Why Americans Can’t Have DJI’s Super-Cheap New Drone

Have you been dreaming of a 360 camera drone, but you can’t stomach the Antigravity A1’s initial asking price? You’ll have more drones to drool over—but they may remain out of reach. The worldwide drone behemoth DJI’s new Avata 360 drone shoots in all directions and costs less than Insta360’s drone. But thanks to a federal ban, it won’t be easy for Americans to get their hands on it.

Like it says on the tin, the DJI Avata 360 uses twin fisheye lenses, one on top and one on the bottom of the drone, that can capture up to 8K and 60 fps from every angle. That means it’s essentially DJI’s Osmo 360 camera attached to DJI’s Avata FPV (first-person view) drone body. The drone uses 1-inch equivalent sensors that can shoot HDR video or 120-megapixel photos. There’s a separate single-lens mode that will let you capture in 4K and 60 fps, like your regular FPV flyer.

FPV drones are known for their in-air tricks, like barrel rolls, inverted flying, or high-speed orbits. A 360 drone allows users to create those same effects when editing the 360 video. For those flights, DJI promises you’ll get around 23 minutes of flight time. The drone also comes with 42GB of internal storage.

DJI Avata 360 vs. Antigravity A1

If you were especially concerned about needing to edit 360 footage after every shoot, DJI may have your back. The Avata 360 features a “GyroFrame” setting that users can set to the ideal angle for a shot. When you export that footage to the DJI Fly app, you can then adjust the angle of the shot to add a sense of camera movement. The benefit of 360 camera drones is that you won’t need to fly back up to the sky when you fail to get the shot you want. DJI’s drone may make editing that footage feel a little more seamless.

Insta360—a company mostly known for 360 and action cameras—spun Antigravity out as its own separate drone brand last year. The Antigravity AI was an odd duckling in a few ways. It used a unique single-hand controller and AR headset combo. Users needed to point in the direction where they wanted to fly, and the drone would automatically orient itself to head in that direction. It was perfect for novice drone pilots. More experienced flyers were less inclined to learn a whole new way to fly.

DJI’s Avata 360 is more built for the traditionalist. It can come bundled with DJI’s regular controller with a built-in screen, plus three batteries and a charger. The drone is compatible with an RC 2, RC-N2, or RC-N3 controller. That means if you already have a mountain of DJI drone gear, you may be able to save some money when buying the drone itself.

Good luck buying one

And that’s the other factor that separates DJI’s drone from the one made by Insta360. It’s much cheaper. Over in the EU, it costs 459 euros (or around $530) for the base kit with just the drone itself. There are two other bundles that cost 939 euros, or $1,089. One bundle comes with a screen controller plus the battery charging pack. The other supplies users with DJI’s FPV Goggles N3 and RC Motion 3 controller. The Antigravity A1’s initial bundle starts at around $1,600, but you can find it on sale on sites like Best Buy for closer to $1,280.

The DJI Avata 360 still has access to the Chinese drone maker’s leading tracking and object avoidance capabilities. The issue is you still can’t buy it in the U.S. It’s currently for sale in the Chinese market, and it’s up for pre-sale in all other regions. Stateside customers won’t find it on the official DJI webstore.

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission has issued an effective ban on all DJI drones and many of its other products. The drone was one of the last to clear the FCC’s regulatory hurdles back in December. Maybe you’ll find the drone from a third-party site. As for the rest of us, your only other choice for 360 flying is the Antigravity A1.