The HoverAir X1 Pro/Pro-Max drones have been some of the most hotly anticipated drones over the last year. The pair was announced concurrently, and are near identical save a slightly better camera in the Pro-Max (capable of 8K). However, the standout feature of Hover’s drones has been its tracking features, combined with a unit that can take the reality-inducing pounding that comes with failed tracking attempts (hitting trees/poles/etc…).
While it might sound counterintuitive, drones these days have transitioned a little bit away from perfecting obstacle avoidance, and instead, perfecting the actual track following. Meaning, instead of trying to avoid every tiny branch along the way, simply focus on mirroring the *exact* path the person/cyclist/etc has gone. The logic being: If an adult can fit through that space, so can a tiny drone the size of a paperback book.
It’s a strategy that HoverAir has doubled down on for cycling especially, with a newer cycle-specific mode. Or rather, two modes. One for ‘narrow’ spots, and one for ‘wide open’ areas. In the ‘Narrow’ mode, it basically follows your body precisely. Every twist and turn, ensuring *not* to cut sharp corners, but rather follow where your wheels went. Whereas in ‘open’ mode, it smooths out those corners, resulting in an overall smoother look, but requiring more space around the drone.
Now, back in November, I took the HoverAir X1 Pro through the Gauntlet course. The same course that virtually every other sports-tracking drone has completed (or mostly, died on). However, as is often the case, I never finished editing that. And that was before cycling mode. So last week, while back in Amsterdam, I took it out for another spin on The Gauntlet.
In fact, I did two tests back to back: The HoverAir X1 Pro, and the DJI Flip. Same day, same conditions, same route. That video will be up next. And it’s…umm…crunchy.
In the meantime, go forth and enjoy the above! And thanks for watching!
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Hopefully you found this review/post useful. At the end of the day, I’m an athlete just like you looking for the most detail possible on a new purchase – so my review is written from the standpoint of how I used the device. The reviews generally take a lot of hours to put together, so it’s a fair bit of work (and labor of love). As you probably noticed by looking below, I also take time to answer all the questions posted in the comments – and there’s quite a bit of detail in there as well.
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Honestly, it’s a pretty simple software trick, right? In “narrow” mode, the drone uses the moving thing as a tunnel and follows super close. It also flies a bit lower than others. But hey, congrats, it works!
Have you found a Mallorca gauntlet yet?
Sorta. I’ve got pieces of a gaunlet, but not in one super cohesive non-stopable format. The trail piece I have easily, basically right out my front door.
Sadly, what would have been an amazing faster-paced gravel section companion to that is part of a no-fly zone. Meanwhile, I have a shorter on-road (but desolate) speed sections I can use, part of a abandoned road project.
My main issue is avoiding various no-fly zones here, while concurrently avoiding people/cars. That’s what makes the Amsterdam route so good, is that most of the daytime, it’s empty/desolate. Especially in the winter months.
I probably just need to spend half a day scouting, and find something within a 20 minute drive that works as a cohesive course.
Did you say 20 minute drive? Drive? I am a bit disappointed… ;-)
Raym will you be reviewing the insta360 x4 and the bike kit?
Probably unlikely. I’m not a huge 360 cam person, and generally speaking, 360 cam content does poorly (as in, the videos about it do poorly for most creators), mainly because companies like Insta360 send out 1,500 review samples of each camera, thus, heavily diluting what’s out there.
That said, I may pickup an X4 merely to understand it a bit better.
Insta also have a poor rep for asking ‘reviewers’ to hide the fact that they are sponsored.
True, though, DJI does the same thing…they just didn’t put it in writing to someone they upset.
I recently watched a Tales, Ales + Trails YT video where he tested the Hover Pro’s follow modes on a long twisty treelined singletrack trail and it ran the gauntlet without issue. Very impressive. As it also was on your video.
I now need to determine if the video image quality is good enough for me.
Oops – it’s **Tails, Ales + Trails**
Indeed, good stuff! Here’s the video I presume you’re talking about: link to youtube.com
The middle section is actually pretty similar to what I filmed a few days ago here in Mallorca (and then the Hover X1 Pro simply…stopped recording after 10 seconds for no obvious reason). I’ll probably head back out again tomorrow or the next day to re-film. It’s just in my backyard, so easy enough, but the winds have been crazy the last few days (50KPH) and mixing those winds on a ridgeline with the trees is a recipe for killing more drones than I need to in a week.
This is very impressive. Is the elevation tracking for the X1 pro improved compared to the X1 (in other words – is it usable for skiing)?
It is nice to see that since your review of the X1, the website now has a repair kit for sale (both X1 and X1 pro)
Interested in the same. Skiing tracking is essential.
I haven’t tried skiing, unfortunately.
Any expectation to get the full review of the Pro published?
Any chance the full review is coming shortly? I’m planning a biking trip in Norway in August.. and kinda tempted to get the X1 Pro/Promax as I don’t like the idea of having the controller on me all the time. So it would be good to get an insight on how it behaves when not used for following.
DJI Mini 4 Pro is likely a better drone, less noisy, longer flight time drone and can be purchased cheaper. I used to have a mini 2 but sold it after I haven’t used it for over a year.. it did not have any active tracking and somehow my wife wasn’t interested in filming my activities ;-)
Quick question – I assume you’re planning to do a full review of the X1 Pro at some point, but in the interim did you get a chance to test it with the Beacon / Joysticks? It seems like that would address the biggest shortcoming of the original X1 (short range and not very effective control for non-tracking use cases).
More generally – how does the X1 Pro stack up against the lower end DJI options (Neo / Mini 4K)
Thanks!
Interested what mic you are using in this clip? so clear!
Anyone seen the latest drone regulations in the UK. From what I can see it rules out most of the things you might want to do with a Hover. For example, no cycling or follow-me modes. I may have misunderstood some of rules though.
My understanding of the new UK rules is that follow-me is allowed, it just has to stay within 50m of the person it’s following, and you need to be able to see it.*
Honestly, that’s actually not really an issue. None of these drones can actively track/follow beyond 50m in distance to a person anyway. They can typically only do that when the subject following is lost, and they’re basically staying put and tracking a dot going waaay off into the distance (right before losing it, in my experience). But otherwise, the 50m rule is more than fine for cycling/running (less ideal though for driving/boats/etc…).
The term ‘direct sight’ is sorta a weird one, in that almost everyone would argue you can look down at a regular controller and maintain direct sight when you look up again, and thus the same would apply here if you were facing away from drone and it was following you. At least historically, that’s how US/EU/UK authorities have always defined that. More of a “you should be able to see the drone if you look at its location” (avoiding a scenario where it’s a mile away and you can’t see it about to collide with a helicopter).
*Here: link to caa.co.uk.