Antigravity A1 vs. DJI Avata 360: The One Feature That Changes Everything

So, you’re thinking about getting a 360-degree camera drone, but you can’t decide between the Antigravity A1 and the DJI Avata 360. It’s a really hard decision, but I think the question you need to ask yourself isn’t “which drone should I get?” You should ask yourself, “what kind of drone pilot am I?” Or, “what kind of drone user do I want to be?” Because the bottom line is these are both really great drones, but for very different reasons.

What I hope to accomplish with this video is that when you’re done watching it, you’ll have a better idea of which one is going to fit your needs. Now, I did buy the Avata 360 with my own money, and Antigravity sent me the A1 to review. So this video is sponsored by Antigravity. However, they did request that I make a fair and balanced head-to-head comparison for you guys, so you can decide which drone is going to be best for you.

I was going to fly here today, but it’s still pretty cold. We don’t have any leaves on the trees yet. It’s kind of yucky. So what I’m going to do is pack these drones up, head to paradise, grab a piña colada, sit on the beach, and put these drones head to head to show you what they’re all about. So let’s head out and get some sun and some ocean time.

Form Factor: Why the A1 Wins for Travel

The first thing I want to talk about is the form factor of these drones — the comparison as far as size, portability, and things like that — because I just couldn’t decide which of these to bring on vacation with me to Puerto Rico. And I ended up bringing them both. The foldable, lightweight design of the Antigravity A1 is the number one reason I’d choose this one for my next vacation.

The Avata 360 is great. It’s heavy duty. It has the propeller guards. It feels more confident when you’re flying it. So if you crash into a tree branch or something like that, you can rest assured that it’s probably not going to wreck it. Whereas with the Antigravity A1, if you run into a tree branch, it’s going to come crashing down. You’re probably going to break your lenses, your props, and things like that. But I think having the ability to pack it away and be lightweight like the A1 is super important, especially if you’re only bringing a carry-on. So when it comes to form factor for travel, I definitely give the win to the Antigravity A1.

Lens Protection: The Avata 360’s Folding Camera Advantage

Now, in relation to that, there are a couple of important differences in form factor. On the Antigravity A1, the landing gear are always up if the drone is off. The landing gear only come down when you turn the drone on. So if you take the drone out of its case and set it down on the counter, on the sand, on a rock, or anything like that, that bottom lens is destroyed instantly. It doesn’t take much to scratch it. Trust me — I did it on day one with the A1, and I had to change the lens.

Thankfully, both of these have a lens replacement kit. They’re relatively inexpensive. Whatever drone you decide to get, get the lens replacement kit, because you will scratch the lens. I promise you.

The advantage here goes to the Avata 360, because when it’s off, it actually folds the camera back. The two cameras face forwards and backwards, so it can sit on the bottom. And then as soon as it takes off, it flips — so you have the camera lens on the top and the camera lens on the bottom, and it stitches them together to make the 360 video. That’s really nice. You don’t have to worry as much about setting your drone down and wrecking the lens.

Another advantage of this design is that you can shoot in single lens mode with the Avata 360. So if you don’t want 360 video — if you just want one lens shooting forward all the time — you can do that with the Avata 360. You don’t have the ability to do that with the A1. That being said, I don’t know why anyone would want to fly with one lens on the Avata 360, because it’s only positioned however the drone is in the air. There’s no gimbal, so it doesn’t balance out the footage. It’s either going to be crooked one way or the other, whichever way the drone is facing. You can fix it in post-production, of course, but in my opinion it’s best just to record in 360 video all the time. So overall, when it comes to minimizing the risk of wrecking the lens, the Avata 360 wins.

Signal Strength: DJI’s Years of Transmission Experience Show

Let’s talk about signal strength. We all know DJI has the ultimate transmission strength. They’ve been doing it for so many years and they’ve perfected it. It’s very, very good. Forget about the numbers you see. When you see transmission range “up to 10 km” or “up to 15 km,” that actually means nothing. What’s more important is how the transmission holds up around obstacles, around trees, around buildings — when the drone goes behind an obstacle, how well do your controller or goggles pick up that signal?

And by far, the DJI Avata 360 is so much better than the Antigravity A1. Now, keep this in mind: like I said, DJI has been doing this for several years, and this is Antigravity’s/Insta360’s first drone. It’s their first iteration. So I highly anticipate it’s going to get better. Imagine DJI’s first drone, like OcuSync 1 — look at how far they’ve come since then. That’s going to happen with Antigravity as well. So right now they really can’t be matched, just because this is a brand new product. It’s new technology and I think it’s going to improve. But if you’re looking for the ultimate signal strength, the Avata 360 is the way to go.

Wind Performance: A Tie in 30 MPH Gusts

Both of these drones handle the wind quite well. I’ve been flying both for the past four days here in Puerto Rico. Of course, on the shore it’s always windy here — I don’t know if it’s ever not windy — but both of them handled it quite well. The only thing I’ll say is that the Avata 360, when I’d fly it sideways into the wind, had a really hard time. You really don’t have to fly it sideways, but there were a few times when I did, and it struggled fighting that lateral wind. Going into the wind, though, no problem at all.

