Top Miniature Drones on the Market: Get The Best of Both Worlds!

What if you could experience the thrill and excitement of flying a professional drone without having the hassle of the heavy load to carry around? What if you could get the power and performance of a top-notch professional drone all packed into a miniature replica that is a fraction of the size of the professional drone? You would be able to carry your drone anywhere you like and you wouldn’t have to register it with any government agencies either! Wouldn’t a drone like that put a smile on your face and fulfil all of your dreams?

If you said yes, then miniature drones are definitely the devices for you. Their small size and their astounding capabilities make them the perfect replacements for professional drones with people who want less of a hassle.

There are hundreds of these drones on the market and it can be very hard to find one that will suit all of your needs. That is why we took a look at the major brands on the market and put together a list that covers the top 5 best models. So, if you’re looking for the quad that will give you the best value for your money, this is the article for you. Read on and explore some of the best drones on the market and see how they match up to some of their bigger cousins.

Top 5 mini drones on Amazon

In this section, you will get the chance to choose the mini drone that is best for you.

The Hubsan FPV X4 H107D Plus RC Quadcopter

This brand needs no introduction – Hubsan has been one of the leading quadcopter manufacturers for a very long time and they do make quite an impression with their Hubsan FPV X4 H107D Plus model. The quad is an upgrade to the previous model and it is part of Hubsan’s long awaited Hubsan Plus quadcopter series.

The first thing you’ll notice about this quad is that it has been massively redesigned. The quadcopter’s body is now much more robust and it is noticeably sturdier because of its improved rotor arms. These rotor arms flex to reduce scratches to its surface from unanticipated or forceful impacts. They have also placed rubber landing pads on the redesigned Hubsan and so there is less of an impact on the quadcopter’s body when it lands.

The Hubsan FPV X4 H107D Plus RC Quadcopter is equipped with 4 built-in LED lights. These not only help to make the drone more attractive, but they also help you see your quadcopter easily when you are flying it in dark areas at night. Its 720P camera will also attract a lot of people with the quality of videos and pictures that it takes. Did you know that you can take aerial shots and record videos at a whopping resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels? That’s impressive, especially when you take into consideration its size!

It is also equipped with a redesigned 6-axis flight control system that helps to promote greater stability during flight. You can also adjust the flight control system for gyro sensitivity and the lightweight airframe also aids with the flight stability. You can fly it to the left, you can fly it to the right, you can raise it up, you can bring it down; whatever movement you choose, the Hubsan FPV X4 H107D Plus RC Quadcopter will be ready and able to carry them out with ease.

 

The Parrot Mini Rolling Spider

The Parrot Mini Rolling Spider drone doesn’t look like your ordinary quad and there is a simple reason why: it has wheels! The Parrot Mini Rolling Spider drone comes with removable wheels that you can attach to the drone’s body to have it rolling across the ceiling or floor and even up or down the walls too! Yes; this is the very first quadcopter capable of rolling up and down a wall and defying gravity by rolling upside down across the ceiling.

Still, don’t forget that you can also choose to fly it like a normal drone. Whether you are inside or outside, the parrot rolling spider can reach speeds of up to 11 mph or 18 km/h. That’s pretty fast for a mini drone, don’t you think?

The Mini Rolling Spider also comes equipped with a 0.3 MP vertical camera that is locked in place. Even more, the drone is capable of telling you its speed using the camera to capture pictures of a chosen point on the ground every 16 milliseconds and comparing it to previous pictures that it took.

The drone also comes fully equipped with its own gyroscope and accelerometer, and these help it measure and analyze its movement. It even has an automatic pilot mode in which the drone is able to correct its own position and angle without the help of the pilot. Doesn’t this remind you of the drones professionals use?

The Parrot Rolling Spider drone can be connected via Bluetooth to a Windows, Android or IOS tablet or smartphone using the free FreeFlight 3 app. This app will allow you to do a variety of stunts with your new mini drone and it even comes preloaded with a few automatic acrobatic moves. You also don’t have to be afraid of losing connection with your drone because this app will give you a control range of about 65 feet or 20 meters. For a better insight on all the features this model offers, we suggest checking out our Parrot Mini Rolling Spider in-depth review.

 

The Skye Mini Drone

If power, skills, and thrills are what you seek, the Skye Mini drone is the perfect drone for you! Its stylish yet iconic design is perfect and it actually helps it perform better during stunts.

The drone features 4 powerful motors that offer you a world of possibilities. These motors give the pilot the ability to perform various stunts like banking turns, figure of eights and turning cycles with admirable ease and they also guarantee flawless vertical climbs and expert takeoffs.

