Xiaomi's Mi Drone

The Chinese phone maker Xiaomi  into the drone game.

  With power banks, fitness trackers, action cameras and even a smart air purifier under its name, Xiaomi is definitely not afraid to span out into various markets and try new things. The Chinese giant's latest announcement is a perfect testament to that. The Mi Drone hardly comes as a surprise and has been discussed and teased for some time now, but, frankly, that doesn't make it any less exciting.

The Mi Drone carries a ball-shaped 4K camera beneath it, that quadcopter-buffs might think looks similar to the built-in shooters found on Yuneec's Typhoon series. To be specific, the camera uses a Sony 12.4-megapixel sensor that can capture video at up to 3,840 x 2,160 at 30 fps; and as you'd expect, it can take RAW photos. Its detachable gimbal does 3-axis stabilization which corrects itself 2,000 times per second, and this is assisted by an optical flow sensor positioned between the camera and the battery bay on the back.

While the drone itself looks a bit too familiar, its controller comes with a cute appearance that somewhat assembles a bunny -- the company's mascot -- from afar. Lei claims it's nice to hold, and he also showed off the built-in smartphone clamp (it held his 6.44-inch Mi Max just fine), though using this will require flipping down the two antennas -- these can keep the Mi Drone under control over a distance of 2km, while still maintaining a 720p video stream.

 The controller also has a dial on the left for tilting the camera, and there's a shutter button on the other side. At the bottom side, there's a flap that hides a micro-USB port for recharging the controller.

 All of this sounds pretty awesome for a $460 drone (propeller guards included, no less), but Xiaomi appears to be in no hurry, as its first-ever drone will only be entering an open beta towards the end of July. That said, there will also be a slightly cheaper 1080p 60 fps version that's launching on Xiaomi's very own crowdfunding platform tomorrow for 2,499 yuan (which is about $380), with another trade-off being its range is limited to just 1km, but that shouldn't be a problem for casual users. Oh, and there's going to be a 99 yuan (about $15) backpack designed to fit this drone, too.