Our society is obsessed with social media.  Meeting someone who isn’t on some social media platform is a rarity now.  Between Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TickTock, Tinder, and much more we are connecting on so many levels.  And one of the biggest features of all of these sites is the aspect of connecting through visual images.  Sharing your experiences through a digital photo collage.  And the king of all these images could easily be the selfie.  In fact selfies have become so popular the the Merriam Webster Dictionary named it the word of the year in 2013.  Flash forward six years and the selfie is still going strong.

Perhaps a trend that is gaining just as much popularity as the selfie is personal drones.  Drones have become affordable and easy to use.  They are a favorite for those looking to capture stunning photographs and videos.  There are tons of drone models available from commercial to professional, to hobby and toy.  In 2016 an Italian entrepreneur by the name of Edoardo Stroppiana began a KickStarter to bring these two ideas together and create a selfie drone.  AirSelfie Holdings is based out London, and with the funding from the KickStarter campaign they were able to launch their drone AirSelfie.

The AirSelfie is a pocket sized drone that can take the perfect selfie for you.  It has a sturdy anodized aluminum frame, weighs 2.8oz and has 4 propellers.  The propellers are powered by brush-less motors so it is safe to grab onto the drone, even when the propellers are still moving.  The AirSelfie has a 12 megapixel HD wide angle camera with a built in 16GB SD memory card.  Out of focus photographs and videos are not an issue because of it’s vibration absorption, high stability camera, and altitude sonar. It also has it’s own 2.4GH WiFi network to connect to your smartphone and the easy to use free app. 

With the success of the AirSelfie, the company was encouraged to build a new model.  They just announced that with the help of e-Novia, a company that specializes in creating the technological devices you dream up, that the newest selfie taking drone is ready to launch.  The new drone is called AirPix, and it’s even easier to use than AirSelfie.

The two drones are pretty much the same thing, only AirPix is a smaller, lighter, and needs no registration to be able to fly.  It is smaller than an iPhoneX and only weighs 1.83oz.  The camera and stability capabilities are just as good as with the AirSelfie, but it has an 8GB SD memory card.  With the new app though, the drone is easier to fly, locate what it is supposed to be filming or photographing, and then it autonomously returns to you.  All you have to do is push a single button and strike a few poses.  Then you can instantly upload or live-stream to your favorite social media platform for all your followers to see.

The biggest difference between the two drones is their price and flight time.  The AirSelfie retails for around $170 and can operate for 17 minutes before needing to be recharged.  The AirPix retails for around $80 and can only fly for about 6 minutes.  However, both devices come with a quick charge pack to use in between flights before needing a full recharge.  An important thing to remember is that even though you may not need a license to operate this type of drone, they may still be prohibited in certain environments.  So before heading out to something like a festival or theme park, check with their rules to see if a selfie drone is allowed to be used.