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Snap launches its first drone

pixy.com

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Re: Snap launches its first drone

#161

Post by adriand »

andrewgioia wrote: post #12

I think this is such a fun/playful idea, kudos to Snap! Their first hardware product pretty much bombed but this is oddly one of the first consumer tech toys in a while that I've felt I wanted. I can definitely see this being a fun thing to bring out in the backyard or to cookouts/parties, especially as a dad with young kids too. A couple things I'd be a bit worried about: * Battery life would need to last long enoug…

I have to agree that this seems like a lot of fun. A lot of people in this thread are focusing on quality and comparing to other, more capable and more expensive drones. However, something small and relatively cheap that you can carry on a strap around your neck seems like a unique value prop. So long as it passes the bar of reasonable durability and quality I could see a lot of people wanting one.

Re: Snap launches its first drone

#163

Post by vineyardmike »

germinalphrase wrote: post #154
malauxyeux wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Would there be an audible hum in the video it records from the 4x propellers? And for those who are at the beach just trying to enjoy a little time away from the city. The folks at the beach near me are already fed up with ubiquitous Bluetooth speakers.

Cyclists as well. Someone should popularize an ultrasonic directional Bluetooth speaker for these use cases that won’t destroy the peace of public spaces.

And what if we could mount these directional speakers directly on someone’s head! Then we could reduce the volume a lot so it’s even quieter to neighbors. Maybe use some sort of physical bell or cup shape to direct it right into someone’s ears without ultrasonics (for cost reasons). Then we might save enough that we can use 2x speakers to get L/R audio streams.

Re: Snap launches its first drone

#164

Post by FpUser »

I do not like when it becomes a puzzle and multiple clicks to find tech specs. Also I really dislike this "lasts longer" style description of a battery life / flight time. I would very much prefer X minutes when hovering and no wind as a rough measure.

Re: Snap launches its first drone

#165

Post by ehnto »

the_arun wrote: post #84
sytelus wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is probably a market for pocket drone that can carry iPhone and take selfie just like this.

Isn't iPhone too heavy for drone to carry around photographing?

Not that I think it should be done, but since the drone is carrying the phone, you could have the phone save a GPS point of where you are standing, and then the phone guides the drone away from that point to photograph toward it.

Depending on GPS accuracy in the phone it could work well. GPS waypoint missions are already well established in the drone world.

Re: Snap launches its first drone

#166

Post by mikeyouse »

OutsmartDan wrote: post #59
andrewgioia wrote: post #12

I think this is such a fun/playful idea, kudos to Snap! Their first hardware product pretty much bombed but this is oddly one of the first consumer tech toys in a while that I've felt I wanted. I can definitely see this being a fun thing to bring out in the backyard or to cookouts/parties, especially as a dad with young kids too. A couple things I'd be a bit worried about: * Battery life would need to last long enoug…

Tech specs buried here: https://support.pixy.com/hc/en-us/articles/5039928089236-Pix... No info about battery life anywhere to be found.

From their FCC application:

Battery: 3.85V DC, 860mAh, 3.311Wh

https://fccid.io/2AIRN-006/RF-Exposure-Info/220100298SHA-004...

Re: Snap launches its first drone

#167

Post by trompetenaccoun »

shisisms wrote: post #152

Won’t there now be 1000s of flying selfie sticks bumping into each other? Looks beautiful. Feels like dystopian comedy.

This is a really good business idea, it's going to be very successful. I also hate everything about it.

The selfie sticks were bad enough but just like you say soon every idiot tourist is going to have an autonomous drone following them wherever they go, capturing hours of social media material that no one's going to care about. Unless they catch you doing something that goes against their boring norms, because then they'll plaster it all over without a care for your privacy. I must have seen a dozen videos of "creepy old man naked in the woods near our children" or some similar phrasing when it turned out every time it was just some hippie nudist who thought he'd have a bit of peace and quiet being outdoors, far away from the city. But you can't go anywhere these days without these gopro morons filming your every move.

Re: Snap launches its first drone

#168

Post by darkwizard42 »

ahmed_ds wrote: post #144

I kinda feel sad for Snap for even trying. I remember Snap was one of the very first meme stock. They failed with their camera spectacles. They failed to keep up with computer vision compared to TikTok and shift towards Gen Z. They failed to come up with a decent creators monetization system. Recently I read that they are signing MOUs with entertainment companies that involved AR tech. And now they are involved in ma…

Huh? Snap has really buckled down and gone from a forgone conclusion to having record quarters of revenue growth and monetization. They have repeatedly focused on digging in and trying new things.

Spectacles wasn't a ground-breaking idea, but it was a GREAT innovative shot which was hard to copy by FB at the time. Similarly this is another great innovation hard to have others copy. Is it niche? Yeah probably, but it shows they are looking at ALL the interesting areas.

For what it's worth, Snap has been ahead of the game on AR filters and AR tech for a while. Releasing this doesn't imply they aren't also doing work there.

Re: Snap launches its first drone

#169

Post by danenania »

andrewgioia wrote: post #75
inasio wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd be surprised if they get 15 minutes, I've played with the DJI mini and barely get that (per battery), and this one looks bulkier and with worse aerodynamics. That said, you probably don't want a noisy drone just hovering next/over your party all the time, and they do include a couple of batteries, swap is super easy.

Gotcha, I have no experience with drones so that's a bit of a bummer but you're right—this would not be hovering continuously so if the "total play time" could be over an hour with a fast battery switch that could be enough.

Yeah, I was thinking something like this would be useful for filming myself surfing (to get a better idea of all the things I'm doing wrong), but I have no drone experience either and didn't realize that such short flight times are the norm. Sounds like that kind of use case won't be realistic for quite some time.

Re: Snap launches its first drone

#170

Post by MegaButts »

slg wrote: post #156
bushbaba wrote: post #147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have no idea on how many minutes it takes to get a photo. I personally like their metric choice.

I'm not sure that I follow what you are saying. Are you suggesting the expectation is that each flight yields one photo? It takes milliseconds not minutes to take a photo. I would expect this thing to be taking photos nearly continuously during flight which would make flight time the most informative metric.

I don't think you're their target demographic.
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