but it could be better. While this is true among digital cameras of all kinds, it defeats the purpose of me actually using it in low light (dusk / dawn) conditions. So again, if you are shooting with ND filters at the correct frame rate, during lit daytime conditions, you will be satisfied with this unit. Just try to keep your ISO at 100 as much as possible. The controller and EVO app are really done well. The main controller screen is extremely sharp. The text is so sharp that it's like looking at a retina display. It even works well in bright sunlight. I am using a Note 8 with Android and the app works flawlessly paired with the remote screen. Camera settings are extremely easy to change on the fly. A big bonus over other manufacturers. There is an easy to navigate main bar at the bottom of the app screen that lets you control all camera settings easily with swipes left and right. Another very cool feature of the app software is that it lets you set up a time-lapse to take photos automatically at set intervals as you are shooting your video. Awesome feature! Another really cool feature is the user selectable live video feed. This means you can switch the live video feed between either your device or the remote itself. Very cool if you do not have a device with you, or say your battery is depleted on your phone. The in-flight handling of this unit is really, really nice. So far, I have experienced very smooth flight and tracking of subjects. The unit is also very quiet compared to some of my other drones which is great news. As a bonus, if you are a newb, you can set this up in beginner mode which will help you learn how to fly properly before you turn it off and go into normal mode. Beginner mode keeps the drone at a lower altitude and a little closer to your position. That paired with the obstacle avoidance makes this a very good choice for said beginners. Battery life is also excellent. I have been getting about 25 to 30 minutes per flight which is great. When you are up in the air flying 25 to 30 minutes feels like an eternity. I would also recommend buying one or two extra batteries so you can get all of the footage needed no matter where you are and without having to recharge in the field. Another tip that I can give is to plan your flight when you arrive at your destination to save battery time and drain. If you know what you want to capture before you take off (instead of flying around aimlessly), your footage will be much better when you get back to your editing station. Keep in mind that if you shoot everything in 4K resolution, you will need a very good video editing computer to edit your footage smoothly. If you do not own a high-end computer system, I would recommend that you create proxies of your files before editing. Actually, I would recommend creating proxies even if you do have a high-end system. It makes editing your video and scrubbing through clips like butter. All in all, this is a solid effort from Autel Robotics. With its portability and excellent remote / app, not to mention friendly price point, you really can’t go wrong with this drone. Go get yours now! Lastly, being an FAA part 107 licensed pilot, it is my duty to highly recommend that everyone interested in becoming a pilot (not just hobbyists) to take the course, obtain the license, and learn how to fly safely. This will save you possible disaster circumstances if you are flying in the wrong area (airspace) which I am sure a lot of people do because they simply do not know any better. There are several courses online that you can take to help you study for and pass the test. If you decide to go this route, once you complete the course and receive your license, you will understand exactly what I mean by all of this. Airspace is a tricky thing and warrants you having extensive knowledge on how to navigate it legally, properly, and safely. Studying for the Part 107 is not only fun but very interesting and will teach you everything you need to know to put yourself in the right situation every time. Do yourself the favor. Fly safe, fly smart, and have fun!

