Drones have always felt like serious kit – expensive, complicated, and requiring a small degree in aeronautics to operate properly. Then DJI went and stuffed a fully-featured 4K drone into something the size of your palm, slapped a £169 price tag on it, and told us we could launch it from our hand like some sort of budget Iron Man. The DJI Neo arrived in September 2024, and it's genuinely one of the most exciting products DJI has released in years.

At just 135 grams – lighter than most smartphones – the Neo represents a fundamental shift in how we think about consumer drones. This isn't about professional cinematography or surveying farmland. This is about capturing moments, creating content, and having a genuinely fun gadget that doesn't require a pilot's licence or a second mortgage to enjoy. It's the drone for people who've always wanted a drone but found the whole thing a bit intimidating.

The Important Specs

Let's get the technical bits out of the way. The Neo packs a 1/2-inch image sensor capable of shooting 4K video at 30 frames per second or 1080p at 60fps. It captures 12-megapixel stills with a 117.6-degree field of view through an f/2.8 lens. DJI's included their RockSteady and HorizonBalancing electronic stabilisation, paired with a single-axis mechanical gimbal. The result? Footage that's impressively smooth for such a tiny aircraft.

Palm Takeoff: The Party Trick

Right, let's talk about the headline feature – launching this thing from your hand. It sounds gimmicky. It is gimmicky. But it's also absolutely brilliant. Press the mode button on top of the Neo, hold it on your outstretched palm, and watch it lift off into the sky. No controller needed. No phone app required. Just you and a tiny flying robot that's now hovering a few metres away, ready to film you doing... well, whatever it is you do.

The palm control system works both ways – it'll land back on your hand when you're done, which never stops feeling like you're living in the future. During testing, I must have launched and landed the Neo from my palm at least fifty times, and it worked flawlessly every single time. DJI recommends doing this in calm conditions, and that's sensible advice – try it in strong wind and you'll quickly understand why.

QuickShots: Automated Cinematography

This is where the Neo really earns its keep as a content creation tool. DJI has packed in a comprehensive suite of automated shooting modes that make capturing professional-looking footage genuinely effortless. These aren't just gimmicks – they're the same intelligent flight modes you'd find on drones costing three or four times as much.

Subject Tracking: Your Personal Camera Operator

Beyond the preset QuickShots, the Neo offers two primary tracking modes that effectively turn it into an autonomous camera operator. The Intelligent Tracking mode identifies your face and keeps it centred in frame, adjusting the drone's position as you move around. You can set the tracking distance and altitude to your preference – want a close-up? No problem. Prefer a wider establishing shot? Done.

DirectionTrack is the other option, which positions the Neo in front of you and maintains that orientation as you move. It's particularly useful for activities like cycling, running, or basically anything where you're moving in a consistent direction and want the drone to lead the way whilst filming.

I should mention that the tracking is specifically designed for people – it won't follow your dog or your car. It's looking for faces and human forms, so if you were hoping to film your Labrador's morning run, you'll need to get creative with the manual controls instead.

Control Options: Multiple Ways to Fly

One of the cleverest things about the Neo is how flexible DJI has made the control system. At its most basic, you can fly it with no accessories whatsoever – just palm control and voice commands (in English or Mandarin). Tell it to take off, select a shooting mode with the button, and let it do its thing. It's genuinely liberating to have a drone that requires nothing but itself.

For more control, connect your phone via WiFi and use the DJI Fly app. This gives you a live view of what the drone's seeing, manual camera controls, and access to all the intelligent flight modes. The app connection is straightforward and reliable, though there's inevitably a bit more latency compared to a dedicated controller.

Speaking of which, the Neo is compatible with DJI's RC-N3, RC-N2, and RC 2 controllers if you want traditional stick control with lower latency and longer range. The O4 transmission system supports distances up to 10km (FCC) or 6km in the UK/Europe (CE), though realistically you'll be flying much closer than that – and legally, you should always keep visual line of sight.

Camera Quality: What Can You Actually Expect?

Let's be realistic here – the Neo isn't competing with the Mavic 3 Pro or even the Mini 4 Pro on image quality. It's a 1/2-inch sensor with a fixed f/2.8 aperture, and whilst that's perfectly capable for social media content and casual videography, it's not going to win any cinematography awards.

