DJI unveils DJI Flip with folding wings capable of shooting 4K/60

Lightweight drones are having a bit of a renaissance leading into 2025. We’ve seen several designs small enough to take off and land in your outstretched palm, but the new DJI Flip offers one of the cutest drone designs yet. The transforming Flip’s wings fold down for easy transport, making it look like a droid you’ve seen zipping around a canteen in Star Wars Skeleton Crew.

Flip is another lightweight drone that can launch from virtually anywhere. Like last year’s $200 DJI Neo, it includes several automatic shooting modes for vloggers who don’t want to fiddle with the app or physical controls. The best upgrade for the Flip is the 48MP, 1/1.3-inch CMOS sensor, which can shoot a maximum of 4K, 60 FPS video with HDR. Flip can also record slow motion videos up to 100 FPS in 4K.

DJI let us fly the drone around in a short indoor demo outside the main CES convention center. Although we didn’t have room to test its speed, I was impressed with its stability in the air. The four cages around the propellers are metallic rather than plastic. This should, in theory, make them more durable, although DJI will sell additional propeller blades. The drone is also not heavy at only 249 grams or a little more than 0.5 pounds. It might not be as light as the DJI Neo, but you should get better stability with the extra weight.

Folding up the flip was also easy and hassle-free, although you have to remember to flip the rear fins over before doing the front ones. I didn’t get to delve too deeply into the image quality during my short demo. DJI promises you’ll get video quality on par with the company’s Mini 4 Pro drone or the Osmo Pocket 3 gimbal camera.

DJI’s last ultralight drone, the DJI Neo, was almost too good for its low starting price, the China-based drone maker has a design that’s a little bigger, a little more expensive, but should offer better FPS at 4K and three times better battery life. The Flip can do 4K at 60 FPS compared to 30 FPS on the NEO, and the new drone promises a flight time of 31 minutes. Battery life is likely less during actual use, especially if you try to use it in sport mode, but it’s a step up from the Neo’s just 10 to 15 minutes of flight time on a single charge. The new drone still has the same Quickshots that allow you to perform a quick circle penalty or boomerang run if you’re trying to shoot a quick Instagram video.

If you know drones, you probably see similarities between the DJI Flip and the HOVERAir X1. The $520 MSRP drone also folds thin enough to slip into a purse or oversized pocket. Like the Neo, this device doesn’t include any GPS or obstacle avoidance technology, although the DJI Flip can detect nearby objects to avoid slamming into a tree. DJI’s obstacle avoidance can be very sensitive, but if you change the drone to sport modes, you can crash into as many walls as you like.

DJI Flip is positioned between the ultra-small, ultra-light DJI Neo and DJI Mini. While the Neo was zippy and incredibly tall, especially indoors, the Flip is far more stable thanks to the extended wingspan. It sounds more like an oversized buzzing insect than a miniature tornado, especially when flying indoors. The other advantage of the larger lens is that it also accepts ND filters for high-speed shots. DJI said it will sell a pack of 16, 64 or 256 ND filters, although it will be sold separately.

The DJI Flip retails for $440, but if you want the RC 2 controller, you’ll have to pony up $640. The Fly More Combo with the controller, three batteries and a charging hub costs $780. The drone should be available to order from Tuesday. The US government is still unsure whether to ban the sale of DJI drones due to fears that the Chinese company could threaten the US. Still, you should always check reviews, including ours, before hitting any buy buttons.