(11.11PROMO) DJI Tello - Starter Drone

Features

The Tello is essentially a smaller DJI Spark in every way. Both drones even pack the same flight stabilization technology and Intel Movidius Myriad 2 VPU, which means you can launch it from your palm and control it with hand motions.

Unfortunately, shrinking things down has led to some downgrades. The drone’s camera utilizes a 5MP sensor that can only record 720p videos – the Spark has a 12MP camera capable of capturing Full HD 1080p footage.

Flight time also cuts off at a maximum 13 minutes, compared to the Spark's 16-minute battery life, although it’s astonishing that a drone this small can fly for so long. You won’t be going anywhere quick with this drone either – its max speed tops out at an 8m/s, and you’ll only be able to fly it outside when there's no wind at all.

On the plus side, the Tello pulls off a few tricks you won’t find even on DJI's drones. For one thing the control interface includes a flip button for being fancy in the air or dodging any Nerf darts at a party. There are also several flight modes, including ones for shooting a quick 360-degree video and having the drone fly away and upward from you in one smooth motion.

Ryze Tello owners will also be able to program their own flight patterns at home, using an included coding tool called Scratch. We haven’t had a chance to try this out ourselves, but we’ve been told it will be simple for anyone to plot their aerial maneuvers.

With an Google Daydream VR-like phone holder, Tello owners will also be able to jump into a POV flying experience.