The Autel EVO drone is an advancement in Autel's drone portfolio. The company's R&D have moved on from the X-Star and developed this great little gem. The package includes the EVO drone, remote control w/3.5" OLED screen, AC adapter/charging cables, 2 short control-to-device USB cables, quick guide, safety instructions, packing list, 2 spare sets of propellers (front and rear), re-attachable gimbal/camera cover, and a 32GB microSD card (already in the drone slot). DISCLAIMERS: 1) This is my first drone; however not my first remote controlled craft. I have had numerous RC cars in the past. 2) I ONLY used the configuration with the control and a Samsung Note 9 attached. I did NOT use the drone with the controller by itself. 3) I have flown the drone on 4 flights, all at 400' or lower. The 4th flight I have posted on YouTube at https://youtu.be/JXKZZYmZUfM PROS: ----------- * Extremely easy to operate. I enjoy having 2 screens since my phone (Note 9) screen is bigger than the controller anyway. * You can abandon regular mode and go to "Ludicrous" mode, which allows the craft to go 45mph. Yes, I did obtain the 45mph speed according to my controls. This was the most fun mode to play in; however the battery dies much quicker. * 4K@60fps is incredibly good. You can also pick from lesser resolutions down to 720p and higher frame rates. Picture quality is fantastic. I only used "auto" camera/video settings as I did not want to get too involved in that aspect of the system. The "auto" mode worked great for me as it probably will for most people. * GPS locks on well to a given position. If you release all controls, it hovers in its current spot flawlessly. * Drone folds up easily and nicely into a compact package. * Drone is very solidly built with extremely durable plastic parts. It does not feel flimsy or cheap and the arms stay in place well when extended. * Object avoidance works great - almost too good, as I wanted to get closer to objects but could only do so by going into ludicrous mode (which turns off sensors) or by manually turning off sensors. * Customer support via chat was great. I had to chat in a couple of times, and I got a live person immediately (no bots). * Easy takeoff and landing button. From anywhere if you want to bring it home and land immediately, just hold down the button, and the drone does the rest. It literally lands inches from where you take off. * Pictures can be taken while video is rolling - however, taking a picture while the drone is moving may result in a more fuzzy picture as it happened with me a few times. * There are 3 different controller modes you can setup.. with the 2 sticks having different built-in functions. Pick the mode that's best for you. * The charging adapter allows for charging the drone and the controller at the same time. The charging cable for the controller is microUSB while the battery must be taken off the drone to be charged (after it has cooled off from flight) - and it's a proprietary connection. CONS: ----------- * Battery life should NOT be stated as 30 minutes. I did not, nor have I read anywhere, where a person got a full 30 minutes of fly time. I generally got between 20-25 minutes. Another battery would be great to have with limited flight time of the single battery. * I tried the "follow me" mode and had some trouble with the drone staying up with me on a bright yellow 4-wheeler and no obstacles between myself and the drone. Walking had no issues with this mode... as long as tree limbs did not block you while tracking. Once the drone loses you, it stops and hovers. * With a giant 4K picture, I would hope for an OPTICAL zoom instead of a digital zoom or a combination of both. This drone does not have an optical zoom so it only digitally zooms and thus causes eventual pixellation. * As with any device, companies need to upgrade to USB-C connections instead of microUSB. The controller uses a microUSB to connect to the 2nd device and to charge with. Being a high-end device as this, I would REALLY hope for a USB-C connection... the microUSB cable connection is a nuisance especially with hard-to-reach ports such as this (with the attached flap). * The 2 programmable buttons on the bottom of the remote can be depressed accidentally quite often, so don't make them do anything that would cause your drone to do something potentially hazardous to someone/something while flying. * Range was good; however video on my phone would get weak sometimes even with drone not being too far off. I adjusted antennas but at that same distance still had some come/go issues. If you fly in hilly areas, this may be a problem. * 2 device-to-controller cables (microUSB-to-microUSB and microUSB-to-USB-C) are provided but no microUSB-to-Apple connection cable. This may be due to proprietary reasons Apple would not allow (basically Android-to-Apple). I'm quite certain they probably thought of this. OTHER OBSERVATIONS: ----------------------------------- * 32GB memory card does not come with an adapter. You will have to provide USB or SD adapter to read with PC. * The drone separated my extended video (4K@30fps) into 4m:48s segments, each of which were 3.35GB, and in H.264/mp4 format. You'll need a video editor to connect them back together. * I did not test the circling or tripod options. * The drone does NOT record audio - only video. * My EVO came with NEWER firmware than what was even posted on the Autel website. Not sure how or why that is, but I did not downgrade. CONCLUSION: ============== If you're a newbie to drone flying as I was, this drone is a great option. The price point is steep, but based on what I have read about this drone and other drones, pricing isn't bad. For me, the easibility of the controls was a huge plus. For a new drone flyer who is flying just for fun or to take simple aerial pictures, I would definitely recommend this drone. Again, you can view my 4th sample flight on YouTube - https://youtu.be/JXKZZYmZUfM

My previous experience with drones was of the smaller, less advanced type, so unboxing and powering up the Autel Evo was like preparing for my first launch into space. First off, the packaging was well thought out and easy to remove, I think the total time it took for me to have this out of the box and charging for first flight was about 5 minutes. Handling the drone itself along with the controller it is apparent that the build and design of each was thoroughly executed. The drone feels heavy and solid, sleek finishes remove any potential resistance on the body. Handling the controller for me is reminiscent of a PlayStation-like controller; it is heavy but balanced enough to alleviate any strain on holding it during flight time. However, if you are using your smartphone in tandem it might be slightly stressful depending on the model and type of phone you are using. For me it is an iPhone 7 Plus so there is some amount of strain but very minor. While on that note, if you do use an iPhone you will need to use your own lighting cable as the Evo does not include one (it does include USB-C and USB-mini). I really enjoy the compact size of both the drone and the controller, they fit easily into the carrying case and really have a small footprint so you can take the Evo anywhere. Prior to your first flight the FAA does require that the drone be registered which you can accomplish at www.faa.gov/dronezone. The registration will cost you $5 and once complete you will need to mark your drone with the assigned FAA registration number (I used a labeler). I also used an app called DroneBuddy to make sure I was out of any restricted flying zones because there is a major airport nearby, however, it is outside of 5 miles from my location so I am OK to fly. Flight operation for me was very easy to adapt to given my experience in video games, I was able to get the Evo flying seamlessly around my yard and then eventually up over the tree tops around 200 feet. At that height I was flying at about 20 MPH. Once up there I started using the camera shooting 4K videos and snapping some photos, I really can’t stress enough how clear the video feed is during flight, on both the phone and the controller display. Using the Autel App I planned out a waypoint path to test GPS accuracy which I was very impressed with the results on my 2 test flights. During these auto pilot flights it is very cool to peer around with the camera. During flight ops, the Evo constantly evaluates battery consumption, taking into account environment factors such as wind that will drain the battery faster. On average you are looking at about 25-27 minutes of flight time but the main benefit of this is that the Evo will alert you of a point of no return if you fly it too far away. At that time it will initiate a return to home maneuver or allow you to manually fly back. That being said, so far my furthest flight has been about 1600 yards – just shy of a mile. At that distance there was plenty of forest between the drone and myself and it did not lose or lag the video feed. I feel confident I could have flown further. Some minor bugs I have seen so far: 1. During a long descent the Evo can become fairly unstable and sort of wobble back and forth. This does not appear to affect camera shots as the gimbal does a great job of compensating. 2. After some sharper turns and moving of the camera during flight, the horizon can be askew when you return the camera to it’s level mark. It has only happened a couple times but it is noticeable. From what I have read both of these issues should be corrected with firmware updates, although the weather has been bad recently so I have not been able to fly the drone to confirm. Lastly – and this is not an issue but a recommendation – I would say that the easiest way to transfer the high-resolution video and photos off the Evo is to buy a USB Micro/Mini SD card reader. Best Buy sells one for $15 that also utilizes USB 3.0 for faster transfer. Overall I highly recommend this drone, it is extremely sharp looking and feels well built. There are enough safety mechanisms and sensors built in to allow a first time user to get up and flying. I brought this to a friends house and I may have influenced this years Christmas list.

