The Antigravity A1 is without doubt one of the most uncommon client drones I’ve examined lately. Not as a result of it shoots 8K 360° video, and never as a result of it’s underneath 250g, however as a result of it provides real-time 360° viewing contained in the FPV goggles. This essentially modifications the flying expertise and unlocks inventive potentialities that merely don’t exist on standard drones. On this assessment, I’ll stroll you thru the total expertise: design, flight efficiency, options, picture high quality, and my sincere execs and cons.
Searching for a digital camera drone? Take a look at our purchaser’s information: https://oscarliang.com/dji-drones/
The place to Purchase
You may get the Antigravity A1 from:
The Antigravity A1 is offered in bundles along with the controller and goggles. There are three bundles obtainable, every providing completely different equipment and battery. I’m reviewing the Infinity Bundle, which incorporates:
- Antigravity A1 drone
- FPV goggles
- Movement controller
- Arduous carry case
- Charging hub
- 3× high-capacity flight batteries
- 3 spare propellers
- Screwdriver
- Lens caps
- Goggles battery and cable
- SD card reader
- Manuals
Every little thing suits neatly contained in the included sling bag, which feels strong and well-designed. It’s a whole ecosystem—similar to DJI’s Fly Extra Combos.
A1 Drone
Placing a 360 digital camera on a drone is nothing new, however the Antigravity A1 is the primary drone to combine a local 360° digital camera system instantly into the plane. Its type issue carefully resembles the DJI Mini collection, providing:
- Extremely-light weight underneath 250g
- A compact physique with foldable arms
- GPS and impediment avoidance
- Lengthy flight time
Design
The Antigravity A1 makes use of foldable 6-inch propellers, and the arms collapse as properly—making the drone extraordinarily compact for transport. This design method is just like the DJI Mini Collection.
The drone options 4 cameras:
- Two fisheye lenses (prime and backside) for the 360° seize
- Two forward-facing cameras for impediment avoidance
These cameras are soft-mounted to assist scale back vibration. Considered one of my first considerations was unintended scratches—particularly on the underside lens—however Antigravity lets you exchange the lenses your self. That’s a wise transfer for a 360° drone the place lens harm is an actual threat.
As a result of the underside lens is uncovered, the drone deploys mechanical touchdown guards each time it powers up or lands. It’s a small element, but it surely demonstrates considerate engineering.
There are impediment avoidance sensors and touchdown gentle on the underside.
On the again, there’s a slot for a microSD card and a USB-C connector that are simple to entry.
Full 360° Viewing in Actual Time
FPV pilots have been utilizing 360° cameras on drones, however you continue to needed to fly utilizing a single forward-facing digital camera. The A1 modifications this fully: you fly by way of a reside 360° view contained in the goggles.
Right here’s the way it works:
- The drone makes use of two 180° fisheye cameras (prime and backside).
- The system stitches them right into a seamless 360° sphere.
- The drone’s physique is routinely erased, so that you by no means see it within the goggles.
The actual breakthrough is that the goggles assist real-time head-tracking, just like VR. You’ll be able to lookup, down, left, proper—anyplace—whereas the drone stays utterly stationary. As somebody who has flown FPV for greater than a decade, that is genuinely mind-bending the primary time you expertise it.
Weight and Battery Choices
The battery slides in similar to in a DJI Mini, which additionally has a built-in indicator. The flight pack clicks firmly into place simply and securely.
The A1 is designed to hit 249g with its normal flight battery—slightly below the 250g registration threshold in lots of international locations.
Additionally they supply excessive capability battery which permits for longer flight time. Nevertheless the load would exceed 250g.
These battery choices would possibly look similar on the surface, however very completely different in weight and capability.
Customary Flight Battery
- 7.16 V, 2360mAh
- 66.9g
- Retains the drone underneath 250g (takeoff weight: 249g)
Excessive-Capability Battery
- 7.16 V, 4345mAh
- 107.8g
- Considerably longer flight time
- Will increase takeoff weight to 290g
The Customary and Explorer bundles embrace the lighter normal batteries. The Infinity bundle consists of solely the Excessive-Capability variations, and presently it seems that solely Excessive-Capability batteries can be found for buy individually. If staying underneath 250g is vital to you, take note of which batteries are included.
