Autel EVO Lite+ brings tough competition to DJI drones

[Drone News]

The Autel EVO Lite+ offers great hardware, flight performance, and photo/video quality. It’s in a unique position to compete with both the DJI Air 2S and the DJI Mavic 3 as it shares similar features between the two, but is priced more closely to the Air 2S. For less than $1600 the EVO Lite+ takes excellent photos and videos (even in low light), has long battery life and is easy to operate.

SPECIFICATIONS

• Brand: Autel
• Camera: 1-inch CMOS, 20M, 5472×3076 (16:9), f/2.8 ~ f11
• App: Autel SkyLink
• Weight: 835g
• Range: 7.4 miles
• Connectivity: FCC：12km；CE：6km
• Battery: 6175mAh (~40 minutes)
• Storage : 6GB

Design and controller

• Mounts a 1-inch camera sensor
• Another compact, foldable design
• Extra battery capacity delivers longer flight times

Since the original DJI Mavic was so successful, many (but not all) drone makers have followed its structural form.

The Lite+ follows the same pattern as most small drones that can fold for transportation. Four pivoting arms aid with rapid deployment as the blades can remain attached.

Physically, the Lite+ is close to the size of the competitor drone, but at 820g, it’s a good 20% heavier than the 595g DJI Air 2S. Much of that additional mass comes from the battery, which makes up a significant portion of the rear drone superstructure. Instead of the battery fitting inside the drone, it slides from the rear to engage the body and includes the power-on button.

The capacity of this battery is a whopping 6,174mAh (68.7 Wh), a significant increase over the 3,500mAh (40.42 Wh) that the DJI Air 2S has, and this capacity is reflected in a maximum flight time of 40 minutes over the 30 minutes of the DJI drone.

While the 30 minutes quoted by DJI for the Air 2S is considered something of a stretch by most owners, the Lite+ can hover for longer than that if you let the battery levels get low.

We wouldn’t recommend doing that, but our experience revealed that Lite+ could fly for at least 30 minutes or more before getting to 20% capacity. A time that allows for great opportunities to get the shots needed without feeling pressured for time.

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