so i picked up the Neo when it dropped because the price point was hard to ignore and i was curious about the whole autonomous tracking thing without needing a controller. been using it off and on for about three weeks now and honestly my feelings are complicated.

the good stuff first ? its genuinely tiny and the subject tracking is better than i expected for something this cheap. took it to a family thing and just let it do its thing following my kid around and got some shots i never wouldve gotten with a regular drone because id have been too focused on flying. video quality is fine for social media, not going to replace my air 3 for anything serious though.

the stuff that bugs me ? battery life is just rough, like really rough. and the wind resistance is basically nonexistent, anything above a light breeze and it starts fighting itself. also the lack of obstacle avoidance is a little nerve wracking when it decides to zip after someone near trees. had one close call already. i dont regret buying it but i went in expecting to be more wowed i think

pretty much mirrors my experience. the tracking algoritm has also gotten noticeably better since launch with the firmware updates which is worth mentioning, when it first came out it would lose me constantly in low contrast situations. still not magic but improved. the wind thing is the real dealbreaker for me outdoors, i basically only use mine inside now for family videos which feels like a waste

honestly for $300 or whatever it is i think people expectations are a bit off. its not supposed to be a prosumer drone, its more like a flying camera that happens to be autonomous. judging it against an Air 3 isnt really fair. that said the battery situation is genuinely bad and DJI knows it, wouldnt surprise me if a Neo 2 comes out in like 8 months with a bigger cell and slightly better motors. thats kind of their move lately