Not Made for Crashing
Just about like every digital camera drones, it’s not a basher like your typical FPV drone. You’ll be able to fly aggressively, however one arduous crash will in all probability break it. The truth that it has two very uncovered 360 cameras makes it much more so. Good factor it’s doable to exchange the lenses in the event that they get scratched.
Probably the most fragile might be the propellers, they’re gentle weight and stiff, but additionally very skinny so doesn’t really feel very crash resilient. The drone comes with a spare set, and they are often changed simply with the included screwdriver. Apart from the digital camera lens and props, every other damages you may need to ship the drone again to Antigravity for restore.
Imaginative and prescient Goggles
The Antigravity Imaginative and prescient Goggles are, for my part, one of many greatest causes the A1 feels so groundbreaking. The power to see and discover a full 360° setting in actual time essentially modifications the flying expertise.
Design
The goggles have an unconventional, nearly futuristic look—a lot in order that I used to be getting a good quantity of curious stares from folks strolling by throughout testing (or I used to be simply being self-conscious 🙂 ). One of many two circles on the entrance is definitely a show meant for spectators, letting them see what the pilot sees.
A couple of design notes:
- The 2 foldable antennas are non-removable.
- You’ll be able to report the goggles’ display screen (just like DVR recording)—however not a 360 feed, only a flat video of what you see contained in the goggles. Solely the drone information 360 movies.
- Recordings will be saved to a microSD card or the built-in 30GB storage (greater than sufficient for a dozens of flights).
The entrance show is an attention-grabbing concept, however in observe it’s not as helpful because it sounds. Spectators can’t see the tiny show if you go searching whereas flying, which makes it somewhat doubtful at instances. I might a lot reasonably have a video output possibility (HDMI or USB-C) for exterior displays or a smartphone.
Viewing Expertise
The goggles use a 2560×2560 OLED show working at 72Hz. The sector of view is extraordinarily giant—arguably even bigger than DJI’s Goggles V1/V2—making the expertise extremely immersive.
Nevertheless, with such a big FOV, the sides and corners seem barely blurry. The middle stays completely sharp although, and all vital OSD data is properly positioned and stays readable, so it’s not an actual problem. There’s presently no possibility to cut back the display screen measurement.
IPD and diopter changes can be found by way of two rotating knobs beneath the goggles:
- IPD vary: 59–72 mm (I can affirm that is correct as claimed)
- Diopter adjustment: –5 to +2
- Non-obligatory snap-in corrective lenses for stronger myopia (–500° to –800°)
One downside is that you just can’t lock the IPD or diopter changes, so it’s doable to mess up the changes when dealing with the goggles.
Consumer Expertise
In contrast to different FPV goggles, there are not any bodily menu buttons on the Imaginative and prescient Goggles. All menu operations are executed by way of the movement controller utilizing an on-screen cursor—similar to VR headsets.
It really works, however typically it feels slower and extra cumbersome than utilizing devoted {hardware} buttons when all you need is to vary a setting shortly.
A front-facing digital camera gives a see-through view if you double-press the left button on the goggles. The picture is black and white, but it surely’s clear and low latency. Personally I don’t discover it significantly helpful, it’s simply simpler to take off the goggles.
Consolation
The goggles include detachable spacer bracket – you may select to maintain or take away it primarily based in your face form. The froth padding supplies are top quality, and at solely round 340g, the goggles are moderately light-weight and cozy to put on. I wore them for as much as two hours straight throughout testing with out feeling any discomfort.
Energy
The Imaginative and prescient Goggles are powered by an exterior battery pack that’s presupposed to be hung round your neck. The one problem is the ability cable—it’s too quick if you wish to maintain the battery in your pocket as an alternative. Everytime you wish to take the goggles off, you need to take away the battery pack out of your neck too, barely inconvenient.
An infrared sensor between the lenses routinely turns off the show if you take away the goggles, serving to to protect battery life (will be disabled).
Grip Movement Controller
The A1 ships with a movement controller—conceptually just like DJI’s RC Movement controllers. It’s designed to be beginner-friendly, counting on pointing gestures reasonably than conventional stick inputs.
Structure and Controls
The controller has 11 management inputs in whole:
- On the entrance, there’s a yaw wheel (for exact rotation), emergency brake button, takeoff/touchdown button, video report button, and photograph shutter button.