Same thing with the A1. Of course, you can’t fly the A1 any direction but forward. So the A1 did fine. I went out to El Morro, the castle, and it handled the wind great. I bet it was 30 miles per hour out there, and both drones had no problem at all. The footage is very stable. So when it comes to wind performance, I think this is a tie.

A Reminder of Why This Hobby Is So Great

It’s now three days later. I’m back home in North Dakota, and I’m already missing everything that was Puerto Rico. It’s so beautiful there. Granted, spring is finally coming here, but it’s just not the same as the beautiful blue waters, the palm trees, and all of the history and scenery.

When I was flying that day at the castle, there was another gentleman flying his drone. I was debating whether to fly in those kinds of winds because it was so windy. But I figured if he’s flying a sub-250 drone, then I can certainly fly these. So I started flying the A1 first. He came over and started visiting with me and said, “What is that?” I showed him — it’s the Antigravity A1, a 360 drone. He said, “Oh yeah, I looked at those, and I also looked at the Avata 360.” I said, “Oh, you mean this one?” He said, “You have both of them?” I said, “Yeah, I’m doing some testing today.”

So I put the A1 goggles on him, and it was like watching a kid experience brand new technology for the first time. He was just giddy about it. It was so fun to see someone experience that immersive feeling secondhand. He had such a blast. I feel kind of bad for his wife — it’s probably like, “Oh great, now I’ve got to spend money on another drone.” Then I showed him the Avata 360 and we flew around, got some great footage. He put his drone up again, and it was just a great time. This hobby is so much fun, and sharing it with other people is so great. So thank you so much, Kevin — I’m sorry if I don’t remember your name right, but I’m pretty sure it was Kevin and his wife. Thank you for sharing that experience with me. It was a great reminder of what an awesome hobby this is.

Control Options: The Avata 360’s Versatility vs. the A1’s Goggles

When it comes to how you fly the Antigravity A1, you really only have one option right now: the goggles and the motion controller. They are coming out with a dedicated controller, hopefully in quarter two of this year — probably quarter three, though — and I think that’s going to open it up to a whole new audience, because some people just prefer using a regular controller.

But I get it. If you’re looking for versatility and being able to choose what you fly with, then the Avata 360 is going to be the better choice. You can fly it with the Goggles N3, the Goggles 3, a regular controller with your phone, the FPV 3 controller, or the screen controller. So many different options there. If you’re already in the DJI ecosystem, it just makes sense to get the Avata, because you can buy the drone by itself and maybe some extra batteries, and you don’t have to get all the other things.

But again — the Antigravity goggles, I love them. They’re so comfortable. They are such an immersive experience. This was my first experience with a 360 drone, and I feel like you actually feel like you’re in the sky with these. You are surrounded by your environment when you’re using these goggles with the A1.

Why You Have to Get the Goggles and Motion Controller

I was out making an Instagram reel, comparing what it’s like to fly with a regular controller versus the motion controller and goggles. And one thing really needs to be emphasized here. I know people like to fly with a regular controller because that’s maybe what they’re used to, flying a regular drone. It’s fun, but it’s not the same level of excitement and joy you get when you fly with a motion controller and the goggles. I can’t express it enough — I can’t emphasize it enough — how much fun it is.

That’s one of the reasons you get a 360 drone, you guys. You get the 360 drone for the experience. And you can’t have that experience with a regular controller. So I know a lot of people are looking forward to the Antigravity controller that’s coming out, but I honestly think people are going to get it because they’re excited, fly with it, and then say, “You know what? I’m going back to the motion controller, because it’s more genuine. It feels like you’re actually in the cockpit of an airplane flying a plane.”

The goggles from the A1, I think I’ve said it already, but just in case — they are far superior to any of the DJI goggles right now. In my opinion, you actually have more of a genuine feeling of flying with them on. Plus, they’re much more comfortable. There’s less light leak. I don’t have a bad thing to say about the A1 goggles. So very, very fun. But just keep that in mind: no matter which drone you decide to get, whether it’s the Avata 360 or the A1, I know you’re going to be inclined to get the regular controller. But you have to get the goggles. You guys, get the goggles and the motion controller, because that is what having a 360 drone is all about.

Flight Time: The A1’s Extended Battery Takes the Lead

When it comes to flight time, both of these drones are pretty good, but I have to give the advantage to the Antigravity A1, because you have the ability to purchase the extended battery, which gives you much longer flight time. With the Avata 360, the best I’ve gotten is just over 15 minutes, and that was in windy conditions, so I think you can get better than that. With the Antigravity A1, I’m getting well over 25, 26 minutes with that extended battery.

The disadvantage is that if you use the extended battery on the A1, it raises the weight above 250 grams. So you’re going to have to register it with the FAA in the United States and many other countries. But I prefer flight time over just about anything when it comes to this, so the A1 gets the win on flight time.

