Skip to main content

DroneDJ’s Best of CES 2019 Awards: DJI Smart Controller, Draco 4×4 and more

Every year, the Consumers Electronics Show is filled with brands exhibiting their newest and best products. and this year is no different. Even though we had hoped for more new drones and drone accessories to be released, we are far from disappointed. This year is the first time we will bring you the DroneDJ Best of CES Awards to spotlight our favorite products introduced at the show. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to attend this year’s CES but we have had a number of people from DroneDJ, 9to5Mac, 9to5Google, and 9to5Toys hunt down the latest and greatest new products in Las Vegas. Here are our favorite picks of 2019: DJI Smart Controller, UVify Draco 4×4, Tiffen ND Filters, AirSelfie AIR DUO

The DroneDJ Best of CES Awards

Best New DJI Device Award: DJI Smart Controller

We knew it was coming. And we know it will make a big difference for many drone pilots. The DJI Smart Controller, it offers you an integrated 5.5″ display that is much brighter than your average smartphone. The Smart Controller extends the range of your Mavic 2 Zoom, Pro or Enterprise drone to 5 miles and offers you better connectivity and an improved transmission signal. No more messing around with your smartphone. Use the new DJI Smart Controller instead. Available for $649 or for an additional $400 when bought together with a Mavic 2 Zoom, Pro or Enterprise drone. You can read more about this best new DJI device here and here.

DroneDJ's Best of CES 2019 Awards - DJI Smart Controller

Best Drone Innovation Award: Draco 4×4

How could we not award UVify for their new Draco 4×4 drone with 16 rotors? Talk about taking things up a notch! The UVify team was started in 2015 by a group of aerospace, mechanical engineering, and machine vision specialists. They are behind the Draco 4×4, the 16 rotor behemoth that will be the flagship for the U-Class series for the 2019 DR1 Racing League. The extra rotors should allow these drones to be both more powerful and more maneuverable than the standard four rotor quadcopter. UVify hasn’t released the specs on this machine quite yet.

Best DJI Accessory Award: new Tiffen ND filters

Last week, we published our massive filter test in which we tested 54 filters from various manufacturers. Check that out here. One of them was the well-established filter company Tiffen. We had been waiting for them to start offering filters for the popular DJI Mavic 2 Zoom and Pro drones, but they are here now. Tiffen is a company best known for quality filters for cameras as well as professional-grade camera stabilization systems. They are the only of the established filter makers like Hoya and B+W to make a push into the drone market. While they were slow to jump into the market, they now seem fully dedicated. Tiffen has filters available for the Mavic 2 Pro, Mavic 2 Zoom, and Phantom 4 Pro/RTK.

mavic 2 pro filter details

Best Portable Drone Award: AirSelfie AIR DUO

The AIR DUO from AirSelfie is super small, lightweight and pocketable. It now also features two lenses that will allow you to get great photos as well as wide-angle landscape photos. This drone may not be the best flying drone but if it is all about portability than this drone wins hands down. the best drone is the one that is with you. Well with the AirSelfie AIR DUO you have run out of excuses to not bring a drone with you for that awesome aerial shot. Click here to read more about this drone.

STAY IN TOUCH!

If you’d like to stay up to date with all the latest drone news, scoops, rumors and reviews, then follow us on TwitterFacebookYouTubeInstagram or sign up for our email newsletter DroneRise, that goes out every weekday morning at 6 am.

Buy your next drone through directly from manufacturers, such as DJIParrotYuneec or retailers like AmazonB&HBestBuy or eBay. By using our links, we will make a small commission, but it will not cost you anything extra. Thank you for helping DroneDJ grow!

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

You’re reading DroneDJ — experts who break news about DJI and the wider drone ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow DroneDJ on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Don’t know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel.

Comments

Author

Avatar for Haye Kesteloo Haye Kesteloo

Haye Kesteloo is the Editor in Chief and Main Writer at DroneDJ, where he covers all drone related news and writes product reviews. He also contributes to the other sites in the 9to5Mac group such as; 9to5Mac, 9to5Google, 9to5Toys and Electrek. Haye can be reached at haye@dronedj.com or @hayekesteloo