- On the left aspect, there’s a 3-position mode selector, two customizable buttons (C1 and C2)
- On the proper aspect, there are energy button and settings button.
- On the again, there’s the ahead set off (gasoline pedal).
Flying with it’s easy: level the place you need the drone to go, pull the set off, and the A1 strikes in that route. The training curve is minimal, making it accessible even for full rookies.
Limitations for FPV Pilots
In case you come from FPV drones, this controller will really feel restrictive. There isn’t a stick controller possibility, and due to this fact no acro mode. Acro mode is what permits freestyle FPV pilots to carry out clean, quick, and exact maneuvers—one thing the A1 merely can’t do with this controller.
Whereas the movement controller is straightforward to make use of, the heavy reliance on stabilization algorithms means flight paths can really feel extra robotic and fewer pure than what you may obtain with guide stick management.
I additionally want the controller included a small joystick for wonderful place changes, particularly for sluggish cinematic photographs or exact landings. Because it stands, you may solely fly ahead utilizing the set off.
Ergonomics
The controller is clearly designed for right-handed use. Positive, you should utilize it along with your left hand for those who really need, however reaching some buttons turns into awkward. For a tool meant for everybody, a extra ambidextrous design would have been appreciated.
Consumer Expertise
Listed here are some footage samples, flight mode and have demo:
Preparation – Activation, Registration, and Updates
Proper out of the field, you should activate all parts—the drone, batteries, goggles, and controller. That is executed just by charging every system by way of USB-C for the primary time.
Subsequent, the Antigravity A1 requires registration by way of the Antigravity cellular app (iOS or Android). You’ll want to attach by way of Wi-Fi and create an account utilizing both an electronic mail deal with or telephone quantity. The method is just like DJI’s activation steps. Personally, I’m not a fan of obligatory account registration for {hardware} I’ve already bought, but when privateness considerations you, think about using a dummy electronic mail.
There was a firmware replace after I was organising the drone, the file was surprisingly giant, taking noticeably longer than anticipated to obtain and set up (over half an hour). Hopefully retail models will ship with the newest firmware preloaded so new customers don’t have to attend as lengthy.
Tutorial and Settings
As soon as all the pieces was arrange, the goggles offered a brief interactive tutorial explaining the controller buttons, fundamental drone management, and the which means of the varied on-screen indicators. It’s a pleasant onboarding contact, particularly contemplating how feature-dense this drone is.
And that’s value emphasizing: the Antigravity A1 is totally filled with options. The menus are dense, the settings record is lengthy, and the movement controller has many buttons. It may very well be overwhelming for somebody utterly new to drones.
Nevertheless, for pilots with earlier expertise—whether or not DJI or FPV—the A1 is pretty intuitive. To check usability, I deliberately flew the drone for the primary time with out studying the guide, and whereas not as immediately easy as a DJI drone, I had no actual problem getting it into the air and navigating the fundamentals.
Menu navigation is very attention-grabbing: it really works precisely like a VR headset. You progress a cursor across the interface utilizing the movement controller, just like the Meta Quest or different VR goggles.
Flight Modes
The Antigravity A1 provides two major flight modes, every delivering a really completely different expertise.
FreeMotion Mode
In contrast to conventional drones, the route you’re wanting isn’t the route the A1 flies. As an alternative, the drone travels wherever you level the controller, no matter the place your head or eyes are pointed.
You’ll be able to lookup, verify behind you, or scan the setting with out affecting your flight path. When your head is turned away from the route of journey, a small floating “mini display screen” seems within the goggles displaying the place the controller is presently pointing which is useful.
To steer, you bodily rotate your physique to level the controller towards your required route. Flying turns into a full-body exercise—half VR, half piloting.
FreeMotion Mode is intuitive for rookies however has downsides:
- Your physique actions can look a bit comical to bystanders (similar to watching somebody use VR goggles).
- It really works greatest on flat, open floor, it’s awkward in tight areas or inside autos the place you may’t freely flip your physique.
FPV Mode
FPV Mode transforms the controller into extra of a joystick. As an alternative of pointing along with your arm, you merely tilt the controller to steer. Your physique stays stationary, and also you keep away from unintentionally handing over circle whereas flying.
