In launching the new Skydio 2+, Redwood City-based Skydio is not limiting itself to rolling out a cool autonomous drone with groundbreaking KeyFrame filming technology, but also introducing the Skydio Care protection option to cover mishaps that eventually befall those new craft.
Borrowing a page from its Silicon Valley neighbor, Apple, the company has introduced a similar product protection program for the Skydio 2+, dubbing it Skydio Care. The option goes beyond the standard hardware warranty by offering 12- and 48-month plans that cover the repair or replacement of insured drones that experiences trouble. Those not only kick into operation for internal craft bugs or breakdowns, but also extend coverage to Skydio 2+ UAVs that come away the worse for wear from collision or water damage.
Replacements will similarly be provided to buyers whose protected drones wind up landing in inaccessible areas or other irretrievable situations.
Skydio Care options offer relatively affordable peace of mind to users investing $1,099 or more for a Skydio 2+ drone whose main features include the ability fly hither and yon all by its lonesome. The outside risk of a glitch occurring during those autonomous flights – or new client concerns about their own pre-programming abilities – may lead the more cautious customers to purchase Skydio Care as a comforting operational safety net.
So what are the brass tack details of the various protection choices in Skydio Care for a new Skydio 2+ drone?
The standard warranty included in the purchase price covers all hardware failures and malfunctions, and unlimited repair and replacement for the first 12 months of use – i.e., if an internal flaw arises, the craft is repaired or replaced, but that’s it.
For an additional $149, however, that one-year hardware warranty is supplemented by protection from water and collision damage during use, as well as for lost or unrecoverable drones. That plan provides up to two replacements of craft destroyed by collisions – for $150, then $200 – and one substitute for a Skydio 2+ that goes missing at a cost of $500.
A two-year Skydio Care plan running $249 lengthens the basic hardware warranty to 24 months, during which time full replacement of drones suffering water or collision damage cover three vehicles, at $150, $200, and $250, respectively. Cost of replacing a lost craft runs $550.
Which of those is right for you? The answer will probably be based on the kind of missions and conditions in which you’ll likely deploy your Skydio 2+ drone – and the degree of flight difficulty and any pre-programming involved. The other element important in deciding whether you’ll want Skydio Care protection is that basic gut-level factor: Just how (un)lucky are you feeling these days?
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