YI Pixie
After the announcement of YI Erida back in September 2016 not much happened with Yi Technologie’s ambition to enter the drone market. Now several sketches and images show a new YI Drone: YI Pixie. The new drone will feature 13MP photo and 4K video capabilities. Since YI Erida was a joint venture with Atlas Dynamics there are some indications YI Pixie might be joint venture with Geniusidea as their drone and specs look almost the same.
YI Pixie Drone – Intro
Yi Pixie Specs
Some specs we do know from the leaked manual: YI Pixie will feature a 13 MP Sensor which allows 4K video recording. Some specs are still rumours as they are taken from the Geniusidea drone:
Sensor
It seems the 13 MP Sony IMX214 sensor will be used. This is a very popular image sensor with smartphones, although there are few action cameras that use this sensor.
Lens
The drone will feature a 117-degree FOV, 14mm lens.
Resolutions & Frame Rates
- 4K – max. 30fps
- 1080p – max. 60 fps
- 720p – max. 120 fps
EIS, no Gimbal
YI Pixie will feature EIS (electronic image stabilisation), you can adjust the angle of the camera, but the drone will not feature a gimbal.
Adjustable Camera of YI Pixie, but no gimbal
Remote Control
It seems that YI Pixie will only be controlled via mobile phone and no remote controller is available (compared to DJI Spark). Therefore control distance is limited to about 100m (wifi range). You can find screen shots later on in the App section.
Batteries
YI Pixie won’t have dedicated batteries, but instead use 2 standard 18650 rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. That’s very convenient as you don’t have to go for special batteries, you can find them almost everywhere and they are cheap (12 USD) with an option of several different charging stations. Each of them offers a capacity of 2500 mAh (5000 mAh in total) which should be good for about 20min of flight time.
Yi Pixie Drone will feature 2 standard 18650 2500mAh lithium-ion batteries
Sensors
Yi Pixie will feature several sensors to support flight: Sonar, Optical Flow, Infrared avoidance sensor and GPS.
YI Pixie Drone Sensors
Dimension
From the few photos it seems that YI Pixie has about the size and weight of DJI Spark, same with fixed arms.
YI Pixie – all sides
Flight & Shooting Modes
Besides some shooting modes like time-lapse, panorama or burst, there will be several flight shooting modes like panorama, where the drone performs a 360° turn for a photo. Cycling, where YI Pixie flies in circles around an object. And it will feature face tracking, where YI Pixie automatically follows your movements.
YI Pilot App
It seems there will be no dedicated remote controller for YI Pixie drone, which also limits the distance you can go to wifi range. With the YI Pilot App you got 2 options to control your drone. Either with the movements of your smartphone, or with virtual joysticks within the app:
Yi Pixie Drone – Controls
Within the app you you will have some dedicated icons for auto-takeoff and landing. And several settings for camera controls:
YI Pilot App for YI Pixie Drone
YI Pixie vs DJI Spark
As already mentioned, size and weight is about the same as DJI Spark. Therefor I did a spec comparison with the popular competitor:
DJI Spark
- Weight: 300 g
- Dimensions:
143 × 143 × 55 mm - max Speed: 31 mph (50 kph)
in Sport Mode° - Distance: 50m / 2 km°
- Battery Capacity: 1480 mAh
- Flighttime: 16 min.*
- Chargingtime: 1,5 hrs
- Battery Price: 49 USD
- Remote: optional
- Sensor: 12 MP
1/2.3″ (CMOS) - Resolution:
4K – n/a
1080p – 30 fps
720p – n/a - Lens: FOV 81.9°
25 mm (35 mm format equivalent)
aperture f/2.6 - Bitrate: max. 24 Mbps
H.264, .mp4 - max. Photo Resolution:
12 MP, .jpg - Stabilizer: 2-axis gimbal
Pitch: -85° to 0° - Storage: microSD card
- Price: 399 USD°°
YI Pixie
- Weight: 300g
- Dimensions:
160 x 160 x 50mm - max. Speed: ?
. - Distance: 100m
- Battery Capacity: 5000 mAh
- Flighttime: 18-20 min.*
- Chargingtime: 3 – 4 hrs
- Battery Price: 12 USD
- Remote: n/a
- Sensor: 13 MP
1/3.06” (CMOS) - Resolution:
4K – 30 fps
1080p – 60 fps
1080p – 120 fps - Lens: FOV 117°
14 mm (35 mm format equivalent)
aperture f/2.2 - Bitrate: max. ? Mbps
H.264, .mp4 - max. Photo Resolution:
13MP, .jpg - Stabilizer: no gimbal, EIS (1080p)
Pitch: -90° to 0° - Storage: built in & microSD card
- Price: 200-300 USD
° Remote Control required – not included / Distance according to video transmission.
°° Spark currently comes with free remote controller!
* Flight times are as stated by the company.
Price
There are no infos about the price so far. Geniusidea drone is currently available for Pre-order for about 300 USD.
Stay tuned
as news are arriving pretty quick recently. Also join the Facebook Group for the latest updates. The full manual is available for download:
