Xiaomi Mi Drone Undercuts DJI

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Xiaomi is known for its smartphones. One of its latest, the Mi 5, is a direct competitor to Samsung’s Galaxy S7. The Mi 5 does everything the Galaxy does, but it does it significantly cheaper. Now, the Chinese manufacturer is entering the drone arena, and it’s trying to pull the same trick: offer a great product at an unbeatable price.

Xiaomi is directly targeting its compatriot, DJI. Xiaomi’s Mi Drone can stay aloft for a half hour, comes with a choice of stabilised cameras, and significantly undercuts DJI’s pricings.

To illustrate, Xiaomi plans to retail the Mi Drone with a 1080p HD camera and 1km range for 2,499 yuan ($380), while 2km range version with 4K camera will cost 2,999 yuan ($456). DJI’s Phantom 3 4K, with a range of 1.2km, goes for 4,999 yuan ($760).

“The feature set between the Mi Drone and DJI’s Phantom 3 is almost identical – they can both be made to return home and circle around a point of interest – but Xiaomi’s product is so competitively priced you have to wonder if it can make much profit,” Engadget’s Chinese editor-in-chief Richard Lai told the BBC.

Hugo Barra, Xiaomi VP, said that until now drones were “typically a product for rich people,” but that the company hoped to break that mould and sell to a wider audience.

The built in gimbal stabilised the Sony camera at “up to 2,000 vibrations per second,” which should be enough to avoid blur, Barra said. The 5,100 mAh battery, he added, gives the drone 27 minutes of flight time, comparable to both of DJI’s offerings.

While the specs are terrific, what remains to be seen is how well the Mi Drone actually performs.

“It will take Xiaomi some time to prove itself as we still don’t know how reliable its drones are, the quality of its video footage or how well its software will work,” Lai said.