In June 2018 Parrot announced the Anafi, and on paper it looked like a Mavic Air killer. Before it even shipped, I sat down to look at the specs and ask the big question: could Parrot finally beat DJI?
Two different markets
DJI was the leader of the market, and probably will be for many years. Parrot had always been there too, waiting at the window. Until then, the people buying DJI were mostly pros who wanted something reliable and professional, while Parrot's market was more for amateurs, attracted most of all by the low price and the ready-to-fly toys. With the Anafi, things looked like they could change.
The specs on paper
It's a direct competitor to the Mavic Air, and I'd love to know what DJI was thinking when they saw it. On paper it's an amazing drone:
A gimbal, 4K HDR video and, for the first time, a camera that rotates 180 degrees, so you can even shoot from underneath. It's super light and foldable, and it charges with a USB-C cable, so there's no extra charger in your luggage. It records at 100 Mbps with a log profile for colour grading. Parrot claimed 25 minutes of flight time (I doubted that: manufacturers tend to exaggerate, so take a couple of minutes off), a 4 km range (a lot, especially in Europe on 2.4 GHz) and 10 dB less noise than the Mavic Air. In the presentation videos you could hear people talking clearly with the drone flying 20 centimetres from them.
And the price: $699. Really low for what they were offering. I love my Spark, and I'm still paying for it.
No geofencing
One big difference: Parrot had no geofencing or flight restriction modes, so you could take off wherever you wanted. DJI doesn't work like that. If you're in a no-fly zone, there's no way you'll take off. Don't get me wrong, I'm not willing to break any rules, but DJI's policy can be very frustrating. I can't even fly my Spark two metres up in my own garden to film my kids playing, because I'm too close to the airport. In Brindisi the airport is right in the city, so a six-kilometre circle covers the entire town.
So, will Parrot beat DJI?
The Anafi was due to ship at the beginning of July, and my friend Werner, a colleague at the United Nations, had already pre-ordered one. I couldn't wait to try it. Looking only at the specs, I'd say yes. But only user experience can really tell, and I thought it would take five or six months of reviews and real people flying it in every situation before we'd know.