Almost everyone wants to fly, and with drones, playing around in the air is easier than ever. But it’s not a cheap hobby, and if you’re a newbie, it can be intimidating — and even dangerous.
DJI is unleashing a new drone on the world this week, only instead of taking to the skies, this little robot stays on the ground.
The new RoboMaster S1 is an educational robot designed to teach kids how to code. It packs brushless motors, a gimbal and chassis that can move in all directions. DJI built S1 to be used in interactive modes for programming as well as play. Once you assemble your robot you can battle other S1 owners in Mario Kart style games that look fun as hell.
Take a look at the cool stuff it can do:
Drones aren’t just fun toys anymore. Drones are changing…well, everything. Drones are delivering medical supplies in Africa, keeping school kids safe in Indiana and improving our understanding of tornado behavior in Texas.
And oh, the aerial photography. From shooting action sequences in “Game of Thrones” to changing the real estate game, it’s not enough just to capture aerial footage. That footage actually has to look brilliant too.
Drones are super-cool, super-fun — and often, super-expensive. For many of us, they can seem forever out of reach, and probably too complicated to learn. Not so with this feature-loaded, uber-portable, and very affordable camera drone.
Don’t leave your holiday shopping until the last minute. With Cult of Mac’s handy gift guides, you can find the perfect presents and get them all early for a stress-free December.
Our guides are filled with fantastic gadgets and accessories that Apple fans will love. We’ve handpicked only the best — things we’ve used, reviewed, and would recommend — so that you can be sure your money is being well spent.
This guide focuses on the Apple Watch owners in your life, and it features something to suit every budget.
Any Star Wars fan can relate to the dream of taking off in an X-wing. The best we could do in the old days was to play video games or mouth engine noises while running around the living room a toy starfighter. But it’s the future now, so anyone can live out their own Star Wars dogfights and chase scenes.
If you’ve ever dreamed of controlling a state-of-the-art drone with just a few taps of the wrist, today is your lucky day. That’s because a new software update for Californian drone-makers’ Skydio quadcopter lets you take this high-end UAV to the skies — via your Apple Watch.
Drones are awesome. They’re also expensive, and tricky to fly, so it’s easy to feel stuck in the amateur league.
Drone photography has taken off big time the last two years, but if you haven’t been able to afford on of DJI‘s incredible drones, don’t worry, pretty soon your iPhone could have the powers of flight.
One brilliant tech-modder managed to attach battery-powered propellers to his iPhone case making it the ultimate selfie-machine.
Check it out:
That buzzing you hear outside probably isn’t a swarm of bees. These days it’s way more likely to be a drone. They’re everywhere, big and small, so why not get in on the fun?
Drone manufacturer Parrot looks like it may have finally put together a pretty good drone to rival DJI’s popular Mavic Air quadrocopter.
Parrot unveiled its new $700 drone this morning dubbed, Anafi. The name isn’t the only thing that’s a little bit odd about the super-portable drone, but it packs some pretty interesting features even DJI can’t match.
Memorial Day weekend is still kicking (it’s a long one), so we’re still turning out can’t-miss deals on tools and tech. This go-round, we’ve got a palm-size drone, a master class in Photoshop, an awesome Apple Watch charging dock, and lots more.
Everything is massively discounted — by as much as 97 percent!
Apple Maps was a laughingstock when it launched, but it’s come a long way since then. Now Apple has been given approval to further improve the service using drones.
As part of the U.S. Transportation’s new drone program, Apple is allowed to capture images of North Carolina using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). This will allow it to enhance its mapping services with more detailed images.
Apple is one of a number of big companies seeking permission to be part of a new U.S. drone testing program, launched by President Donald Trump last year.
With the government now opening up applications for the new program, Apple has joined other tech giants including Amazon, Intel and Qualcomm in applying. It’s not yet clear what Apple is interested in achieving with its drone ambitions, although companies such as Amazon have been outspoken about their desire to pursue drone deliveries.
