What you need to know
- Snap has launched its first drone, dubbed Pixy.
- Snap Pixy can float and follow the subject, saving videos directly to Snapchat Memories.
- Snapchat is also receiving a new Director Mode on iOS and later this year on Android.
While we thought the Snap Spectacles were weird, the company behind them has a new product that looks a bit more compelling — its first drone, dubbed "Snap Pixy."
It's a cute name for a rather cute device. Snap Pixy is a small, yellow drone fitted with a 12MP camera that you can use to take aesthetic photos and videos (shot in 2.7K resolution) of yourself without needing to bother someone else to do it for you. It can hover right off your hand, start recording for a bit, then float right back down to your outstretched hand.
Snap Pixy doesn't come with a controller like you'd find on even the best drones for kids. Instead, it has a dial on top that will direct it to a set of preprogrammed flight patterns allowing it to capture you and some friends or you against a wider landscape, and it can even follow or circle you.
The drone features 16GB of internal storage for plenty of images and videos, but these will automatically sync to your Snapchat Memories, where you can apply Pixy-specific edits.
According to Snap, the battery can afford you 5 to 8 flights per charge. The drone features fast charging for 80% capacity in just 20 minutes or a full 100% in 40 minutes. Snap is also selling additional battery packs and chargers for the drone.
Snap Pixy is available in the U.S. and France and retails for $230. You can purchase it directly from the Pixy website, although it's not expected to ship for 11 or 12 weeks.
In addition to Pixy, Snap also announced a new feature arriving soon on mobile devices. Director Mode brings a new set of capture and editing tools to allow Snapchat users to take more control over their posts. This includes a dual capture mode, Camera Speed to make videos faster or slower, Green Screen mode to add backgrounds to your video, and Quick Edit to stitch multiple snaps together.
Director Mode will be available on iOS "in the coming months," while Android phones will have to wait until later this year.
