Trying to compete against the largest hobby and commercial drone company, DJI, can be a daunting task.  But, there are other drone manufacturers out there making their mark.  One such company is Autel Robotics, considered to be one of the top up and coming drone companies.  Autel Robotics was established in 2014 in Bothell, WA.  Though they are technically an American company they are actually a subsidiary of the Chinese company Autel Intelligent Corp. that was established ten years earlier in 2004.  They currently employ a little less that 500 employees under the direction of CEO Steve McIrvin.  While their drones are assembled in China, that is the only non American aspect of their operations.  All Autel Robotics customer relations and other services are based out of their Bothell office.

Autel currently has two drones available for purchase.  They are the X-Star Premium and The EVO.  Both drones also come with a full list of accompanying accessories to replace broken parts or further customize the drone to fit your needs.  The X-Star Premium is a great option for a beginning drone operator based on it’s ease of use and budget friendly price. 

The X-Star package is around $600 and includes a protective hard carry case, remote controller, charging cable, 25 minute flight time battery, 1 hour battery charger, a 64-GB MicroSD card that can record over 2 hours of 4K video, as well as spare propellers and other small parts.  The drone itself is a quadrocopter weighing just over 3lbs with a max speed of 35mph.  The remote control is easy to use and has an extendable clamp to attach a smart phone or tablet that will wirelessly connect to the drone.  This provides the pilot with a live view of what the drone is seeing to help in navigation and taking pictures or videos.  Navigation is made possible and safe with dual GPS, GLONASS navigation, Starpoint Positioning System, and SecureFly technology.  The high performance 4 K Ultra HD video camera and 3-axis gimbal takes superior videos and stills.

The EVO, Autel’s newest drone, is noticeably more expensive.  The EVO Rugged Bundle retails for around $1,199 and was designed to cater to emergency and first responders as well as commercial drone operators.  The package includes a military grade hard carry case that protects your equipment form water and dust while still providing enough room to carry all the essentials needed like additional batteries, spare parts, the remote, and a 10″ tablet.  The bundle also includes the remote controller and a micro USB cable to charge the controller, battery charger, OTG micro USB & OTG USB-C cables, 2 spare batteries, a set of spare propellers, and a 32 GB MicroSD card.

The EVO itself is a compact quadrocopter with a 30 minute flight time, that weighs less than 2lbs and has a max speed of 44mph.  Because of it’s compact design it can fold for storage and is super portable.  It uses the same high definition camera and 3-axis gimbal system as the X-Star, as well as the same navigation systems.  You can be sure that this drone will fly smoothly and easily while capturing pristine images and video.  The remote can be attached to a tablet or smart phone too, but it has it’s own 3.3″ OLED screen that provides all flight information and a live feed of what the drone is seeing.

While a company like DJI may have a huge array of options available to meet any drone needs, Autel has found success in scaling down their operations.  They have focused in on two models and tweaked them to perfection.  Their drones are reliable and just as competitively advanced as some of the models put forth by DJI.