Ever wanted to be able to fly an intelligent drone with follow me feature and other gimmicks? But these high-end models like Phantom 4 Pro (See Price) and DJI Mavic Pro 2 (See Price) price tags are too expensive for you? Fortunately, there is a great alternative called the Xiaomi Mi Drone 4K. This sleek and similar clone of Phantom 4 Pro is designed and manufactured by a well-known electronics Chinese company “Mi”. The Xiaomi Mi Drone 4K is an extremely popular quadcopter that has gained more than one thousand customer reviews internationally.
In this article, I will talk about the building design, performance, camera quality, and especially the remote controller of the Xiaomi Mi drone. While I have never owned this drone before, I carefully researched the drone product by sifting through their reviews from both positives and negatives so that you don’t have to do all the hard work. All the information that I am going to say about the Xiaomi Mi drone 4K is what you need to know.
Like every shopper does before they make the purchase. The most common questions will be asked throughout the shopping process is it easy to fly? Can this drone do x and perform y? And whatnot. Rumors were to be said that the Xiaomi Mi drone 4K is the DJI Phantom 4 Pro killer. But I think otherwise. Read below to find out more information about the Xiaomi Mi drone 4k review and see if it is the right quadcopter for you.
Build & Design Quality
My initial impression with the Xiaomi Mi drone is how unique it is designed. It resembles a rectangle body with four motor arms coated in white painting. Unlike the Phantom 4 Pro (See Price) that features a curved hull body and smaller size, the Xiaomi Mi drone has taken on the approach of minimalist and simplistic.
The Xiaomi Mi drone 4k comes with at least three different colors. Most noticeable is the color of the motors. Each motor caps have two red and stainless silver steel. With a logo that says “Mi” in the middle that signifies the company’s brand.
Furthermore, the Xiaomi Mi 4K drone is equipped with quick-release propellers. This feature allows beginners and professional remote pilots to attach and detach the propellers with ease. This means you do not need a screwdriver to attach the propellers, thus making it very easy to replace broken pieces if necessary. Along with that, the drone comes with two landing skids that support and reduces the impact of landing.
Moreover, it helps protect its powerful 4K camera that is mounted under its body against the ground. Such as tiny particles like dust, sands, and the like. Lastly, the drone includes LED lights that give visual assistance for positioning purposes. It is a very useful feature during the day and night flight operations. This feature will let you know where the drone is via its lights flashing and it’s whereabouts.
Overall, the design quality of Xiaomi Mi drone 4K appears to be quite sleek and professionally crafted. It uses durable ABS plastic that provides an additional layer of protection and resilience against accidents. Not only it uses a durable plastic material, but it also uses a combination of alloy and carbon fiber that supports the drone’s hull integrity. For these reasons, we give this drone a big thumbs up on design and build quality.
Flight Performance
In this part of the Xiaomi Mi drone 4k review, I will talk about its flight performance. One of the key features that this intelligent quadcopter comes with is the built-in GPS and GLONASS positioning system. This feature allows the drone to fly stable with ease controls due to communication up to 19 satellites. Not only it provides drone incredible stability and smooth flight controls, but this feature also enables a wide set of awesome features such as follow me mode, point of interest, and Active Track.
Moreover, Xiaomi Mi drone uses intelligent flight batteries like Phantom 4 Pro (See Price) and DJI Mavic Pro 2 (See Price). This battery allows you to see the status and how much juice it has left. Because of its high power capacity, it means the drone performs better. Thus faster propeller spinning, better speed, and more propulsion to perform responsive controls. A single battery on average provides a flight time of 25 minutes which is pretty darn good for a drone within its price range. However, if you do want to extend your flight session, I recommend buying additional batteries here.
While the Xiaomi Mi drone is too big to fly indoor. Its size and heavyweight make the perfect choice for aerial photography and outdoor activity. Because of its low price tag, it is very accessible to beginners and those who are looking to expand their photography gallery with aerial shots. Although, it is important to keep in mind that the Xiaomi Mi 4K drone doesn’t come with obstacle avoidance technology, unlike Phantom 4 Pro (See Price).
