The DJI Neo is shaping up to be one of the company’s most fun drones in years. A few new leaks give us a clearer look at its impressively small dimensions and potential compatibility with FPV (first-person view) headsets.
Thanks to a message from a regular DJI leaker @JasperEllens on X (formerly Twitter), we now have what appear to be the likely dimensions of the tiny drone. If the 157mm x 130mm x 49mm measurements, taken from an early posting on a Mexican online retailer, are correct, this will be DJI’s smallest drone yet.
On the other hand, it appears that the Neo will not have a foldable design like many of DJI’s drones, meaning it won’t be much smaller or more portable than a DJI Mini 4 Pro when the latter is folded up. Instead, it appears to be a mini version of the DJI Avata 2.
To give us a clearer picture of how the Neo and Avata 2 compare, here’s a separate post from @hakasushi X placed the two drones side by side, based on the leaked dimensions.
A webshop in Mexico didn’t hide the #djineo very well: it measures 15.7 x 13 x 4.9 cm. That’s about 5 stacked CD-rom boxes (for those who remember). It’ll probably be a week before we see more pictures. Cheers pic.twitter.com/w5nEzUjvUAAugust 3, 2024
Another after from @hakasushi shows how the Neo compares to a Mini 4 Pro. The Neo will be seemingly much smaller in flight (and therefore more vulnerable to high winds), but not dissimilar to a Mini-series drone in terms of portability.
Perhaps the biggest unanswered question about the Neo is whether it will support FPV headsets like the DJI Goggles 3. A new Reddit post from user lileyedmonster suggests that this will be the case, though we don’t know the source of this information so we would treat it with caution.
The software screenshot appears to show that the Neo has been prematurely added to a list of drones that work with the Goggles 3. However, some DJI leakers, such as @OsitaLVhas previously stated that the Neo will not have FPV functionality, but will instead compete with ‘hover’ drones like the HoverAir X1.
The Neo’s potential FPV mode remains uncertain for now…
Upgrade to FPV class?
Previous leaks of the DJI Neo have suggested that the drone’s appeal lies in its affordability, with the ‘Fly More’ bundle reportedly priced at $329 (around £320 / AU$515).
FPV headsets like the DJI Goggles 3 ($499 / £579 / AU$869) cost considerably more than that – so unless DJI plans to launch a cheaper Goggles alongside the drone, the FPV functionality will likely be a small part of its appeal.
On the other hand, a drone like the Neo, which features a “Cinewhoop”-like design similar to the drones typically used to capture dramatic indoor videos, could certainly appeal to a specific demographic that doesn’t want to deal with the DIY tinkering typically associated with flying FPV drones.
DJI may launch the Neo as an affordable, accessible entry-level model for drone beginners, while also throwing in support for headsets like the DJI Goggles 3 as a bonus. Judging by the number of leaks we’re seeing for the drone, we may not have to wait too long to know for sure.