French drone maker, Parrot reached out to DroneDJ to stress that they are NOT exiting the consumer drone business. Their message comes in reaction to our story from yesterday.
Parrot is, however, retiring their older product lines including mini drones in favor of the next-generation ANAFI platform. See below for all the details.
Parrot is exiting the toy drone business behind. French drone maker Parrot announced two years ago that it would shift away from toy drones and focus on higher-end and commercial drone solutions instead. Since the announcement, the company has laid off about half of its employees working in the UAV department. Recently we reported that they will start developing drones for the U.S. Army. And this week we learn that they are leaving the toy drone business behind altogether.
Update: Parrot is NOT exiting consumer drones, only the toy drones business. This article has been updated to reflect that. Also, see this message from Parrot here.
French drone maker, Parrot has been selected by the Department of Defense as one of six companies to help develop a short-range reconnaissance drone for the US Army. The development of small commercial drones for the battlefield is t result of a partnership between the U.S. Army Program Executive Officer (PEO) for Aviation’s Project Manager, Unmanned Aircraft Systems, the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) and the Army’s Maneuver Center of Excellence. DJI is not among the other selected companies. The ongoing US-China trade war, which caused price increases for DJI products, and fears of Chinese companies such as Huawei and DJI potentially spying on behalf of the Chinese government have suddenly created new opportunities for American and Western European companies, such as Parrot.
The French drone maker, Parrot launches the ANAFI Thermal, a light-weight and very compact drone with an integrated FLIR thermal camera aimed at professional drone pilots. This new drone is launched as an all in one package, which includes the drone, the thermal sensor, and the software. The ANAFI Thermal, three batteries, and a shoulder bag will retail for $1,900 USD and will be available at authorized retailers starting next month. The ANAFI Thermal competes head-on with the DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise Dual as it offers the same resolution (160 x 120) FLIR thermal sensor but at a lower price ($1,900 instead of $2,699 for the Enterprise Dual).
Despite positive reviews of the Anafi, sales at the French drone-maker Parrot have dropped by 40% compared to the same quarter last year. The company has reacted by announcing that it will cut 100 jobs. The market responded to the news by cutting the value of the French drone maker in half on the Paris stock exchange. The layoffs are bad news for the once-dominant Parrot, but the company’s troubles could provide a short-term benefit to consumers. The Anafi is now being sold for a fraction of the price that it was a few months ago. The Anafi is on sale for under $550 on both Amazon and Parrot.com.
Amazon is offering the Parrot Bebop 2 Drone FPV Bundle for $250 shipped. Also available at Best Buy. That’s $50+ off the typical rate and is in line with some of the best pricing we have tracked. This compact, lightweight drone offers 2- minute battery life and 1080p video recording. Along with the drone itself, a pair of FPV goggles and Parrot Skycontroller 2 are also included. Rated 4+ stars by 65% of reviewers.
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Parrot, the leading European drone group, today announces Parrot Bluegrass Fields, an end-to-end agriculture drone solution, which provides farmers, agronomists and researchers with the insights they need to boost the quality of their crops and maximize yields. Part of the Parrot Business Solutions portfolio, Parrot Bluegrass Fields brings together today’s popular Parrot Bluegrass drone with the all-new ParrotFields mobile mapping app and Pix4Dfields desktop and cloud-based drone mapping software.
The DJI Spark has been the best drone under $500 for quite some time now. At its new reduced price of $399, the Spark is officially the beginner drone for most people. There really haven’t been many other options for people who want a good aerial photography drone on a budget. That’s changing now, with some smaller players moving into the affordable consumer drone space. Let’s take a closer look at the best drones under $500.
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Parrot announced an update and new pricing for the Parrot Anafi. This new Anafi update adds the ability to do more your Anafi. New features include HDR in both video and photos, hyperlapse video options, more cinematic flight modes, better dolly zoom options, and three more follow-me modes. These updates make this drone, which is one of my personal favorites, even better.
In addition to these new features, the base price has dropped to $649, with the option for a $799 extended bundle. The bundle includes two batteries, a travel bag and a handful of other accessories. Parrot continues to improve the Anafi, giving DJI’s Mavic Air ($799) better competition.
The Parrot Bebop 2 is the best drone you can buy for under $300. With the Bebop 2, you get a pretty serious machine. It has a 25-minute flight time, 2,000-meter range, and a 14 MP camera. The wide angle lens and electronic image stabilization of the Bebop 2 are impressive. This is an excellent beginner drone for anyone looking to get into aerial photography. It is surprisingly quiet but still powerful. The camera has the most impressive electronic image stabilization that I have ever tested. While it may not be quite as nice as the new Parrot Anafi, at half the price of the Anafi, the Bebop 2 it is a heck of a deal.
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Parrot recently cut the price of the Anafi by $100, lowering it to $599. That puts the Anafi right between the $399 Spark and $799 Mavic Air. If you were thinking the Anafi was priced a little too close to the Mavic Air, you may have been correct. This offer may come to an end on October 20, so now may be the best time to buy an Anafi. You can also choose to bundle an extra smart battery with your Anafi for $699. The Anafi was already one of my favorite drones under $100, and the new Anafi price makes this drone even more appealing For a full review of the Anafi, click here.