I’m really thrilled on all the capabilities that the Autel EVO offer. I attached 2 photos but I would of like to have been able to attach more. My initial process: I did the unboxing and the EVO was packed with care. To my surprise a shoulder bag was included as a bonus. After removing everything I almost missed the quick setup and manual box because it was on the very bottom which blended in with the interior of the EVO box. This is a premium drone with a bigger but fair price tag so I read every single line of the manual to make sure I know important things about it. When I got to the charging section I decided to start the charging before I continued my reading. FYI you need to remove the battery from the drone before charging. Pushing the button on top of the drone while sliding the battery does the trick to remove the battery. What’s great about the charger is it charges both the drone EVO battery and remote simultaneously in 3 hours. To be clear the instructions indicates the drone charges fully in 1 hour and the remote controller is fully charged in 3 hours but my initial charge was faster. Register: It was always recommended to me to register drones https://faadronezone.faa.gov/#/ so I would like to extend the recommend this to all drone owners. It took me 5 minutes and cost me $5 for 3 years registration. App: To get the full experience I decided to download the “Autel Explorer” app. It has easy instructions to pair your phone,drone and remote controller to each other. Design: The EVO design is a few steps towards the future and it looks great. I was not too sure about the color but the more I look at it and being able to spot it in the air made me fall in love with the orange/black color. This Autel EVO drone arms folds which makes very easy to pack up and take with you to anywhere you want to explore without taking much space. Picking up the drone and unfolding the arms I can feel the quality. It has many sensors that helps a beginner and even a pro be a better pilot. A 4K camera that has a 3 axis gimbal assures that I have clear and stable image during every flight I take with my EVO. Remote controller: I think I’m more hooked on the design of this remote because it looks like a gaming controller with a 3.3 inch OLED screen so I can clearly see what my EVO see in HD. Just like the EVO the remote controller allows you to fold the handles to make it easier to hold or pack to transport. The EVO remote have a lot of features and since there are a lot I will only list a few. I can take pictures or videos with a touch of a button. Easy land or take off with auto pilot, return home with auto pilot, it allows you to turn sensors on or off, GPS and plenty of indicators of your drone and remote controller health, it has a beginner mode so it reduces the speed and height for novice pilots or at least until you get the hang of the controls. Using the remote control and your phone together gives you the most option to take advantage of the many advance features. Flight performance: Flying the EVO is easy if you have some experience. I find it so much easier learning and flying the EVO after using another top drone company. I had plenty of space around me because I drove to a nearby field. I had room for error and was expecting a few crashes but luckily I did not have any crashes yet. I want to try the ludicrous mode but I want to give myself more time to get really familiar with the controls to handle the EVO safely at faster speeds. Something that I found most interesting was the dynamic track because it follows around a subject and it’s accurate. Take off and landing can always be easy if you use auto pilot but with practice it’s also easy to do it on your own. My final thoughts: At the end of the day I think this EVO drone is packed with much more features than we are used to in a consumer level drone. I like that firmware updates will be available to help with bugs or even add new features to the EVO. I would of prefer that the EVO had a longer battery life after a full charge so I can have more time and more fun. I think 1 and a 1/2 hours to fully charge the EVO and only get 30 minutes of flight is not the right balance. Knowing this I plan on buying a spare battery but I want to wait to see if a bigger battery that holds a longer charge will soon be available. That’s my only negative feedback about the EVO and I know I will enjoy it the more I use it. I’m looking forward into taking beautiful pictures and videos using my EVO when I take future vacations.

