GoKawiilDJI’s Avata 360 finds the company at an odd time. For one, it’s been beaten to the punch — upstart Antigravity’s A1 became the first 360-degree drone when it launched last December, and DJI is playing catchup. But this is also the last DJI drone you may ever be able to legally buy in the US, in the wake of the FCC’s de facto ban, and even then it won’t actually see an official release in the country.
It means that if you’re in the US, the Antigravity A1 remains the best (and only) option for a flying 360-degree camera. But in the rest of the world, the Avata 360 makes a good case for itself: it’s faster than the A1, doubles as both a 360 drone and a traditional FPV model, and offers the option of goggle and motion controller controls, a classic twin-stick setup, or a smartphone screen. Throw in the fact that both of the two main lenses are (easily) user-replaceable, and I suspect that most flyers will find they prefer DJI’s take on the format to Antigravity’s attempt.
The Avata 360 is available now in China, but is estimated to start shipping elsewhere some time in April. It starts from just £409 / €459 (about $540) to get the drone alone, well short of the $1,599 asking price of the cheapest Antigravity bundle, though that includes goggles and a motion controller. DJI’s Motion Fly More Combo is the closest equivalent to that, with the Goggles N3, an RC Motion 3 controller, and extra batteries, but at £829 / €939 (about $1,100) it’s still far cheaper than the Antigravity. The quality of the headsets plays a part here though: there’s no official bundle including DJI’s Goggles 3, which are a closer analogue to the Antigravity headset, and adding that into your setup would bring the price more in line.
This may all be a moot point if you live in the US, where DJI has no plans for an official launch through its own website. That’s despite the fact that the Avata 360 received FCC clearance in December — and was the final DJI drone to do so. This means it will be legal, and likely possible, to buy the Avata 360 from importers and fly it in the US, which likely won’t be the case for any of DJI’s future drone releases. But like the recent Neo 2 and other recent drones, DJI itself won’t be selling it.
The Avata 360’s lenses can face up and down for 360 shooting, or forwards in a single lens mode. Propeller guards are built-in, rather than sold separately. Omnidirectional obstacle avoidance sensors help keep it out of harm’s way.
In the simplest terms, the Avata 360 is pretty similar to the A1, the debut drone from Insta360 sub-brand Antigravity. It’s a fairly compact, lightweight drone equipped with two lenses that combine to produce 8K, 360-degree photos and videos. These can be viewed as-is, or you can use the app to edit footage into traditional formats, letting you pick which part of the frame to use at any given moment. It’s essentially the drone version of fixing it in post, letting you fly without too much thought, and think about footage after the fact.
Beyond that, the two drones actually differ a fair amount, so I took the two out to fly together for a direct comparison. The Avata 360 is heavier, at 455g, crucially taking it well above the 250g line that affects flight regulations in many countries. It’s bigger, too, with a fixed body, compared to the foldable A1. That has its advantages though: built-in propeller guards for one, making this a tougher drone if it all goes wrong. It’s also able to fly further (up to 20km / 12 miles in ideal conditions, double the A1’s max range) and faster (with a top speed in sports mode of 18m/s or 40mph, an extra 2m/s or 5mph, which helps it avoid some of the A1’s slightly floaty, unresponsive feel in flight). Battery life is pretty much equivalent, with 23 minutes of quoted flight time on the 360, and 24 for the A1.
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