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The Parrot Anafi ($699) is a unique drone and the only real competition we have seen to DJI’s compact Mavic Air. The Anafi sports a 4K camera with a full 180-degrees of travel as well as a 21 MP sensor that is capable of 2.8X digital zoom. With these features, the Anafi is a really compelling little consumer drone. Right now you can get the Anafi and two batteries for $700. Does that make the Anafi($699) a better deal than the DJI Mavic Air ($799)?
Any drone pilot knows that navigating through tight spaces is tough. Consumer grade drones developed by companies like Skydio and DJI now have the sensors and software that make it possible for their aircraft to dodge obstacles while following a subject, but the team behind the GapFlyt project is upping the ante.
Right at the start of the InterDrone show in Las Vegas, Parrot introduces two new drones; the ANFI Work and the senseFly eBee X. Let’s take a look at the ANAFI Work first. As the name implies, the drone is geared towards the commercial drone market. The drone features 4K HDR video and a 21 MP camera to take high-resolution images. It features a new gimbal design with 2 mechanical axes and 1 digital axis for stabilized video footage. One of the features that set the ANAFI apart is the 90 degrees upward tilting camera, which can be very helpful for inspections of buildings and bridges.
The August edition of Yachting World features an article called “Eye in the Sky” that promises to bring you five of the best drones in 2018. The drones included are the: DJI Mavic Pro, Parrot Bebop 2 Power FPV, DJI Spark, Parrot Mambo, and the GoPro Karma. Interestingly enough the DJI Mavic Air is missing from their selection even though that is still the most recent addition to DJI’s product line-up. Parrot’s latest drone the Anafi was also left out. They did include the Karma, however, even though GoPro itself has discontinued their troublesome drone earlier this year. Let’s take a quick look at the article.
To drive and accelerate policy Innovation the World Economic Forum has started a Drone Innovators Network which includes government agencies, academia and industry players like Parrot and DJI. The new network has been launched by the Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution and aims to have aviation authorities around the world share research and best practices as well as collaborate on innovative new drone policies, to ultimately accelerate responsible drone use across society.
Last Wednesday, French drone maker Parrot, introduced their latest drone the Anafi. It is a very lightweight, portable, foldable drone that shoots 4K HDR videos and 21MP photos with its Sony CMOS sensor. It is also priced very aggressively at $699.99, competing head-on with the likes of the Mavic Air and Mavic Pro from Chinese drone manufacturer, DJI. So how do these drones compare? We’ve put the most important specifications next to each other to provide you with an overview.
Yesterday, during the launch event of the new Parrot Anafi, we had the chance to talk with the Global Marketing Manager, Vincent Vantilcke about the company’s latest product. We asked him about some of the benefits the Anafi offers and who the company is targetting with their latest drone.
Today the French drone maker Parrot launched the all-new Anafi drone in New York. Parrot took inspiration from insects such as wasps and beetles to design this light-weight, foldable drone. The drone is very light-weight (320 grams) and folds up to a very small package, however, this does not mean it doesn’t pack a punch. The Anafi features a 21MP Sony sensor, shoots 4K video, HDR photos and a host of intelligent flight features. The drone is also very quiet, making it much less obtrusive to bystanders than most of the drones consumers are used to.
The new Parrot drone can be pre-ordered today for $699.99 and will be available at retailers as of July 1st. Shipping will start as of July 2nd.
Back in April, we first reported on the French drone maker. Parrot being up to something. Well, tomorrow will be the day of the official announcement. In a tweet earlier today, Parrot is talking about ‘It’s coming’ and your life taking ‘a new flight’. They also refer to tomorrow’s event as ‘the big announcement.’ DroneDJ will be reporting live from the event that is scheduled to take place in New York at 10 am EST.
Today only, Electronics.Woot offers the Parrot Mambo Fly Mini Quadcopter for $44.99 with free shipping for Prime members. Otherwise, delivery will add on an additional $5 fee. Normally selling for up to $100 at retailers like Best Buy, that’s good for a $55 discount. For comparison, the next best offer is $87 at Amazon. Rated 4.6/5 stars.
TechRabbit via NeweggFlash offers the Parrot Swing Quadcopter Camera Drone with Plane Mode in refurbished condition for $16.99 shipped. Originally $140, this drone runs around $60 at Amazonthese days and this beats our last mention by $1. Great for learning to fly drones, you don’t have to worry about crashing this budget-friendly plane. Rated 4.4/5 stars at Amazon. Though no warranty is specified on the product page, TechRabbit does offer a 30-day return period should anything go wrong.
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French drone maker, Parrot put a teaser on their website, announcing something is coming on Wednesday, June 6th at 11:00 am EST. As with many teasers, it is very hard to figure out what may be coming down the pike. The image seems to show (the top of a drone with) a battery that has green LED lights to indicate the level of charge, similar to what DJI does with their DJI Mavic Pro batteries for instance. The pulsating green light adds some sense of mystery to the teaser. What do you guys think this may be?
The commercial drone industry is heating up with various drone manufacturers entering the space. DJI recently announced the XT2 and Skyport during a special commercial drone event in Menlo Park. Parrot had been active in this space already, but are now launching the Parrot Bluegrass drone in combination with the Pix4Dcapture app specifically aimed at the farming community.
