The compact Yuneec Breeze drone is built for 4K selfies
The $500 model is a solid entry to the vanity drone market.
Yuneec is known for high-end drones with features like 4K and collision avoidance, but is going straight for Joe Consumer with its latest model. The Breeze is a $500 compact drone with five flight modes and an on-board 4K camera, making it ideal for types who want high-quality aerial selfies.
Yuneec didn't reveal many specs, but CEO Tian Yu did say it it includes "Ultra HD and flight mode capabilities of our top end drones." Judging from the lifestyle pics, one of those is almost certainly a "follow-me" mode so that newbie drone users can focus on posing. As for the camera, if it's anything like the one on its high-end Typhoon Q500 4K model, it will be decent, though not quite as good as DJI's built-in 4K cameras.
The Breeze comes with an app to let you control the flight, see a live stream, and take photos or video. Once the it's over, you can download them to your phone and post to Facebook, Twitter, YouTube Instagram or WhatsApp. It doesn't appear to break down in any way for easier transport (other than the folding propellers), but certainly looks small enough to throw in a backpack.
The selfie drone market is pretty small right now -- Ehang's GhostDrone 2 Aerial, for one, runs $600 with a 4K camera. Other models, like the Nixie and Hexo+, have yet to ship. That makes the $500 price tag for the Yuneec Breeze look pretty reasonable, and you can actually buy one starting today.