New drones videos of Apple Park are about to become extinct.
Apple is ramping up security when it comes to drones hovering over its new headquarters. Droner Duncan Sinfield has flown at the campus since the early days of construction. However, on his latest flights, Duncan says Apple security has been able to track down his precise location in ten minutes.
Check out his latest footage, it could be his last:
Criminals in China have discovered a brilliant new use for drones: smuggling valuable iPhones.
Authorities in China arrested 26 suspects that were found using drones to smuggle $80 million worth of iPhones between Hong Kong and the mainland in what is reportedly the first case of drones being used in cross-border smuggling crimes in China.
A would-be photographer lost his drone while attempting a flyover of the Apple Park campus last weekend. After he lost control of the unmanned aerial vehicle, it crashed onto the solar panel-covered roof of Apple’s new circular headquarters.
Check out the Apple Park drone crash footage below.
Apple has no time for your drones! Yesterday was Apple’s annual investors meeting, and one of the attendees tweeted this photo of signage erected at Apple Park declaring it a “no drone zone.”
Given Apple’s insistence on privacy — and Tim Cook declaring that keeping Apple products under wraps is the “bane of [his] existence” — that’s not necessarily a surprise. Still, it does mean that Apple is seemingly none too happy about the myriad drone flyover videos which keep on showing up online.
The HomePod presales have begun, but we’ll tell you why Apple’s new smart speaker may be a huge flop, this week on The CultCast. Plus: Audiophiles are comparing HomePod’s tech to speakers that cost $85,000; Apple adds some long-awaited features to iOS 11; how to back up your iCloud photo library to your PC (and why you should). And we wrap with another episode of Drone Chat! This time, we’ll tell you why DJI’s Mavic Air is the perfect drone for almost everyone.
Our thanks to Pitney Bowes for supporting this episode. Print postage from your office and take advantage of special shipping discounts at pb.com/cultcast, and beat the postage rate increase with exclusive discounts on letters. Plans start at just $5 a month!
This week, on a jam-packed, tech-tastic episode of The CultCast: We’ll tell you the weirdest, wackiest and most wonderful products revealed at CES 2018, the world’s craziest consumer electronics show. We’ve dug deep to bring you some strange ones!
Our thanks to Casper for supporting this episode. Learn why Casper makes the internet’s favorite mattress, and save $50 off your order at casper.com/cultcast.
While consumer drone leader DJI makes headlines at this week’s CES with new products, GoPro announced Monday it would pull out of the drone business after it sells its remaining stock of Karma drones.
The news comes after word leaked last week that GoPro was about to lay off more than 250 workers from its aerial division. The layoffs and Karma kill-off comes amid estimates that GoPro’s fourth-quarter revenues will fall more than $100 million short of projections.
Gear-shopping for your favorite outdoors-loving friends and family members can be as daunting as trekking up Mount St. Helens as she’s about to blow. There are so many options — and so much crap! Nobody wants to waste money on a gift that’s not going to get used.
To help you out with your holiday shopping, we waded through the endless lists of camping and hiking gear and gadgets that came out in 2017. The goal? To find the perfect stuff your special someone will love.
It’s getting easier and easier to take part in the joy of drone flying. So neither skill nor price should prevent anyone who wants to take to the skies from doing so.
The holiday season is finally upon us and you know what that means? Killer deals on all the tech gadgets you’ve been lusting after all year.
Cyber Monday deals for 2017 are already setting the internet into a tizzy of anticipation with big discounts on 4K TVs, smart speakers, drones, iPads, smartphones and much more. Cult of Mac will be rounding up the best deals right here so you can spend less time Cyber Monday shopping and get on with life.
Here are the best deals worth checking out:
The once-infamous Black Friday is no longer a one-day event. It has turned into an entire weekend dedicated to sales. The long Thanksgiving weekend is a tempting time. Who can pass up the wave of savings?