This Skye mini-drone is perfect for both beginners and accomplished drones flyers. It has 2 modes that cater to the different types of flyers mentioned above. Thus:

• In advanced mode, the pilot is able to manually control almost every feature and perform aggressive flips. Advanced mode will allow you to impress your friends by doing all kinds of aerobatics and the responsive controls – the low weight and high thrust of the Skye Mini drone will make it easy.
• In beginner mode, the drone will help you by stabilizing itself during flight, so that you can learn more about controls and get the hang of flying a drone, like a pro. Its built-in software is also very intuitive and it will hover steadily in place whenever you remove your hands from the controls.

Stability is definitely not something to worry about with this mini quadcopter whether you are in beginner mode or advanced mode. It has built-in accelerometers, piezoelectric gyros, a direct drive system, 6-axis stabilization and even RTF (ready to fly) technology. So you can go ahead and fly it inside of the house or even outside with confidence even if there are strong winds.

The SKEYE Nano quadcopter also comes with a few extra surprises like a Micro SD slot, LED lights to aid in night flying and even an impressive 0.3 MP front-mounted camera too. Did I mention that you will get a free 4 GB SD card to store all of your pictures on with the purchase of the SKEYE Nano quadcopter too? Yes, you definitely will! So you won’t have to worry about running out of space with your free SD card- you can take as much pictures and videos as you like.

 

Syma X5C drone

The Syma X5C is the next drone on the list and I know that it will blow your mind! It has many advanced features that will impress seasoned pilots but at the same time, it is well suited for newbies too.  The first feature that I’m going to discuss is its HD camera. It is able to record videos at 1280×720 pixels at 30 frames per second and its pictures and videos are remarkably clear considering the price. So if you want a drone that can take epic shots but is also affordable, then the Syma X5C may be the perfect fit for you!

The controller uses the spread spectrum technology to control the quadcopter up to a maximum distance of 30 m. This spread spectrum technology is also 100 times more responsive than other radio controls around. Therefore, you can be confident that any movement you make with your controller will be registered and executed by your Syma X5C drone when you fly it around.

It uses a 6-axis gyro stabilization system which is extremely good at keeping the quadcopter s table while it flies. It has also proven to be very resistant to winds so don’t fret when you fly your quad outdoors on a windy day.  You can always be confident that your pictures and videos will come out just as sharp as those that you take on a clear, windless day when you use your Syma X5C quadcopter because stability is one of its shining features.

The Syma X5C drone also has a modular design and its structure is very easy to understand. Therefore, people from all around the world have found it very easy to disassemble the device and replace its parts at their convenience. Spare parts are easy to find and they are quite cheap, and if you want to find out more about this model, as well as about the rest of the models from this series, we suggest checking out our Syma X5 series in-depth review.

 

The Cheerson CX-10C

This palm-sized mini drone is a real beauty, and it is quite an upgrade from the previous model. The most noteworthy change (when compared with its predecessor) is that the model we talk about has a built-in 0.3 MP camera. The camera takes great pictures and videos in both bright and dim lighting and the quality is as good as it can be. Not all drone cameras are able to take clear shots in dim lighting and this Cheerson CX-10C truly outshines all others in this aspect.

The Cheerson CX-10C is made from durable ABS plastic, which fortifies it and makes it extremely resistant to cracks and breakage. After all, nobody would want to break such a beautiful and eye-catching device! It is also very pretty too! It comes in 3 different colors for you to choose from and all of them offer the same flying fun!

It also has the throw function which means that you can launch it by throwing it right out of the palm of your hand. There are also 3 different flying speeds for you to choose from and you can use the self-adjusting function to help you if you are not sure which speed to choose. Another notable feature of this drone is its 3D tumbling feature. It can execute 3D tumbling in all 4 different directions – this is a feature not seen in many quads nowadays, especially a quad of this size!

The Cheerson CX-10C also boasts the Headless Mode feature, which means that you do not have to adjust the position of the aircraft before you fly it. Isn’t this cool?

 

Why should I buy a mini drone?

Well, it’s a no-brainer! They have wonderful features are packed in a cute, tiny frame!

The affordable price

The first reason why you should consider buying one of these devices is their reasonable price. Many of the professional drones on the market can cost hundreds and even thousands of dollars, but these little drones are pretty affordable to the average consumer. They may not offer the same camera quality or flight time, but they are pretty fun and easy to deal with.

Great design & no registration

These drones are also tinier and more portable than their pricier alternatives, and everybody knows that having portability is a big plus nowadays in our society. Their small size and weight also mean that they do not have to be registered with any government agencies.

