Autel Robotics X-Star Premium Drone with 4K Ultra HD Video Camera, 1.2 - Mile HD Live View and Hard Case (White)

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Product Specifications

4K Ultra HD video camera with quick-release 3-axis gimbal stabilizer
HD Live View up to 1.2 miles away and autonomous flight modes via the free Starlink app for iOS or Android (mobile device sold separately)
Dual GPS/GLONASS outdoor navigation, SecureFlyTM magnetic interference protection, and the Starpoint Positioning SystemTM
Intuitive remote controller with LCD display and one-touch action buttons
Included accessories: Premium hard case, 64-GB MicroSD card, intelligent battery, 1-hour fast charger, spare propellers and small parts
Backed by Autel Robotics customer support: U.S. based, seven days a week

Product Description

Product Description The X-Star Premium has twice the HD Live View range compared to the X-Star, includes a larger 64-GB card, and comes packed in a semi-hard, splash-proof, zippered premium case.

The X-Star Premium is a sophisticated yet amazingly easy-to-fly quadcopter designed for superb aerial imagery. The 4K camera and 3-axis gimbal can record crystal-clear, smooth Ultra HD videos or take 12-MP photos with HD Live View up to 1.2 miles away. This drone is ready to fly out of the box, and can be flown with or without the help of the free Starlink mobile app. Powered by an intelligent flight control system, dual GPS and GLONASS satellite navigation and aided by the Starpoint Positioning System, the drone stays safe and stable, even indoors or at low altitudes. Where other drones might become erratic or fly away when there is magnetic interference, the X-Star is equipped with our exclusive SecureFly technology to help your drone come back home safely.

Learning to fly the X-Star is easy: you can start the motors, take off and land, hover, or have the drone automatically return home by using the one-touch buttons on the remote controller. The controller’s integrated LCD displays critical flight information, allowing the Starlink mobile app to show fullscreen live HD video. Starlink brings a wealth of autopilot features such as follow, orbit, waypoints, and also lets you adjust camera settings and record images in flight. With the X-Star Premium from Autel Robotics, a new perspective is just one flight away.

From the Manufacturer

Superior Flight The Starpoint Positioning System measures the aircraft’s flying height and optically tracks its position. This lets the X-Star Premium fly accurately, at low altitude, even when a GPS signal is unavailable. In addition, dual GPS and GLONASS navigation ensure solid positioning even in low signal environments. Smart-Flight features like Follow, Orbit, and Waypoints allow you to focus on controlling the camera rather than the flight controls so that you can capture the most extraordinary scenes, while options like Beginner Mode can provide a geo-fence that limits your aircraft’s range and speed. The X-Star Premium is powered by a powerful, lightweight, intelligent 14.8V LiPo battery that provides up to 25 minutes of flight time and 1.5-hour worry-free charging with the included fast charger.

Starlink App The free-to-download Starlink App is your portal to a whole new world. Enjoy an HD live video feed from your 4K camera to your mobile device (sold separately), even when the X-Star Premium is a speck on the horizon. Adjust camera settings to capture videos or photos precisely how you want them to be. Configure your aircraft’s flight control settings to best suit your preferences. And stay safe with Smart Pre-Flight Check to ensure every aspect of your aircraft is safe and ready before takeoff.

4K Camera and Removable Gimbal Breath-taking scenes deserve to be captured with world-class quality. That’s why the X-Star Premium is equipped with a 4K Ultra HD camera that has 108 degree FOV and is mounted on a 3-axis gimbal that prevents unwanted camera movements to capture stable, smooth video footage. Take video at 4K30, 2.7K60, 1080p120, or 720p240 and take 12-MP photographs. The camera and gimbal are easily removable for replacements or future upgrades.

Remote Controller Clamp your smart-phone or tablet (sold separately) securely in place to enjoy the camera’s HD live view. Make informed decisions with the help of important flight information displayed on the controller’s integrated LCD screen. Command sticks provide maximum grip and confidence for agile maneuvers, while function keys instantly capture the perfect moment, or quickly activate the aircraft’s flight-assist modes.