For me, FPV Mode is the extra pure and satisfying expertise—particularly coming from FPV drones. It’s just like the DJI Avata 2 movement controller, however with one key distinction: the A1 at all times retains the horizon stage, no matter your turns or banking.
A few drawbacks:
- Each time you’re taking off, the drone defaults again to FreeMotion Mode—you should manually swap to FPV Mode, EVERY TIME!
- In case you set off Return to Dwelling, you should swap again to FreeMotion Mode first.
Not deal-breakers, however will get annoying over time.
Velocity Ranges
The A1 additionally consists of three “velocity modes”:
- C Mode (Cine): Slowest and smoothest—splendid for cinematic photographs.
- N Mode (Regular): The default velocity.
- S Mode (Sport): Quickest mode. I reached roughly 50 km/h (30 mph) in my testing.
Once more, similar to the flight modes, the A1 at all times defaults to N mode after takeoff (even when C or S mode is chosen), you need to swap again to N mode first, then choose C or S mode once more. One other small irritation that may very well be improved with a future firmware replace hopefully.
Flight Efficiency
Flying the A1 feels a bit like having a digital camera on a gimbal with head-tracking—you may freely go searching in any route whereas the drone continues cruising ahead. Barely off subject, however this FPV system would make an unimaginable head-tracking resolution for RC planes as a mechanical gimbal different.
I examined the A1 in 20mph wind, and it carried out surprisingly properly for such a light-weight drone. That mentioned, sturdy wind does noticeably restrict its prime velocity and the way far it could actually journey. Picture high quality additionally will be impacted – it appears to be like much less crisp in sturdy wind in all probability attributable to heavier digital stabilization. It’s not a very highly effective plane, and I used to be getting fixed “sturdy wind” warnings within the goggles. Realistically, 20-25mph wind is the higher restrict of what I’d comfortably fly in; past that, it’s too dangerous.
The A1 can also be very quiet—at round 150–200 meters away, you may barely hear it.
The emergency brake button works fantastically. Faucet it, and the drone immediately stops and holds its place. Maintain brake button for just a few seconds, and it triggers Return-to-Dwelling, flying again to its takeoff level routinely. These options behave equally to these on the DJI Avata 2 and are equally dependable on the A1.
In RTH, it exhibits the flight path
There’s additionally a “digital cockpit” mode that overlays a 3D dragon beneath you, making it seem like you’re using it. It’s hilarious and utterly pointless—I maintain it off so it doesn’t block my view. Nevertheless it’s nice enjoyable to point out children or mates.
“Using a dragon” with digital cockpit enabled
Vary
The Antigravity A1 makes use of a proprietary OmniLink 360 transmission system that operates on 2.4 GHz, 5.2 GHz, and 5.8 GHz bands.
In my testing, I comfortably reached 2km with a clear video feed. I seemingly may have gone farther if the wind wasn’t so sturdy. However when flying by way of timber or round obstacles, the sign breaks up ahead of what I usually see on DJI O4. Count on body drops, blurring, and compression artifacts as quickly because the sign begins to weaken.
One factor I miss is a numerical hyperlink high quality indicator (like bitrate on DJI or Walksnail). The A1 solely exhibits 4 sign bars, and so they don’t replace very continuously. Generally you get body drops and blurs earlier than the bars even change. This could catch you off guard, particularly at longer vary or flying by way of timber.
One other behavior I needed to be taught: keep away from shifting your head an excessive amount of on long-range flights. It’s tempting to go searching—in any case, that’s the entire level of a 360-view drone—however shifting your head turns the goggles’ antennas away from the drone, which might scale back sign power. Retaining the antennas pointed towards the plane is vital for maximizing vary and stability. And this brings one other level – persist with FPV mode for longer vary flights.
Latency
Latency is one other consideration, over 100ms which may be very excessive by FPV requirements. You received’t actually discover it throughout regular cruising, however if you wave your hand and watch within the goggles, the delay may be very apparent—noticeably greater than DJI O4 or Walksnail. Luckily, the A1 isn’t designed for high-speed proximity flying or freestyle anyway, so this isn’t a deal breaker. For sluggish, cinematic cruising, the latency is appropriate.
