Coming in at 249g, the Autel Evo Nano+ doesn’t compromise on video quality with impressive performance during the day and night, and with constant updates from Autel, it just keeps getting better. The big question is, should you buy one instead of the cheaper DJI Mini 3? Well…
Design & build
Portable foldable design249gNot the most durable drone
The Autel Evo Nano+ doesn’t look that different from other sub-250g drones with a compact, folding arm design that lets you store it away in a relatively small bag. While the folding arm design is welcome, it’s worth noting that it’s not quite as flawless as DJI’s integration which allows you to unfold any arm in any order. With the Autel, you have to first unfold the larger front arms before extending the rear arms. Where the Nano+ does stand out is in the choice of colour options available; while other manufacturers like DJI often opt for neutral colours like grey, Autel has gone in the other direction with a bright orange finish – though there is still a more subtle grey option available. I’m not sure it’s meant to be a feature, but the bright orange body of the drone does help me keep track of it during flights – an essential rule for drone flight in the UK. In terms of dimensions, it’s a similar size to the DJI Mini 3 both folded (142 x 94 x 55mm) and unfolded (260 x 325 x 55mm), though DJI’s option does look more svelte and premium than Autel’s colourful option. Weighing in at 249g, it’s lightweight enough to avoid many drone restrictions, though there have been sacrifices to achieve such a lofty aim. The biggest of which is durability, with a fair amount of flex in the body and arms that doesn’t instil a lot of confidence that it could survive anything more than a light bump. In fact, one foldable arm of my initial review sample snapped after my first mid-flight accident, though Autel was kind enough to provide another so I could continue with the review. One possible reason why the housing is so lightweight could be because the removable battery is hefty at 83g, making up around a third of the overall body weight. The drone doesn’t feature a battery cover door on its rear, instead using the battery itself as the cover. The power button and related LEDs are directly built into the battery too, allowing you to quickly check battery levels even when not installed in the body of the drone. Attached beneath the drone on a 3-axis gimble is a camera housing a 1/1.28in CMOS sensor along with a PDAF (phase-detection auto-focus) and CDAF (contrast-detection auto-focus) dual focus lens. If that wasn’t impressive enough, it boasts an impressive f/1.9 aperture and RYYB sensor tech that allows it to excel in low-light conditions – but more on that a little later. You might also notice a smattering of sensors pointing forwards, behind and below the drone. These allow for three-way obstacle avoidance to help avoid objects around the drone, and while it won’t alert you to objects to the sides or above the drone, it should help going head- or rear-first into trees, walls or any other nearby obstacles. The Evo Nano+ comes with the same controller that shipped with the company’s Evo Lite+, which is no bad thing. It’s well-sized, easy to use and boasts an impressive range of up to 10km (in the US, less in Europe to abide by local law). It boasts dedicated controls to move the gimbal along with reprogrammable buttons to make accessing certain shooting modes or controls easier, and the built-in battery will also charge your connected smartphone at the same time. I will say though, the built-in dock is stretched to its limits with the chunky iPhone 14 Pro Max. The only real frustration is a relatively simple one; there’s nowhere on the controller to store the removable thumbsticks when not in use, making them exceedingly easy to misplace if you don’t have a dedicated drone bag. The saving grace is that if you opt for the pricier Fly More kit, you’ll get a handy bag to store the drone, controller and other accessories, along with two additional batteries and replacement blades.
Features & flight performance
Three-way obstacle avoidanceNumber of automated shooting modesImpressive rangeResponsive controls
Once you’ve downloaded the Autel app on your iOS or Android smartphone, connected it to the controller via the provided cables and unfolded the drone, you’re ready to rock and roll. As you’d expect, most of the controls come directly from the Autel app, allowing you to change various settings including the capture mode and enabling automated shooting modes. It’s fairly well-equipped and Autel is constantly improving not only the app but the features available on the drone, which is nice to see. The app isn’t quite as user-friendly as that from the likes of DJI, lacking the general polish and more advanced features like a local map with no-fly zones, but it’ll still get the job done. In flight, the drone is quick, responsive and manoeuvrable, boasting three movement modes with the Ludacris mode at the top end that moves at an impressive 15m/s, though that’s only recommended for experienced pilots as it disables the built-in obstacle avoidance. It is handy if your drone gets caught in the wind, allowing for extra oomph to bring the drone home, but it can still get taken on particularly windy days. The Evo Nano+ boasts Autel’s proprietary Autel SkyLink transmission technology that, as we mentioned, can provide up to 10km of range in the US, though it’s limited to 5km in Europe to abide by local law. Even at around 1km away (still in line of sight!) the controller provides instant response, and the app still manages to provide a live 1080p video feed with no interference or dropped connection. Autel says that it’ll eventually switch to a 720p stream as it gets further away, but it should never totally drop out, though that’s not something I could test due to local law constraints. If, in particularly dense or signal-heavy areas you do lose your connection, the drone’s built-in return-to-home tech will bring the drone back to wherever it took off from. The automated return flight isn’t intelligent enough to navigate around obstacles though, so make sure you set your return height high enough in the Autel app beforehand. The built-in obstacle avoidance does provide confidence in flight, especially for novice drone pilots, as it provides both visual on-screen markers and can be set up to automatically stop and hover in place if it detects a nearby obstacle. The issue is that the sensors occasionally pick up false positives, and the immediate braking can interrupt an otherwise perfectly shot video. It’s also not completely fool-proof, lacking sensors atop and to the sides of the drone, but that’s not something you’ll find in any sub-250g drone in 2023. As well as flying the drone yourself, there’s a swathe of automated shots available within the Autel app. These allow you to pick a subject and get the drone to fly around it, towards it or away from it and provide pretty decent results in open environments. There was one big omission at launch – a simple follow mode – but the functionality eventually made an appearance via a software update, allowing it to better compete with the likes of QuickShot on DJI’s lightweight drones. In terms of battery life, the 2,250mAh battery should provide around 28 minutes per charge but this will of course depend on your speed and other factors. That’s not quite up to the impressive 38-minute battery life of the competing DJI Mini 3, but you can easily swap the battery out to further extend battery time. The aforementioned Fly More kit provides an additional two batteries that extend overall flight time to up to an hour and 24 minutes.
