DJI Neo Drone Waste: Should I Keep It or Return It? (Already Returned)

[Private message R] In short: I’ve sent it back, folks. It turns out that beyond the convenience of its following feature, the Mini Pro series doesn’t really need to consider the Neo—it’s just a redundant, low-spec device that feels like a waste of money… Hopefully, version 2.0 will focus on improving the accuracy and speed of tracking first, then enhancing image quality and obstacle avoidance. If all these areas are improved, I’d gladly pay more 💰💰💰 Haha.

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[Private message R] Indoors:
1️⃣ Tracking can be jittery at times, and the height it locks onto isn’t consistent with what you set.
2️⃣ Modes 2-4 rely heavily on distance, making them unsuitable for indoor test flights.
3️⃣ Focus mode is the only one where you can take photos—but even with a three-second freeze action, the results were disappointing.

I tried it indoors at a distance of less than two meters, and the photo turned out blurry—worse than a basic selfie camera in terms of clarity 😂. Strangely enough, the video footage looked sharper than the still images.
4️⃣ Custom directional tracking proved completely useless indoors. The drone would crash every three seconds without fail, no matter how many times I tested it during the day or night.

There was no exception.

[Private message R] Outdoors:
1️⃣ Tracking works fine when walking or running in open, sparsely populated areas. However, if you start riding an electric scooter—even at a slow pace (I kept my speed under a dozen km/h)—it struggles to keep up and simply hovers in place.
2️⃣ Modes 2-4 mimic master lens styles, but as a Mini 3 owner, I find the Neo’s push-and-pull shots too sluggish in auto mode, with limited range.

Trying to use the master lens to highlight background visuals often falls flat; the results tend to be quite ordinary.
3️⃣ Custom directional tracking finally stops crashing randomly outdoors during daylight hours, but there’s no noticeable difference compared to [Mode 1 Follow]. Testing it under streetlights at night resulted in another crash within three seconds, failing to lock onto the subject properly.

[Not Recommended] [Not Recommended] [Not Recommended] [Not Recommended] [Not Recommended] Complaints, whether indoors or outdoors, day or night:
1️⃣ A mere 15 minutes of battery life! And when the battery 🔋 overheats, you can’t charge it right away. You’ll need to wait at least 5 minutes for it to cool down before attempting to recharge—or risk abnormal flashing.

2️⃣ One hour of charging yields only 15 minutes of flight time. That’s a pretty steep trade-off!
3️⃣ The drone is painfully slow, and so is its companion app on your phone. It feels nowhere near as responsive or agile as the Mini series.
4️⃣ Image quality? Let’s just say it leaves much to be desired—even on your phone screen.

It reminds me of when Insta360 first launched; it made you curious but also filled with doubts.
5️⃣ No omnidirectional obstacle avoidance ❗️❗️❗️ This means crashes are practically inevitable ❗️❗️❗️ If you decide to keep this one, make sure to get the care package—and even three replacement units per year might not suffice.

[Crying Laughing R][Crying Laughing R][Crying Laughing R] No aircraft should endure that kind of punishment (though worth noting, I did crash it a few times at low speeds and close range without leaving any marks on the body).
6️⃣ It’s ridiculously easy to lose in the dark 🌚 Seriously, anyone could walk off with it—it’s dumber than the Three Stooges combined…
7️⃣ No vertical shooting capability, which severely limits creative usage scenarios.

8️⃣ The gimbal design is overly simplistic—it moves up and down but lacks side-to-side motion. Combine that with sluggish response times, and it’s no surprise it struggles to track fast movements, especially sharp turns. Don’t expect miracles here!
9️⃣ Extremely loud noise levels. Forget stealthy flying—this thing announces itself everywhere it goes.

🔟 As for the advertised sound recording feature? Terrible. Using my phone for audio capture proved far superior. Background noise dominates, making it feel like talking to someone with poor signal during a phone call.
1️⃣1️⃣ Compatibility issues abound—the Mini 3 standard remote control simply won’t work with this model.

[Crying Laughing R][Crying Laughing R][Crying Laughing R]