Picture High quality
Video Decision Choices
- 8K (7680 × 3840) at 30/25/24 fps
- 5.2K (5248 × 2624) at 60/50 fps
- 4K (3840 × 1920) at 100 fps
There’s no LOG profile, which limits shade grading flexibility, however you may modify saturation, distinction, and sharpness for a extra impartial profile. Dynamic vary is surprisingly good—higher than I anticipated from a 360 digital camera.
Low-Gentle Efficiency
Low-light efficiency is respectable for a 360 digital camera, however nonetheless constrained by small sensors. In darker situations, the A1 should decrease shutter velocity and/or increase ISO, which leads to a softer, noisier picture in comparison with drones with bigger sensors. That mentioned, it stays usable for informal flying.
No ND Filter
There are presently no bodily ND filters obtainable for the A1. Nevertheless, Antigravity features a “Movement ND” characteristic in its modifying software program—an AI-based motion-blur algorithm. It mimics the look of longer shutter speeds fairly successfully and helps compensate for the shortage of actual ND filters.
Goggles Picture High quality
The reside feed you see within the goggles is roughly corresponding to Walksnail Avatar, however undoubtedly beneath DJI O4 in sharpness and readability. Nonetheless, the expertise stays extremely immersive because of the goggles’ huge FOV. It genuinely seems like sitting within the entrance row of an IMAX theater—besides you may flip your head to go searching the whole world in actual time.
Nevertheless, there are moments when head motion or sudden directional modifications trigger the picture to change into jerky, blurry, or briefly stutter, which breaks the sense of immersion. This may occasionally enhance with future firmware updates, however for now, it’s a noticeable quirk.
Audio
The drone itself doesn’t report audio, however the goggles’ DVR does. It information your voice and your surrounding which will be helpful for narration or logging observations.
“8K” is Not Truly 8K
This “8K 360 digital camera” may not look pretty much as good as your 4K motion digital camera, right here’s why.
360 cameras have two sensors, every overlaying 180°, and they’re stitched collectively to make a full 360° sphere.
So after they declare it’s “8K”, it’s combining the decision of each sensors, not what you get in anybody route. You’re successfully getting one thing like 4K per lens at most, then the digital camera merges them right into a single 360° video.
Moreover, in a 360 digital camera, the identical sensor space has to cowl a a lot wider 180° subject of view, whereas typical motion cameras solely should cowl 120° or much less. Once you zoom in to get the identical regular digital camera view, the efficient decision is due to this fact lower than 4K, perhaps nearer to 2.7K and even 1080k in some circumstances, that’s why they give the impression of being softer and decrease high quality.
For that reason, In case you’re shopping for the Antigravity A1 anticipating it to exchange a Mini 5 Professional or a Mavic 3 for straight-up picture high quality, you’re in all probability going to be dissatisfied. This isn’t what a 360 digital camera drone designed for, it’s the immersive flight expertise and distinctive options 360 digital camera provides that make them standout and interesting.
Flight Time
Hover Time
In my testing:
- Customary battery: ~18 minutes hover time
- Excessive-Capability battery: ~half-hour hover time
These outcomes are noticeably decrease than the marketed 22 minutes and 35 minutes, however that is very typical—producers normally check underneath splendid, zero-wind situations. Even so, 18 minutes on a sub-250g drone is spectacular.
Actual-World Flight Time
Precise flight time varies relying on wind and how briskly you fly. Right here’s what I constantly achieved:
- Customary battery: 15–17 minutes
- Excessive-Capability battery: 25–28 minutes
Controller & Goggles Battery Life
- Movement Controller: ~5 hours per cost
- Imaginative and prescient Goggles: simply over 2 hours
Each are greater than sufficient to cowl 4 full flights without having to recharge.
Battery Charging
The A1 drone battery will be charged both contained in the drone or by utilizing the Charging Hub.
The Charging Hub holds three batteries and expenses them one after the other, not concurrently—similar to DJI’s hubs.
It additionally consists of two very helpful options:
- Energy pooling: Transfers leftover power from decrease batteries into the fullest one.
- Energy financial institution mode: Lets you use the hub to cost your goggles, controller, and even your smartphone by way of USB-C.
Impediment Detection
The A1 options front-facing and downward-facing impediment sensors. When the drone detects an impediment, you’ll see a visible warning contained in the goggles (yellow and purple lights). Within the settings, you may select whether or not the drone ought to routinely brake or just warn you with out stopping.