Photo & video quality
Impressive detail in videos and photosDecent low-light performanceNo high frame rate shooting modes at higher than 1080p
When it comes to capturing video, you’ve got three options: 4K@30fps, 2.7K@30fps or 1080p@60fps. It’s a bit of a disappointment to not get 60fps at 2.7K or 4K, though the latter isn’t even available on the newer DJI Mini 3. If you do want to slow down your footage in post-production, you’ll have to sacrifice overall image quality and opt for a 1080p recording. The Evo Nano+ offers the same 100Mbps bitrate as the DJI Mini 2 & 3, along with a similar digital zoom and the ability to export a H.264- or H.265-compressed MP4 video. Gripes with shooting modes aside, the 1/1.28in 50Mp CMOS sensor delivers impressive quality during the day. Images are well-lit and balanced with HDR enabled, with plenty of detail at 4K that’ll allow you to pick out individual details from the shot or even crop in without significant quality degradation. The 3-axis gimble does an impressive job at delivering steady shots, even on fairly windy days, with the only real stutter in shots coming from my (at times) bad piloting. You can adjust the pitch of the camera with a toggle on the controller, allowing you to pitch up and down, though going too high will bring the arms of the drone into shot. Here’s an example of a clip shot in 4K in bright daylight: And here’s a sample of the 48Mp images taken, captured in both JPG and RAW depending on what you work with. You’ve also got the option of shooting in a dedicated HDR mode in more challenging conditions, but what’s more interesting is the 10-bit A-log mode, allowing you to apply the sharpening and grading required in post-production to get the very best quality possible – though this does require extra work and won’t be ideal for novices. The big frustration is that you can’t shoot in HDR or A-Log with manual settings – you’re locked to automatic exposure mode, which seems counterintuitive given that only pro-level users would opt to enable either. Night performance is particularly impressive on the Evo Nano+ compared to much of the competition, thanks largely to the 0.8in sensor, wide aperture, and use of RYYB sensor tech, with the latter letting in as much as 40% more light than conventional drone lenses. I didn’t quite experience a next-level low-light mode, but the camera does a good job at capturing as much light as possible in dim conditions, with streetlights and other ambient lighting providing stunning night-time shots, both in terms of video and photo. It’s roughly in line with that of the DJI Mini 3 despite the Mini 3 having an improved f/1.7 aperture in place of Autel’s f/1.9. The big challenge with shooting at night is, well, that you’re shooting at night! It makes it much harder to avoid obstacles and the built-in obstacle avoidance won’t work in low-light conditions either, so be confident that you’re flying in a truly open space and won’t encounter any trees during your flight. There is an LED on the bottom of the drone to help keep an eye on its position during low-light flights, but it’s only visible when the drone is directly overhead. Here’s a video shot on the Autel Evo Nano+ in low light: And here’s a photograph captured in low light:
Price & availability
The Autel Evo Nano+ might be a well-equipped drone, but you’re paying a premium for that pleasure – even compared to DJI’s newer $559/£519 Mini 3. The standard Evo Nano+ kit starts at $949/£811 and comes with the drone, controller, a single battery and replacement propellers, while the premium Fly More kit will set you back $1,049/£923 and comes with a soft carry case, two additional batteries and more replacement propellers. There is the cheaper Nano model to consider, but that lacks the big video sensor of the Nano+ that makes it so desirable. For more drone inspiration, take a look at our selection of the best drones.
Verdict
The Autel Evo Nano+ is a compact sub-250g drone that doesn’t compromise on video quality, boasting decent performance both in well-lit and low-light conditions thanks to a large 0.8in sensor and RYYB sensor tech, though the omission of 60fps capture at 2.7K or 4K is a slight disappointment. Range is impressive and it’s easy to control with a number of automated flight modes available in the app, and Autel is constantly updating both the app and the drone to introduce new functionality. While it was a big improvement on the DJI Mini 2, the newer Mini 3 makes it a tougher sell at a higher price point, but there is still plenty to like about Autel’s capable mini drone. Lewis Painter is a Senior Staff Writer at Tech Advisor. Our resident Apple expert, Lewis covers everything from iPhone to AirPods, plus a range of smartphones, tablets, laptops and gaming hardware. You’ll also find him on the Tech Advisor YouTube channel.
