From The Verge · Sean Hollister · · 3m
Antigravity halves drone price with watch control
The Antigravity A1 now costs $799 with wristwatch and ring control instead of $1,599 FPV goggles, letting you fly a follow-me drone from your wrist.
In brief
The Antigravity A1 now costs $799 with wristwatch and ring control instead of $1,599 FPV goggles, letting you fly a follow-me drone from your wrist. Antigravity cut its A1 drone price in half to seven hundred ninety nine dollars by replacing FPV goggles with wristwatch and ring control, making autonomous follow-me…
The old Antigravity A1 setup
Last year's Antigravity A1 was the best beginner drone available, but it required wearing FPV goggles and cost upwards of fifteen hundred ninety nine dollars for the complete set.
Price cut with new control method
Antigravity is now halving the price to seven hundred ninety nine dollars in the US with a new Follow Me kit that replaces the headset and motion controller with a wristwatch and ring.
How the new system works
You pull the drone and watch from your bag, power them on, hold a button to launch from your hand, then walk or ride while the A1 automatically films and follows you, dodging obstacles.
Watch and ring controls
You get a swipeable preview on the watch's touchscreen, can select quickshots there, or use sliders to manually fly the A1. The ring is just an extra button for one-handed launch and repositioning.
Arm gestures control the drone
You can wave your arm like a magic wand to nudge the drone left, right, down, up, towards, or away while it's filming, giving intuitive directional control without complex inputs.
Limitations discovered in testing
After three crashes during testing, the A1 proved not intelligent enough to dodge everything. Power lines, thin branches, and utility pole guy wires posed hazards the drone couldn't reliably avoid.
Software issues need fixing
The touchscreen experience is sluggish, the drone won't land on hand without manual mode, automatic tracking requires manual activation, and it won't follow over high hills due to altitude limits.
Drift and recovery features
The drone sometimes drifts into streets or over fences when told to follow. The watch automatically plays footage from before crashes, making it easy to locate the drone after impact.
Propeller guards and accessories
New full-coverage propeller guards are included in the seven hundred ninety nine dollar set.Existing A1 owners can buy the watch and ring for three hundred forty dollars, guards for forty dollars, with twenty percent discount.
Comparison to Skydio alternative
The Antigravity A1 is like the folding Skydio the company should have made before leaving consumers for industry. It's compact enough to fit in a bag, offering autonomous follow-me capability at accessible price.
The takeaway
Antigravity cut its A1 drone price in half to seven hundred ninety nine dollars by replacing FPV goggles with wristwatch and ring control, making autonomous follow-me filming more accessible.