That said, the footage is genuinely impressive for a £169 drone. The 4K video is sharp and detailed in good light, and the electronic stabilisation does a remarkable job of keeping things smooth despite the lack of a full three-axis gimbal. Colours are punchy without being oversaturated, and the 117.6-degree field of view captures plenty of scene without excessive distortion.

Low light is where the limitations become apparent. The small sensor struggles when the sun dips, and you'll notice increased noise and reduced detail fairly quickly. This is absolutely a daylight drone – save your moody sunset shots for something with a larger sensor.

Flight Performance: How Does It Handle?

At 135 grams, you might expect the Neo to be tossed around by the slightest breeze, but DJI's engineers have done a decent job here. It's rated for Level 4 wind resistance (up to 8 m/s or roughly 18 mph), which covers most reasonable flying conditions. Obviously, it's not going to handle storm-force winds, but then neither will you.

The built-in propeller guards are a brilliant touch. They add a small amount of weight and slightly reduce flight time (17 minutes versus 18 without them), but the peace of mind is worth it. This is a drone designed to fly near people, in confined spaces, possibly indoors – having protected propellers isn't just sensible, it's essential.

Maximum horizontal speed tops out at 16 m/s (about 36 mph) in manual mode, with a maximum altitude of 2000 metres. The GPS system uses a combination of GPS, Galileo, and BeiDou satellites for positioning, ensuring stable hovering even without a controller connected.

Battery Life and Practicalities

The Neo's 1435 mAh battery delivers approximately 18 minutes of flight time under optimal conditions. In real-world use, with QuickShots, tracking, and the propeller guards attached, expect closer to 14-16 minutes per charge. That's not spectacular, but it's reasonable for a drone this size, and the quick 50-60 minute charge time means you can top up during lunch.

DJI offers the Neo in various bundles, and the Triple Kit (which includes three batteries and a charging hub) is well worth considering if you plan to use this regularly. Nothing kills a filming session faster than running out of juice, and having spare batteries means you can keep shooting whilst the empty ones charge.

Storage is handled by 22GB of internal memory – no microSD slot here. That's enough for roughly 45 minutes of 4K footage, which should cover multiple battery cycles. Data transfer happens via USB-C or WiFi (up to 80 MB/s), so getting footage onto your phone or computer is straightforward.

Regulations: The Sub-250g Advantage

Here's where the Neo's featherweight design really pays dividends. At 135 grams, it falls well under the 250-gram threshold that triggers stricter drone regulations in most countries. In the UK, drones under 250g don't require registration with the CAA for recreational use, and in the US, they're exempt from FAA registration and Remote ID requirements when flown recreationally.

This doesn't mean you can fly it anywhere – airspace restrictions, no-fly zones, and common-sense rules still apply. But it does mean significantly less paperwork and bureaucracy compared to heavier drones. For casual users who just want to capture holiday footage or document their outdoor adventures, this is a genuine advantage.

What's the Damage?

DJI has been aggressive with the Neo's pricing, and it shows:

£169 / $199 Neo (drone only)

£249 / $289 Neo Triple Kit (3 batteries + charger)

£359 / $419 Neo Motion Fly More Combo (FPV kit)

For the drone alone at £169, you're getting remarkable value. The Triple Kit at £249 makes sense for anyone planning regular use, and the Motion Fly More Combo – which adds FPV goggles and a motion controller – is genuinely exciting for those who want the full immersive experience.

At these prices, the Neo undercuts virtually every comparable drone on the market. The nearest competition would be something like the HoverAir X1, which costs more and offers less in terms of transmission range and flight modes. DJI's ecosystem advantages – the polished Fly app, reliable firmware updates, and comprehensive support – only sweeten the deal.

Since its September 2024 launch, the Neo has proven enormously popular – and it's not hard to see why. DJI has essentially democratised drone ownership, creating a product that requires no prior experience, minimal investment, and delivers results that would have seemed impossible at this price point just a few years ago. Whether you're documenting family holidays, creating content for social media, or simply want a fun gadget that happens to fly, the Neo delivers. It's the drone for the rest of us, and it's rather brilliant.