The mysterious Sony Airpeak drone was unveiled for the first time at CES 2021 – and it’s not quite the DJI competitor we’ve hoped for.
Sony announced the Airpeak drone project for the first time in November 2020, but did not release any images or details about the type of flying machine it had in store. Now, we’ve seen some short videos of Airpeak in action at CES 2021 – and it’s fair to say it’s aimed at the high-professional market.
What we are looking for is a proponent of the people like the DJI Inspire 2, rather than affordable consumer drones like the DJI Mavic Air 2. It may disappoint hobby kites, but professional aerial photography will look out for the prospect of flying. Sony A7S III, the camera that carries the Airpeak drone through the air.
In its brief announcement, Sony said that in the first half of 2021, it will start a new business focused on ‘professional photography and video production’. While the Airpeak drone looks scary and intimidating in the way pro drones regularly do, according to Sony, it is ‘the smallest class drone in the industry that can be equipped with the Alpha system’, meaning aerial photos and videos in full frame.
According to the demo video, the Airpeak is able to record a spectacular video while traveling at fairly high speeds – in Sony’s first teaser video, the drone is shown following a prototype Sony Vision S car at a racetrack .
The only other details we can get from the video is that Airpeak has a quadcopter design and some impressive landing gear that pulls back to takeoff. The video also reveals that Airpeak will be a very expensive piece of kit, although Sony has not yet announced anything about pricing or availability.
Phase one?
While Sony has released very few details about Airpeak, the video and press release answered the most important question about the project – would it be a consumer drone, or a capable tool for film connoisseurs? There is no doubt that Airpeak is currently targeting the latter.
This is slightly disappointing for those who were hoping that Sony could take on DJI in the drone space for consumers by giving us aerial versions of its cheaper cameras like the Sony RX100 series.
But there is still hope. In its Airpeak release at CES 2021, Sony says that its professional photography and video tool will be ‘the first phase of this project’. Does this mean that the Airpeak brand can finally be used on more affordable drones that can compete with the DJI Mavic 2 Pro? It is possible, although it would be somehow.
Starting a professional drone makes a lot of sense for Sony – this is the market that is increasingly targeting its largest land cameras, such as the Sony A7S III and Sony A7R IV. Not only are the margins in high-quality drones far greater than their hobby equivalents, Airpeak fits neatly into Sony’s position as a high-end entertainment brand for professional filmmakers and aspiring creators.
For now, it looks like DJI and Skydio will rule in the affordable drone space – but Sony Airpeak is certainly an extremely impressive new contender at higher altitudes.
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