In case you plan to fly by way of a dense forest or tight areas, it’s possible you’ll wish to disable computerized braking; in any other case, the A1 will halt the second it detects an impediment and refuse to maneuver ahead.
A couple of vital limitations:
- Impediment detection solely works in C (Cine) and N (Regular) modes.
- It’s disabled in S (Sport) mode.
- The A1 has no aspect, rear, or upward sensors, so these instructions stay unprotected. Perhaps that’s why they solely permit customers to fly ahead.
General, impediment detection works properly—even choosing up skinny branches and wires—however you shouldn’t depend on it fully. Since protection is proscribed to the entrance and backside, flying by way of tight gaps nonetheless requires cautious piloting, sluggish actions, and good use of the 360° view.
Superior Options: Waypoints, Automated Actions & Monitoring
The A1 consists of a number of highly effective automated flight features that leverage its 360° digital camera capabilities:
Sky Path (Waypoints)
Create a flight path by putting waypoints on a map. The drone then performs the route autonomously. That is splendid for repeating the identical flight path a number of instances or letting another person benefit from the immersive view by merely handing them the goggles.
Sky Genie (Automated Actions)
A set of pre-programmed cinematic strikes—akin to orbit, rotation, spiral climb, and extra. These modes are good for fast TikTok/Instagram photographs with out requiring superior piloting expertise.
Deep Monitor (Object Monitoring)
Routinely observe a shifting topic akin to an individual, automotive, or bike. With the 360° digital camera, you may reframe the shot in post-production, making the monitoring outcomes much more versatile.
These superior options carry out greatest in open areas with out obstructions. Use warning round timber, buildings, or folks, since impediment detection is proscribed to the entrance and backside.
Enhancing Footage
Photographs and movies are saved in Antigravity’s proprietary codecs:
- .insv for movies
- .insp for images
You’ll be able to edit them utilizing Antigravity Studio, a free modifying software just like Insta360 Studio however optimized particularly for the A1 drone.
The software program lets you:
- Play again 360° footage
- Crop and reframe photographs
- Apply filters and enhancements
- Carry out object monitoring
- Export movies in full 360° format or as conventional flat clips along with your chosen subject of view
It’s a reasonably intuitive workflow, particularly for those who’ve used Insta360’s ecosystem earlier than.
Ultimate Ideas: Who Is the A1 For?
I don’t suppose the Antigravity A1 will exchange FPV drones or high-end digital camera drones anytime quickly, but it surely does introduce a completely new class of flying expertise.
In case you’re hoping for an FPV drone, you’ll seemingly be dissatisfied. The A1 is significantly dearer than a typical FPV setup, lacks acro mode, and doesn’t presently assist a standard stick controller for exact piloting. It’s sluggish, has greater latency, and—like most digital camera drones—merely isn’t constructed to crash.
Nevertheless, as an unconventional 360° digital camera drone, the A1 is genuinely spectacular. You don’t want good framing; simply fly it and the 360° digital camera captures all the pieces round you. Reframing in publish removes a lot of the stress from filming, and since you may export a number of angles from a single shot, one flight can produce content material equal to a number of conventional drone passes. Picture high quality isn’t class-leading in comparison with prime motion cameras, but it surely’s completely ok for social media content material.
I can see the A1 turning into a strong instrument for content material creators, journey vloggers, and solo filmmakers as a result of it unlocks inventive potentialities you merely can’t obtain with standard drones, like:
- Filming your self whereas flying away
- Capturing a number of digital camera angles in a single flight
- Scouting and navigating utilizing a reside 360° preview
- Producing 360° images and movies with simple reframing afterward
Get the A1 drone bundle from AliExpress: https://s.click on.aliexpress.com/e/_c3DpzaGH
That mentioned, I do want the worth have been extra approachable—particularly with DJI is nearly to launch their very own 360 digital camera drone, which is able to solely make this section extra aggressive.
As somebody who has been flying FPV for over a decade, I genuinely respect the innovation Antigravity is bringing to the desk. The A1 isn’t for everybody, however it’s with out query some of the fascinating and forward-thinking drones I’ve examined in years. Watching how this know-how evolves subsequent goes to be very thrilling.