Regardless, this sleek drone is still an extremely popular choice for beginners. Before you buy this drone, I highly recommend that you get a modern toy-grade drone-like X12 Drone (See Price), HS160 Shadow (See Price) or Potensic T18 (See Price) so that you can learn how to fly a drone first. Check the Xiaomi Mi drone 4k review video to see the quadcopter in action below.
Camera Quality
For professional aerial photographers and beginners who want to learn how to capture and produce quality aerial shots. Having a camera with high quality and flexible capacities is the utmost feature of all aerial services. Like Phantom 4 Pro (See Price) and DJI Mavic Pro 2 (See Price), the Xiaomi Mi drone 4k is a no exception.
The camera can capture videos on professional ultra-high-definition 4K resolution at 30 frames per second. Plus, the camera is mounted on a 3-axis gimbal stabilizer allowing you to take perfect stills and smooth videos that will transform you into a professional aerial photographer. The image quality of stills is generated using a 12.4MP camera, albeit it is slightly better than DJI Mavic Pro (See Price).
One of the key features that the Xiaomi Mi drone brings to the table is the flexibility of the camera. It is rotatable and can be used to point in the direction you would like to choose from. From upward to downward. Plus, you can rotate the camera 360-degree while keeping the drone stationary in the air. This gives the remote pilot and professional aerial photographer the tools they need to produce stills and videos that DJI drones do not currently offer.
For those who use Lightroom and Photoshop, this drone comes with the capabilities to produce both RAW and JPEG. At a low affordable price tag that beats the popular DJI drones. It does say a lot about the quality that Xiaomi Mi drone 4k has to offer for beginners and professional remote pilots.
Remote Controller
The Xiaomi Mi drone 4k review isn’t completed without talking about how good the remote controller is. First of all, beginners and first-time flyers might find the remote controller a bit bulky. However, that is true for some of the professional remote controllers. The key features that high-end models like Xiaomi Mi drone and popular DJI drones have are a ton of built-in features that make the remote controller responsive and intelligent.
With the remote controller, you can easily fly the drone up to 2,000 meters with ease. This is quite impressive for a high-end drone since one of the DJI drone Spark (See Price) can only fly up to 1,000 meters without any issues. Furthermore, the remote controller comes with a built-in phone holder. This allows the flexibility for you to insert your smartphones. Much like DJI Mavic Pro 2 (See Price) with the foldable transmitter.
On the side note, you can customize your routes. Takeoff and land automatically with a press of a button. Plus, flying around the point and activate smart return to home function. As mentioned previously, this drone connects to a powerful 2.4GHz transmitter. All you have to do is reconfigure the settings to Mode 2 for best performance. It can easily fly up to 2,000 meters and a maximum height of 800 meters from the pilot.
Customer Experience
With an average rating of 3.8 out of 5 in Amazon, 65% of it is comprised of 5-star reviews. Those who loved the Xiaomi MI drone mainly because of its simple and straightforward operations. The drone’s camera brings high-grade photos and images, and the videos are stable as well. It’s also very responsive to controls, and the instructions are easy to understand.
Conclusion of Xiaomi Mi Drone 4K Review
Before I wrap up the Xiaomi mi drone 4k review. I want to share my final remarks about this quadcopter. As I said previously that I never owned this drone. Through researching and reviewing the feedback. It is very easy to understand why this drone might be one of the most popular choices among beginners and those who want to learn how to become a professional drone pilot.
Xiaomi Mi drone went through several upgrades that addressed the shaking camera from lack of gimbal, improved the quality of resolution, and more. It is easy to see how these small upgrades to the drone quickly transformed into a hot-selling quadcopter that people are still buying nowadays.
Most importantly, this drone is packed with features. Follow me mode, waypoint mode, and point of interest function. All you can think of it such as Active Track and more. If you ever want to go on a solo journey without making a dent in your bank. The Xiaomi Mi drone 4k is a great choice for the popular DJI drones. You can easily get it for $450 on Banggood. Furthermore, if you want fast shipping, you can get it for $650 on Amazon.