Customer Support Each X-Star Premium comes backed by Autel Robotics’s 7-day-a-week customer support. Our U.S.-based team looks forward to assisting you with any questions you have about your X-Star Premium, from getting started to troubleshooting.

In the News The X-Star Premium debuted at CES 2016 and was noted as one of the top drones to watch in the coming year. As more reviews are published and our reputation grows, our customer-first mentality and attention to detail continue to shine. About the Startup

Describe your product in 3 words.

Born to Explore. How did you come up with the idea for this product?

We’ve been excited about and active in the drone industry for years, and we loved seeing consumer drones hit the market, but we grew frustrated when all of the products available felt limiting to customers in some way. So we took matters into our own hands and created a drone series that is accessible to everyone – it’s affordable and easy to use, and modular and customizable to inspire creativity. With that modular design, we’re inviting our customers to join us in reshaping the world we live in. We can’t wait to hear about all the ways you use your X-Star to solve problems, to improve life, and to capture the world around you. And we look forward to innovating in partnership with our customers to bring the next generation of drones to the market. What makes your product special?

What makes the X-Star Premium special comes back to our ideals as a company. Our top goal is to create the best possible experience for our customers. We made the X-Star series customizable with a modular, quick-release gimbal design. We made flying simple with built-in autonomous flight features like Orbit, Follow and Waypoints, and an intuitive remote controller with one-touch flight functions and an LCD screen. We made drones safer with our Starpoint Positioning System and exclusive SecureFly technology. On top of that, we’re committed to providing customers with world-class customer support seven days a week. What has been the best part of your startup experience?

The best part of the whole experience has been the people we’ve met. Whether it’s the people we work with, our customers, or drones enthusiasts, it’s been inspiring to meet and partner with people who have so many ideas and so much enthusiasm for what we do.

Product Reviews

While many people choose to fly their drone for only for the joy of flying

Seriously??? Don’t buy it just because the specs, unbelievable.I am just wondering about the original review, what is it that the Phantom 3 or 4 can do that this drone can’t?. I own both drones, X-Star Premium and a Phantom 3 Professional.Let’s talk about the controller first, Autel has added an LCD display to the controller itself which provides critical flight telemetry data such as altitude, range, battery remaining (for both the remote and the AC), gimbal’s tilt, AC’s orientation, etc. This redundancy provides an increased margin of safety and allows the pilot the option to use the full screen of the external display to view video coming back from the drone at 720P. Let’s say that the battery of your tablet or phone dies or that your flying app collapses while you are flying the drone, with X-Star Premium you have an actual LCD that tells you everything you need to know to bring your drone back home safely.While DJI’s Phantom 3 / 4 have a return to home feature (button in the controller), if DJI’s Go App or the mobile device was to crash, the operator does not have the visibility of knowing how far the phantom is from the home point, orientation, battery level of the aircraft, altitude. Simply an RTH button in the controller.While many people choose to fly their drone for only for the joy of flying, the real purpose of camera drones is to capture photos and videos from an elevated perspective. The X-Star Premium 108’s degree FOV camera is capable of taking video at 4K30, 2.7K60, 1080p120, or 720p240 fps. It has the ability to take 12 MP photographs and has burst shooting (3/5/7 seconds), time lapse (5/7/10/20/30 seconds) and Auto Exposure Bracketing (AEB) modes and saves them as JPG or DNG. This is something the P3P and P4 can do.The X-Star Premium is designed with an easily removable gimbal which only requires the push of a button on the side of the gimbal to slide it off. This feature will allow the camera to be easily upgraded as payload technologies advance. If you’re happy with the platform and just want an upgraded payload, you can save significant money by replacing only the camera instead of buying a new drone. I know the Phantom 3 does not have this.Range can be subjective, the FAA requires to fly within visual line of sight. Speaking of range, the X-Star Premium advertised maximum control range is 1.2 miles. In practice, pilots have managed to extend the range nearly twice that far. Autel achieves this extended range by broadcasting the video link via the 900 MHz frequency band (via the controller) rather than the more commonly used 2.4GHz WiFi band. Not only does using this frequency allow for increased video range, it also reduces the potential for interference from other WiFi signals in the area, resulting in a clear picture at extended ranges. I get more interference in my phantom 3 than with the X-star Premium.The FAA requires pilots to keep their drone within line of sight. In most weather conditions, high-visibility orange should allow X-Star Premium pilots to fly at greater ranges while still maintaining visual contact with their drone.This is a big one and a deal breaker for me - In an ideal world, every drone would work perfectly, right out of the box. Unfortunately, in the real world, sometimes drones have problems. When problems happen, it’s important to have someone to turn to for help. Autel Robotics has made a commitment to customer service. They provide 7-day per week customer support via phone, email or live chat. After hours, you can still find the answers to many of your questions through an extensive knowledge base that can be found on the Autel Robotics website. It’s difficult to put a value on customer support. If you never need it, it’s worth nothing, but if you must have it, there’s no substitute.This is where DJI falls way short, try to give them or email them for support, good luck with that. Do you want to buy a drone without warranty and customer support?. Buy a Phantom from DJI, they have louse customer service and support.When you grab the X-Star Premium and touch it, the shell feels solid, well made. Unlike the Phantom 3 P3A - P3P that feels like a cheap piece of plastic, not to mention the Phantom 3 Adv and Phantom 3 Pro line is prone to develop cracks. Apparently there is a major design flaw with the Phantom 3 shell around the motors area, the plastic is simply not strong enough. Customers are reporting cracks even after shell replacement.I have compared the quality of the pictures and videos side by side, I prefer the quality of the X-star premium video. The X-Star Premium is equipped with a 4K Ultra HD camera that has an 108-degree field of view. It takes 4K video and 12 megapixel photos. Footage is shot with an integrated 3-axis gimbal.If I could only fly one drone and pick just one, between the P3P and X-Star Premium, I would pick the X-Star Premium.