Noise: Both Are Loud, but the Avata 360 Is More Annoying

When it comes to remaining inconspicuous, both of these drones are actually pretty noisy. They range anywhere from 70 to 90 dB depending on whether you’re accelerating or not. So although the volume is about the same, I have to give the advantage to the A1, because the Avata 360 has a very high-pitched noise. You can hear it much more clearly when it’s up higher and further away. If you put both drones at the same distance, you can hear the Avata 360 over the A1. They’re both equally noisy and irritating, but that Avata 360 is just so much more annoying.

Video and Photo Quality: Colors vs. DLog-M Flexibility

When it comes to video and photo quality between the Antigravity A1 and the Avata 360, I’ll tell you my personal opinion first. I like how the footage looks directly out of the A1. When you download it to your computer and compare it to the Avata 360 in normal profile, I think the colors are better on the A1. I really do.

However, there’s a huge advantage to the Avata 360: you have the ability to record in DLog-M. DJI’s DLog-M color profile is very good. If you like editing — if you like fine-tuning the footage, changing the colors, the contrast, everything — you have a lot more flexibility with the video footage from the Avata 360. You don’t have the ability to do that with the A1. So in my opinion, if you’re someone who likes to customize and individualize your footage, the Avata 360 is going to be better for you. But if you prefer to not worry about it at all — just download the footage from your drone to your phone or computer, do some 360 editing, and then send it off or show it to everybody — then the A1 is going to be better for you.

Like I said, they’re both really good. I’ll show you some clips from both drones that I captured here in Puerto Rico. You can use that footage to help you decide, but I’ll tell you this: do not make a purchasing decision based on one video. Watch several videos. It’s really, really important that you don’t base your decision on one person’s opinion, especially on how footage looks, because it’s such a personal decision. Everyone’s going to like something a little bit different.

Software: Antigravity Studio Beats DJI Studio

Talking about editing, let’s talk about the differences in software between these two drones. They’re quite a bit different, and there’s a benefit to one over the other.

There are two studio softwares for this: DJI Studio and Antigravity Studio. And I’m just going to come right out and say it — DJI Studio is awful. It’s really hard to work with. It’s clumsy. The user interface is not good at all, and they really need to fix it. Now, keep in mind this drone just came out, and the software just came out, so I’m assuming firmware and software updates will come to fix it. But whenever you’re in the timeline trying to edit your footage and you move your mouse cursor over the timeline, it changes the view in the program monitor, and it is so frustrating. It is incredibly frustrating. So DJI, if you’re listening, fix that, because it’s terrible. It makes me not want to edit the footage. It’s that bad.

The Antigravity Studio app is so much better. It’s Insta360 software — they’ve been doing it for years. They’ve done 360 for so long. It’s fine-tuned and very easy to get around. So if you want something that’s easy to edit (keep in mind, 360 footage is never easy to edit, but it’s easier than the footage from the Avata 360), then Antigravity Studio definitely wins. Also, the app on your phone is a lot better too. Both are pretty powerful once you get into the programs, but up front, on the front end for new users, the Antigravity Studio app is 10 times better than DJI Studio. So let’s step it up, DJI. Come on.

The Final Verdict

So what’s the final verdict? I really don’t have a for-sure answer for you. I’m leaning toward the A1 being the better drone overall, just because of the compact size, the versatility, being able to take it anywhere, the lightweight design, not having to register it if you use the lighter battery, the footage straight out of the camera, and the better goggles experience. So I’m giving the edge to the A1 here.

But if you like to edit your footage, if you like the powerful signal transmission strength of DJI and exceptional video quality — especially when you record in DLog — then the Avata 360 is going to be the option for you. So whatever your decision, you’re not going to be disappointed, you guys. No matter which of these drones you get, you’re not going to wish you got the other one. I promise you. They are both awesome. They’re both fun to fly, and that’s the most important thing. The user experience of a 360 camera drone is what it’s all about. It’s not about getting the perfect video to make commercials or work for brands. It’s to have that experience of feeling like you’re flying in the sky. And both of these drones do that very, very well.

Price: The Avata 360 Comes In Cheaper

Finally, let’s talk about price. The Avata 360 is quite a bit cheaper than the Antigravity A1. You can get a discount on the Antigravity — they often have sales. I’ll have links for everything down in the video description. Check that out, and if you use them, I really appreciate it.

This place has reignited my desire to make content. I didn’t write a script for this video, you guys — this is all off the cuff. Just being here and having the excitement of capturing amazing aerial footage really inspires me to make more content. So we’re going to step it up here. It’s the best time of year to get a drone, and I can’t wait. Thanks for watching, hit that thumbs up, and as always, fly safe and fly smart.

This article is based on a video from Russ at 51 Drones. You can subscribe to the 51 Drones YouTube channel for more drone reviews and comparisons, and read more of his work on his DroneXL author page.