This is the SkyRover X1, a 249-gram drone from SkyRover with very compelling specs when compared with the DJI Mini 4 Pro.

SkyRover X1 vs. DJI Mini 4 Pro: Putting Both to the Test

Today, I’m putting this drone to the test and comparing it with the Mini 4 Pro to see just how well it stacks up and what this little powerhouse is capable of. But first, I needed to go somewhere to actually put this drone to the test. And I’d like to say thank you to SkyRover for sponsoring this video.

Tracking Myself Through the Alaska Wilderness

One of the ways I use my drones a ton is to track myself as I’m hiking through the Alaska wilderness. So I put the drones up in the air and hiked down a path with some pretty epic views.

So far, the SkyRover X1 was doing great. The tracking held up better than I expected, and in some ways the tracking held up better than the Mini 4 Pro did, as you can see in the footage. I don’t know what the Mini 4 Pro was thinking, but it didn’t handle it very well, where the SkyRover X1 actually held tracking really well in almost all the situations. There were a couple of places where, through the bushes, it was struggling a little bit more, but not too bad.

Testing 360° Obstacle Avoidance

One of the things I really wanted to test was the 360° obstacle avoidance. There were bushes, trees, and some scraggly branches up ahead, so it was a good test to see how well the 360° obstacle avoidance on this drone actually does. So far, the SkyRover X1 did better than I expected. Its performance is definitely on par with the DJI Mini 4, even better in some ways — especially, surprisingly, during some of the tracking scenarios.

SkyRover X1 Image Quality: Log Mode, Color Profiles, and Frame Rates

Both of these drones have a 10-bit log mode. The Mini 4 has D-Log M, which is 10-bit, and the SkyRover has SR-Log. If you want to get the most out of the 1/1.3-inch sensor in the SkyRover X1, you’re going to want to film in SR-Log. That basically gives you the most amount of dynamic range and the most flexibility in post.

Now, if you just want to capture great shots of you and your family doing stuff, you can film in the normal color profile — totally fine. Looks great, colors look good, and you can post it right away to social media. But if you want the most out of this drone, you’re going to want to film in log mode. I color graded some of the log mode shots, and you can really make them look good and match them up to other cameras you might be filming with.

This drone is also capable of filming 4K60, like the Mini 4 is. What do you use 4K60 for? If you want to slow things down just a little bit and give it a dreamy feel — like me walking up to a waterfall — it’s going to look great in 4K60 if you slow it down just a hair. They’ve also included 4K up to 100 frames a second and 1080p up to 200 frames a second, so if you really want to get some slow motion, you can do that with this drone.

Photo Quality and Pack Weight

Then there’s photo quality. You can take 12 or 48 megapixel stills, which uses a quad-bayer sensor — essentially taking the pixels and dividing them up by four. If you want a little more detail, the 48-megapixel stills look great. If you want a little more dynamic range, the 12-megapixel shots are where it’s at. Either way, this thing has taken some great photos today.

This is certainly something I’d take backpacking with me up the mountainside, where I want to haul the least amount of gear possible, because this drone is under 249 grams. That also means you don’t have to deal with as many regulatory specifications, unless you’re operating commercially like I am today, in which case you need Remote ID and a Part 107 in the US. And if you’re going to operate commercially, the SkyRover X1 actually has a huge advantage over the Mini 4 Pro — more on that in a minute.

Low Light, Vertical Video, and Quick Shots

Both the Mini 4 Pro and the SkyRover X1 have a dedicated low-light mode, and they both give pretty impressive results. I live in Alaska, and it’s the middle of summer, so we don’t get a lot of night right now. Both drones performed incredibly well in the lowest light I had available to me.

If you’re somebody who shoots a lot of vertical video, have no fear — both of these drones rotate their gimbals entirely 90° to give you full 4K vertical video. This matters because if you crop in on normal 4K widescreen footage to get a vertical video, you don’t get full 4K resolution and you lose a lot of field of view. Because the SkyRover X1 and the Mini 4 Pro can rotate the gimbal, you get a much wider field of view and full 4K resolution.

And of course, if you want easy one-take quick shots, both drones offer a lot of different options to get a really good, professional-looking quick shot — like a dronie, a circle, or many of the other presets included on either drone.

Waypoints Make a Real Difference

Something I’m super glad to see SkyRover include in the X1 is waypoints. I use waypoints a ton to capture shots that are just impossible to do with active track or by manually flying the drone while I’m walking. Because waypoints are included in this drone, you can get some really cool shots while exploring places like this. It takes a minute to set up, but if you want to capture something grabbing, eye-catching, and spectacular, using waypoints is the way to do it. I have a whole video on it linked in the description if you want to see more — but yeah, super glad waypoints are included here.