The fact that the heavier drones have to be registered in most first world countries around the world has turned off a lot of people who would have otherwise been very interested in drone flying. The little drones featured here do not require registration and they offer people the chance to enjoy piloting an UAV without the hassle and cost that come with registration.

Good flight time and battery

The charging and flight times of these drones have also been one of the many reasons why people are attracted to them in the first place. Take for example the Hubsan FPV X4 H107D Plus quadcopter. It uses a high performance Li-Po battery with a capacity of 530 mAh and a voltage of 3.7V. This battery will give you a flight time of around 6 minutes and you can recharge it using its USB charging cable and have it full again in about an hour. The Parrot Mini Rolling Spider has a similar configuration but you will get about 8 minutes of flying time from it if you remove its wheels.

The battery of the SKEYE Nano drone has a capacity of 380 mAh but it is able to offer a flight time of about 7-8 minutes. It is able to charge up from 0% to 100% in half an hour. This is the longest flight time of all the drones that we reviewed and it just speaks to the sheer quality and efficiency of the machine.

The Syma X5C also boasts a 7 minute flying time and it has a battery capacity of 500 mAh. This is a lot compared to the Cheerson CX-10C which has a small capacity of only 120 mAh. As a result, it c an only manage 2.5-4 minutes of flying time but its fast charging time of only 25 minutes makes up for this and ensures that you won’t be out of the action for too long.

Other great features

All these drones also have beautiful LED lights placed strategically all over their bodies to help their flyers identify them more easily when they are flying them at night time. These lights are also accompanied by beautiful designs which both work together to make the drones extremely attractive in the day time and at nighttime.

All these features make these mini quads quite desirable to curious buyers and drone enthusiasts alike. Grab yours now before they are all gone.

Where to fly them and safety measures

These drones have a maximum flight distance of 30 meters away from their respective controllers and so you will want to keep them within your line of sight when you are flying them. Also, ensure that you consider their respective flight times so that you can fly them and bring them back to you safely before they run out of juice.

You should also adhere to the drone rules that exist within your area. Each area will have their own specific rules that you must adhere to and failure to do so could result in you being fined, imprisoned or both. Do not allow this to happen to you. Ensure that you follow all locals drone rules.

If you are unsure of what your local rules are, it may help you to know these general drone rules that are shared by most countries around the world. You should remember to keep your drones away from manned aircrafts, such as airplanes and helicopters. You should not fly your drone within 5 miles of a heliport or an airport and you should not use them to take pictures of other people or their property without their prior consent.

It also goes without saying that you should not use your drones to conduct illegal surveillance of people or their property and you should not use your drones for spying. Also do not modify your drones and use them to do illegal acts such as vandalism.

Remember to check your local laws as they may be stricter or more lenient than the general rules that I just shared with you.

Recommended accessories

There are many accessories that you could purchase for your drone that would aid in its protection and improve the entire experience.

The first accessories that we’re going to discuss are spare batteries. Despite the quick charging times that all these drones boast, it would save you a lot of time if you bought a spare battery and had it charged up and ready when you first began your flight. That way, you could quickly swap them out when its time to recharge your drone and you would be back up and flying in no time.

Memory cards with lots of extra space are also another great accessory to have. This is to ensure that you don’t run out of memory when you are capturing timeless events. So choose memory cards with a lot of space and try to get the most reliable brands.

It is also important for you to remember that accidents do happen and if you do run into some difficulties, it would be good for you to have your spare parts ready and available. That is why I always recommend that drone owners by extra propellers and other spare parts for their drones and learn how to quickly make repairs to their drones too.

Finally, it would serve you well to protect your drone by storing and carrying it around in a hard shell case. There are numerous cases on the market that will do an excellent job at protecting your investment and ensuring that you have it to fly around for a very long time. So protect your drone from unexpected hits and blows by always storing it in a hard shell case when it is not in use and putting it out of harm’s way too.

Not sure what model to buy?

If you’re still unsure about which model you would like to buy, then take some time to think about your specific needs and exactly what it is you would like to get from your mini quad. Also think about the different battery lives of all the drones that we mentioned above and consider their varying charging times.

Some drones are more suited to taking pictures in low lighting while others are better suited to doing aerial stunts. After you’ve done your research, you’ll be able to make an intelligent decision.

These drones that I shared with you today are some of the best mini drones on the market. They are perfect for anyone who wants the fun of drone flying without the added hassle of drone registration or the added weight of regular drones either. These devices will also make perfect gifts for teenagers and adults. I’m sure that they will bring a smile on anyone’s face if you decide to wrap them as a gift.

Maybe that lucky person is you! Why not treat yourself to one of the wonderful drones that you discovered today? After all, you deserve to have fun and excitement too!