Remarkable Product

When the Autel first released the X-Star drone in the US they reached out to me and asked me to test it and provide feedback to them. They agreed to cover the cost of the drone. Sounded like a good deal, but I figured there would be a catch. I pictured a drone that would barely work (if at all). One that I would have to spend countless hours trying to troubleshoot and re-test. I also pictured a tech support without the skills to fix problems and multiple levels of escalations. Worst case I feared the drone might fall out of the sky (which apparently happened with the new Xiaomi drone). When I looked at the planned price this seemed surely to be the case, but I’ve never used a drone and have been curious about them so I couldn’t resist and accepted a free drone to test.The following is my personal experience with the drone I was sent. I figured it might be helpful for others. I must say, I was completely shocked (in a good way). The X-Star drone comes in a case that feels incredibly professional. I felt a bit like James Bond setting it up. The components seemed to be well made; about what I’d expect for any drone. I did notice that there was lots of clear plastic protective covers stuck over almost everything. Some of them cover vents so make sure you remove them before flying the drone.There were a few steps to getting it set up. I ran into a couple of snags / frustrations. All minor, but wanted to share my experience:- On the drone battery, it has a sticker on it that tells you to press the button to check the level and to hold the button to turn the drone on and off. Super simple. It looks like there is a protective plastic cover over the top of this label. There is a tab to remove the cover. I pulled the tab and the whole label started to come off. It is printed on this protective cover, not on the battery itself. Probably to make it easier to print in different languages, but I wanted this label to be more permanent. I stuck mine back on. Hasn’t fallen off and the instructions are so simple I don’t think I’d be too bothered if it eventually did.- I needed to install the Starlink app. I used an iPad for the screen and searching for Starlink in the AppStore (like the instructions indicate) brings up a Subaru Starlink app. That’s not the right one. I added the word Autel to the search term and that got me the right one. I wish the manual told me to search for Autel Starlink.- There are two different ways to connect the iPad (or Android device) to the main unit. One is with a USB cable and the other is through a WiFi connection. I spent a while trying to get the WiFi connection going only to realize the WiFi is only for the base model and the cable is for the premium model. I hadn’t realized I’d been sent a premium model for the testing. I could see that being point of frustration for others, particularly if it is a gift. I think the manual could have guided you better in figuring out which model you have and which connection is appropriate.- Every time you start using it, the instructions recommend you re-calibrate the compass on the device. This involves rotating it 360 degrees and then tipping it on its side and rotating it 360 degrees again. There are lights on the bottom to tell you how you when to tip it on its side and when you are done. The Starlink app also guides you through this with pictures. It’s tough to see the lights on the drone so I used the app to tell me when to switch to rotating on the side. However, it would take multiple rotations to tell me to switch to rotating on its side and then when it told me to rotate on its side it would only wait a couple of seconds before telling me it failed. I hit the same problem multiple times. I figured maybe the app wasn’t in sync with the lights (or there was delay) so I held the unit above my head and did the rotation watching the lights. That worked well. Only catch is that the confirmation flash is very quick at the end. I would like to see that last a little longer.Apart from that initial snags getting it going, it is amazingly easy to use. It starts in beginner mode which restricts height and distance. I really liked that since I almost got it out of sight while playing around with it. I was afraid of losing it, but it wouldn’t