Handling Wind on Top of the Mountain

One of the ways a lot of these super ultra-light mini drones fail is wind. So I went up on top of a mountain to test and see just how well they handle it, because honestly, that can make or break things if you’re going to backpack with something like this way up into the mountains. Both drones handled the wind just fine. If you’re very close to your subject, you’ll see some movement and a little bit of bounce, but honestly, both did great today. The SkyRover X1 handles wind just fine.

Noise and Battery Life

Another reason to get a small sub-249g drone like this is noise — these are much quieter than most other drones out there, especially larger ones. I tested how loud it is using the internal mics on the camera, with the drone about 4 feet away.

When it comes to battery life, SkyRover says the X1 has about 32 minutes of battery life under the best of conditions — ideal, down to zero wind. What I can say is you’re probably going to get about 25 to 26 minutes of flying in normal conditions. I’d been running out here pretty much most of the day with about three batteries, and I still had about 70% left on the one I was on, which is pretty impressive considering I’d been flying and fighting some wind, and flying kind of far off in the mountains to get these shots. So far, battery life has been excellent. I would love it if SkyRover made a longer-running battery, but I know that would probably put it over 249 grams, so I understand why they don’t.

Transmission Range and the New Remote

SkyRover also says the X1 has a max transmission range of about 15 km, or roughly 10 miles. Honestly, it doesn’t really matter — it’s so much farther than you can possibly keep your line of sight on a drone like this. But I pushed the range as far as I could while still keeping the drone in line of sight, and there were no problems at all with the image transmission, which is really impressive.

A huge upgrade SkyRover has made with the X1 is the new 5.5-inch built-in screen remote, which has a 3-hour battery life and 32GB of built-in storage. All the screenshots I’ve taken today have been recorded to the remote’s internal storage. It also has a 700-nit display, so even on a bright day like today, it’s been bright enough for me to see and work with — the whole thing responds quickly and smoothly to control taps and setting changes. It also features USB fast charging, so it recharges quickly if the 3 hours of remote battery life isn’t enough for you. You’ll go through a lot of SkyRover drone batteries to use up all 3 hours of remote battery, but I wouldn’t blame you if you did.

The SkyRover X1’s Big Advantage Over the DJI Mini 4 Pro

I said earlier that the SkyRover X1 has a massive advantage over the Mini 4 Pro in one particular area, and here it is: the SkyRover X1 allows you to toggle Remote ID on or off. So if you’re going to operate commercially, you can turn Remote ID on and still have a sub-249g drone.

Verdict: Who Is the SkyRover X1 For?

So who’s this drone for? Honestly, if you want a great-performing drone in that 249-gram weight class, this is a fantastic option. It punches well above its weight — I guess that’s a pun — for the image quality and overall performance you get out of a drone this small and lightweight.

I’d say it’s especially great if you want a small, lightweight drone to do what I did today out here hiking in the mountains — something light so you don’t have to carry a bunch of weight with you. If you want a drone that takes great photos and videos of you and your family on vacation, this would be a great option too. And it also fits into that more budget-friendly category while still delivering high performance, given its price point.

Compared with the Mini, which we’ve been doing all day, the SkyRover X1 stacks up and holds its own across the board, and in a couple of areas it actually did a little better. But its huge advantage over the Mini is that you can get USA-based support if you’re in the United States. You can get a 30-day replacement policy, warranty support, and even an extended warranty if you want to protect yourself in case you run into the side of a mountain — and trees can definitely grab drones out of nowhere too. With that extended care plan, you can also get flyaway coverage, so if for some reason you do lose the drone, you can still get a replacement.

What Do You Think?

Next, I want to hear from you. How do you think the SkyRover X1 stacks up against the DJI Mini 4, or maybe other drones you use? Let me know in the comments. As always, if you have questions, ask me in the comments below, or join my live stream, which happens most Wednesday nights at 4:00 p.m. Alaska time, 8:00 p.m. Eastern, where we can have a little more of a conversation and I can answer questions I maybe didn’t get to in this video.

This article is based on a video from Jake Sloan. You can watch more of his content on his YouTube channel, and find more of his articles on his DroneXL author page.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the SkyRover X1?

The SkyRover X1 is a 249-gram drone from SkyRover with very compelling specs when compared with the DJI Mini 4 Pro.

How does the SkyRover X1 compare to the DJI Mini 4 Pro?

The SkyRover X1 stacks up and holds its own across the board, and in a couple of areas it actually did a little better. Its one massive advantage: the X1 allows you to toggle Remote ID on or off.

How long does the SkyRover X1 battery last?

SkyRover says the X1 has about 32 minutes of battery life under the best of conditions; expect about 25 to 26 minutes of flying in normal conditions.

Is the SkyRover X1 a good drone?

If you want a great-performing drone in the 249-gram weight class, this is a fantastic option. It punches well above its weight for the image quality and overall performance you get out of a drone this small.