The Autel Robotics drone is not quite what I expected. The unit comes in svelte packaging and includes a carrying tote that allows for easy travel with all necessary accessories. Accessories Removable Battery - This unit comes with a removable battery which can only be charged while detached from the drone. The battery itself has LED to indicate charge level. Two-in-One Charging Brick - The charging brick comes equipped with ports to charge the drone's battery as well as the drone's controller. The all-in-one device means I don't have to carry around extra chargers. Though the controller charging port uses standard USB, the interface for the drone battery port uses a proprietary interface. Drone carrying tote - The carrying tote is well made and allows for easy packing and safe transportation of your the drone, its charging accessories, spare parts, and a few other tid-bits. It's about the size of a standard lunch box. It's remarkably convenient and inconspicuous. Spare Parts - The unit ships with two pairs of replacement blades in case you have a mishap and damage your blades. Additionally, there are a few extra interface adaptors to allow connecting your phone to the controller (USB C, mini, micro, etc). You'll need to use your own lightning cable if you're using an iPhone. Huge bummer as the supplied adaptors for other ports are cut-to-length and provide just enough slack to connect the devices and mount them. Drone Controller - The controller is something to behold. It feels substantial and it feels great in hand. A quick glance and you might mistake it for a PS Vita. The controller has the usual joysticks, some fore finger ready buttons to control various aspects of the drone such as flight and camera swivel controls. The controller also has a built-in sturdy telescoping phone grip for easy and secure placement of your mobile device (we tested with iPhone 8 Plus). You can see the drone's viewscreen from the controller or your phone. The phone, when connected to the controller via a standard USB accessory cable, grants enhanced feature access via the free iOS and Android app. Be sure to download the correct app as Autel has a few out there; they are not all compatible. Please refer to the documentation for the correct one. Use This drone is beyond the others I've used before. I was wary of another drone because I'm just not that great at controlling them using the controls provided. But Autel has done a great job of making their premium controller feel comfortable and responsive. I'm still getting used to it, but the convenience features such as launch, hover, and return to home are also great to have and work great. The unit's lights help make the unit clearly visible and also help communicate status. Mechanically, you can just hear the power behind the propellers. My dogs go nuts for the unit! There is a lot of power driving this unit. The foldable arms bring propeller arms in tight to the body of the unit and make handling the unit easy and comfortable. Camera The camera on the unit seems super flimsy! But it is made that way as the unit is made to swivel and rotate almost every which way. It comes with a plastic cover/guard to protect the unit while it is stored and not in-flight. The control of the unit is remarkably precise even if a little awkward. Choosing between watching the drone or the screen of your controller/phone can be tough! Unfortunately, I am only able to attach two pictures with my review or I'd try and post some of the unit in action in nicer weather. I'd also love to post a video of it in action. If that becomes an option, I'll revisit my review and make the appropriate additions. I'd also post some pictures captured by the drone (if they're worth while). I'm headed to the Rockies this weekend and should be able to replace the posted pictures with views of just what exactly this device can do! In the meantime, I think I can quite comfortably say that this drone is everything I could expect for it's price point. Cons I think the only cons I feel the unit has are that I wish ports were more clearly labeled. Either via icons, or engraved/raised text. I like to figure out use before referencing the manual (with unit off) and while most are completely obvious others, like the microSD card slot, are not so clear (sitting directly above an exhaust fan). There isn't really anything I can complain about from a functionality perspective.

Autel EVO is my first drone, so you can say that I am a beginner/newbie when it comes to drones. Earlier, I have played around a bit with my friends' drones and I can say that this is the best flight experience I have had so far. Here are my observations after spending 2 weeks and multiple flights with EVO. 1. It is super easy to control and it holds pretty well even in the windy conditions. 2. The initial setup is very simple. The bag that came with the drone is great addition as you can fit all the things in a compact bag. To that point, the way this drone and the controller fold is really good. You can easily throw them in your back pack if you don't want to carry the additional bag. 3. The video and the photo quality is very good. There are a number of drones with 4K capabilities in the market but very few with 60 fps. 4. The 3-axis gimbal gives the videos and photos amazing stability and even in the windy conditions you won't notice any jitters. 5. The controller is nicely designed too. The display on the controller is extremely sharp and bright even in the bright sunlight. It also has a holder to attach your smartphone with it. It holds my Samsung Galaxy S9+ well. The Autel explorer app is good and the controller syncs up with the phone instantly (using the provided cables). They have provided a micro-USB as well as USB-C cable which is great given the fact that a number of newer smartphones have USB-C port (as opposed to micro USB) 6. My 10 year old son was able to fly and control drones without any issues and was excited as me :) 7. The battery is good. I usually get 25-35 minutes of flight time after a full charge. Even the charger is designed well as it can be used to charge both the drone as well as controller at the same time. 8. As I mentioned above, the screen on the controller is excellent and you can fly the drone even without the smartphone. It came handy once when my smartphone was really low on battery. Overall, it is a great drone. So far, I have not come across any flaws or pain points. The price is a bit on the higher side but it is a premium drone and packs a lot of features. In fact, if you consider the other premium drones with these kind of features, you will find that the price of this drone is actually on the lower side. So, if you are a newbie like me or a drone enthusiast, you will love this drone. Go get it!