go beyond a threshold (until you disable beginner mode). Then I noticed I could point to a map on my iPad and tell it where to fly. Really cool.I was in a pretty windy area for my first test. I was debating waiting until the wind died down, but I couldn’t resist trying it out. When the drone was flying, I could see the gust of wind pushing it a little, but it would always make small adjustments and return to where it was hovering. After a while I forgot it was windy at all since it didn’t seem to faze the drone at all.I got a little concerned when it came to my first landing. What if I come down too fast? How will I know when to kill the motors etc? I’d already seen the take-off button is also a landing button so I hit that when it was really high in the sky. It moved over to the same spot I launched it from and slowly lowered itself down. It did a small bounce on the ground (like it was testing where the ground was) and then shut off the motors. Super smooth. In future uses I wished it would descend faster, but then I found I could bring it close to the ground on my own and then let it handle the final few feet of the landing. Works really well.Another cool feature is that when the battery is low it will automatically return. So when I lose track of time having fun, I don’t risk the battery draining to 0 and the drone falling out of the sky. I’m told other drones do this as well. It is a must have feature in my book and one the X-Star has.At one point I figured I’d have my wife try it. She didn’t read the manual and had no experience with drones. She’s not even really interested in them. I gave her a 2 minute overview of the buttons and she was flying it on her own. She had no problems. I’m really impressed by that. Especially because she wasn’t motivated to learn. It was just that easy.Ultimately I never needed to reach out to the Autel tech support team. I was curious if the support number they provided went to some automated system with a huge wait line. I called them after hours once just to see. I got a message saying it was after hours and I could leave a message or call back. I figured I’d call back later and just hung up. Then, 15 minutes later I got a call from Autel saying they’d had a call from my number and asking if I needed help. I was totally shocked. What kind of company provides that level of support? Unfortunately I didn’t have any problems to have them help me with so I don’t know how skilled they are. Based on the other reviews I’ve seen, it sounds like they are really helpful.Per my agreement with Autel I provided written feedback on my above experiences. They told me what they were going to do about it (particularly app improvements). Seems that have a few big ideas for the compass calibration. They also really care about getting the experience right for customers. I have no hesitation in recommending this drone to others both based on the design and quality of the product and the company standing behind it.

AWESOME!

AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME! great technical support, drone flies and takes videos amazingly, and it’s a hell of a fun time!

More than just a beginner drone.

I’ve owned an XStar Premium for several months. Flown almost 200 miles to date. Fantastic product, and excellent support.

Five Stars

Very easy to fly first time out, and produced great images! So much fun!

Great service

You could not not tell it was a refurbished x star , it looked brand new. Thanks Autel for a great item.

Signal lost,took off on its own!!

Was very excited about the drone.Flew it for 5 minutes maybe in 75ft altitude,all of a sudden the drone took off and gave me warning of no signal.

Five Stars

Awesome Drone

On the fence? Don’t be, this is your stop!

I’ve owned other drones previously, but honest to God, I wish I had bought this one first. It is flawless in its execution of nearly every facet of its design.

fun and easy to fly

This thing flies itself. The images the camera captures are no less than STUNNING. It will elevate your photography game a ton. fun and easy to fly, hard to kill.

Love it!

I’ve been really happy with this drone – would love to have a second battery to extend my flight time. The app has been updated, and functions very well on an iPhone 7.