DJI Phantom 4 Quadcopter

The latest version of DJI's top-end consumer drone, the Phantom 4, improves on its predecessor in many ways. It's the best consumer drone on the market, and it's priced accordingly.

• +

  Easy to fly. Extremely stable. Obstacle avoidance. Incredible operating range with 720p Live View. Return-to-home and other safety features. Automated flight modes. High-speed Sport mode. Smooth 4K video capture. 20mm wide-angle lens. Subject recognition and tracking. Raw and JPG still capture.

• -

  Pricey. True mission planning requires third-party app.

If there’s a drone that can claim ownership of consumer airspace, it’s DJI’s Phantom. The company’s white, 4K-camera-toting quadcopter is the Prius of the skies; hip, accessible, and ubiquitous.

• +

  Automated flight features make it possible to fly places and get shots previous models could not. It's harder to crash into stuff, with is safer for you and for your wallet. Insanely fast sport mode is a ton of fun. Camera improvements make for better 4K video.

• -

  The batteries have changed shape again. If you're upgrading, you'll need buy new batteries again too. Collision detection could be better. You lose the object avoidance powers if you snap on the optional prop guards.

The drone takes off, hovering a few feet off the ground. I guide it up to about 12 feet with the throttle on the remote control. Then my three year old son takes over. He taps the screen on an iPad running our piloting app.

• +

  Great autonomous features, Reliable and powerful flight, Terrific camera and connectivity

• -

  Expensive, Only comes with one battery

Novice pilots will love the simple control and flying of the Phantom 4, and experienced pilots will like the power and speed.

• +

  Longer battery life, Faster flight, Excellent image quality, App is straightforward and easy to use

• -

  App is straightforward and easy to use, App is straightforward and easy to use, App is straightforward and easy to use, App is straightforward and easy to use, App is straightforward and easy to use

The DJI Phantom is a drone that can truly claim to be the king of consumer airspace as the white and 4K-camera boasting quadcopter is undoubtedly the leader of the skies; ubiquitous, accessible and hip.

If we all start flying drones it’ll be DJI’s fault. The company’s new Phantom 4 drone is not only the best-looking drone of its class, it also puts an incredible degree of flying intelligence in regular people’s hands. I will be so sad to send this one back.

The DJI Phantom 4 is not quite a drone for the non-enthusiast, then, but it’s closer than ever before to that ideal, and it’s the safety features – the collision-detection and tracking features, not to mention the safety net of the automatic fly-me-home feature – that take it there.

We’ve written about the very popular DJI Phantom 3 drone and the company has just stepped up their game with the release of the all-new DJI Phantom 4 drone . This drone is just as amazing as the Phantom 3 and then improved in many aspects.

I've had my eye on the Phantom drones since version 2, and became more interested as each new version was released. I've used some cheap remote control quadcopters and helicopters for fun, so I was blown away by how easy this is to fly by comparison!