Autel Robotics EVO Quadcopter Drone --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ***** The Review ***** The Autel EVO by Autel Robotics first impressions… How do I put this? This drone blew my mind. The image quality of the EVO is insane. My brother in-law owns a DJI Phantom and if you were to put the “specs” side by side, there’s really not much difference. Both the EVO and the DJI Phantom are able to shoot in 4K @ 60 FPS or in 1080P @ 120 FPS. When I took my EVO in the air and my brother in-law took his Phantom, you honestly can’t tell much of a difference in there ability to capture. The only major difference we saw is that the Phantom can shoot better in “low light” setting(s). One thing that we did notice is with the EVO, the camera is ultra wide. This is more of a “preference” as you’ll be able to view more (some people may want this), but some may not like that. The thing that impressed me the most about the EVO besides the camera quality is the 3-axis gimbal. With the 3-axis gimbal, you’re able to stabilize and capture beautiful moments when needed. One thing that I would like to mention is that the Autel EVO has a controller that has a built in 3.3” OLED screen. You have an option of putting your mobile phone above the controller as well but it’s not needed as the controller shows flight information or real flight time as you’re flying. If you do decide to use your phone, make sure to download the Autel Explorer App! With the Autel Explorer App, you’ll be able to do things such as Dynamic Track, Viewpoint, Orbit, Waypoint, and VR (please see below in “Quick Features on the Product for more information”). The 3.3” OLED screen offers the pilot with 330 nits of of brightness so you’ll do decent under the sunlight. The battery of the EVO is a 11.4V Lipo that is rated @ 4300mah. Autel states that you’ll be able to get 30 minutes of flight time, I was able to squeeze out around 23 ~ 27 minutes of flight time which is quite impressive. What really impressed me with the overall experience of owning an Autel product is their support. I had some question(s) in regards to the controller and how it worked with the Autel Explorer App. The representative that I spoke with was not only prompt in his response, he was extremely helpful and knowledgeable; which in-turn resolved my issue in a timely manner. I was really surprised and satisfied. In conclusion, I must say that I am thoroughly impressed with Autel and their EVO. I would not hesitate to recommend this drone to friends and family. Autel did an amazing job from start to finish. They took their time to package the drone to ensure that it’s safely in its box prior to it being purchased, they used quality materials when building the EVO, and they support their product to the fullest with their excellent customer service. I would say this... if you’re in the search currently for a drone that takes excellent images and videos, is built with quality and has the same specs as the DJI Phantom, and is backed with superb customer service; I would give the Autel EVO a shot. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ***** Quick Features on the Product ***** Superior Image Quality: An industry-leading camera that captures 4K 60fps Ultra HD video and 12MP photos mounted on a 3-axis stabilized gimbal (utilizing real glass optics and the Ambarella H2 image processor) Autel Explorer App: Access autonomous flight modes and HD live view via the free Explorer app for iOS and Android Dynamic Track – Using advanced algorithms EVO can autonomously follow an object easily by drawing a box around the subject Viewpoint – Send EVO to a new viewpoint during flight by simply tapping on the screen of your mobile device Orbit – Select a point of interest and EVO will fly a perfect circle making cinematic shots easy Waypoint – Set waypoints to program autonomous flight routes. EVO can even save multiple waypoint missions making it easy for surveying VR – Take a seat in the cockpit with a virtual reality heads-up display (VR headset sold separately) Safety in the Sky: Dual GPS/GLONASS satellite positioning and advanced computer vision systems help avoid obstacles to ensure a safe and stable flight Fly with Confidence: Intuitive remote controller with a 3.3 inch OLED display and one-touch action buttons that can control the drone up to 4.3 miles away Built to Last: Backed by a full One Year Warranty and 7-day-a-week Customer Support --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ***** What's in the box ***** Autel Robotics EVO Quadcopter Remote Controller Power Cable Micro USB Cable USB C Cable Remote Controller Cable Intelligent Battery x2 Spare Propeller Pairs 32GB Micro SD Card Various Manuals