I flew DJI’s $199 drone with its new $229 Goggles N3

See, the institution announced its fund $199 Neo drone successful September that useful pinch goggles, and coming it’s announcing the $229 DJI Goggles N3. Add a $99 RC Motion 3 controller and you get airplane-like flight, pinch first-person video that puts you successful the virtual cockpit.

But I can’t rather corroborate that it’s worthy your money yet — because DJI says my portion apt shipped pinch a defect, and I’ll request a small much testing time. More connected that below.

At $229, the Goggles N3 are decidedly little costly than erstwhile pairs, redeeming you $120 complete the company’s $349 Goggles Integra, its erstwhile fund set, and they’re little than half the value of the premium $499 DJI Goggles 3. Yet they’ve sewage the aforesaid one-tap defogging (using an soul fan) and DJI O4 video transmission arsenic the Goggles 3. I flew the Neo conscionable arsenic acold pinch the DJI’s cheapest and astir costly goggles earlier the awesome trim retired and the drone recovered its measurement home. You still get headtracking truthful you tin look up and down while you’re flying forward, too.

On paper, the N3 moreover look amended than the much premium models successful a mates ways: a wider 54-degree section of position (compare to 44 degrees), an eyebox truthful large you tin put your medicine glasses inside, pinch nary request to twist knobs to make the lenses lucifer your vision, the institution claims.

But alternatively of the crisp, colorful, cleanable micro-OLED screens included successful each of DJI’s different modern FPV goggles, the N3 has a single, comparatively washed-out LCD surface inside. To purpose that sheet astatine your face, there’s a large diagonal optic wrong (not dissimilar a periscope) to bounce the ray astatine a correct angle.

In the lawsuit of my reappraisal unit, the halfway of my surface seems to beryllium aimed astatine the halfway of my nosepiece. With nary measurement to set the lenses, I’m stuck pinch an out-of-focus image each the time. Not being capable to decently spot thing has sewage to beryllium a fluke, right? DJI spokesperson Daisy Kong tells maine complete the telephone that I mightiness person a defective unit.

If it is conscionable a fluke, I’d beryllium good pinch astir of the different corners DJI has cut. I could unrecorded pinch a somewhat washed retired image. I don’t miss the nonaccomplishment of the Goggles 3’s hardly useful passthrough imagination aliases silicone padding — fabric’s bully capable for me. I don’t terribly mind that the Goggles N3 has a visible cablegram sticking retired the broadside alternatively of weaving it into the headband for illustration erstwhile models.

While it’s heavier, it’s only 2.3 ounces (65g) heavier than the Goggles 3 according to my room scale, and it’s still reasonably balanced retired by the integrated artillery astatine the backmost of the headset. Frankly, moreover the Goggles N3 has much wireless scope and much fancy features than I typically need. But the halfway of the acquisition needs to beryllium a crisp, clear look done the oculus of the drone. I’ll fto you cognize if that materializes successful the adjacent mates of weeks.

I should besides statement that the DJI Neo isn’t anyplace adjacent arsenic bully arsenic the Avata aliases Avata 2 astatine being an FPV drone, simply because of its weight and powerfulness ratios — it’s not arsenic nimble arsenic those much dedicated models, and the upwind tin much easy push it around.

Like them aliases not, DJI doesn’t person a batch of different affordable FPV options connected the table. The institution precocious discontinued its $829 Avata Explorer Combo (though you tin find some refurbished deals), and Kong says location are “no existent plans” to fto you usage the $350 Goggles Integra pinch the DJI Neo, moreover though DJI now lets you usage the Avata 2 and DJI Mini 4 Pro pinch the Integra. So if you don’t for illustration the Goggles N3, the $500 Goggles 3 is the only different group that presently useful pinch the Neo.

In the US, wherever DJI is facing immoderate import difficulties, it’ll only waste the the Goggles N3 connected its own, conscionable arsenic it only sells the DJI Neo connected its own. In the UK and Europe, it’s a bundle to start: the caller “DJI Neo Motion Fly More Combo” pinch drone, goggles, controller, 3 batteries, and a charging hub is disposable coming for £449 aliases €529, pinch the standalone $229/£229/€269 Goggles N3 estimated to get successful precocious November.