Yuneec Mantis Q – foldable 4K travel drone

Yuneec is no stranger to making drones, and their latest offering the Mantis Q looks to be a direct competitor to the DJI Mavic Air, DJI Mavic Pro, and Parrot Anafi. The Mantis Q is a foldable 4K travel drone that at first glance looks almost identical to the DJI Mavic Air.

The Mantis Q features voice control and facial detection, and Yuneec claims the drone has been designed to be easy-to-use, and ultra-portable. Using an integrated camera, the Mantis Q can record both photos and videos. Still images with a resolution of 4800×2700 (16:9) or 4160×3120 (4:3) pixels can be captured as well as video resolutions of up to 4K: 3840 x 2160 @ 30fps.

The drone’s camera can be tilted upwards by up to 20 degrees or downwards by 90 degrees during flight. The Mantis Q also comes with automatic flight modes such as Journey, Point of Interest and Orbit Me. The Mantis Q can fly at speeds of up to 13.4 mph in Angle mode, 44mph in Sport mode, and 9mph while flying indoors.

Vision-based tracking and face detection

Yuneec claims that you can simply smile at the drone to activate face detection and as soon as the Mantis Q sees the user’s face, it will take a photo from up to 13 feet away. In Gesture Control mode, Mantis Q will detect a hand waving and it will take a photo.

Voice Control

The mantis Q has a Voice Control feature so that users can command the drone just by using their voice. Voice control allows users to take a photo or begin recording video all without having to manually take their hands off of the controls. Mantis Q responds to commands such as “Wake up” for powering on, “Take a picture”, “Record a video” and “Take a selfie”.

Intelligent flight modes

Just like most other drones these days, the Mantis Q has several intelligent flight modes you can choose from.

Journey Mode

Depending on the desired setting, the Mantis Q will fly upwards on a linear path and then return automatically – making for the perfect shot.

Point of Interest

Select an object while in POI (Point of Interest) mode and the Yuneec Mantis Q will circle this object automatically.

Return Home

With a push of a button, the Mantis Q will automatically return to a point near its takeoff area and land by your side.

Sensors and safety

The Mantis Q comes equipped with advanced indoor stabilization technology. Down-facing dual sonar sensors and infrared detection are claimed to make it safe enough to fly indoors and outdoors. Added safety features include a “Return to Home” function and FAA-compliant software.

Option to fly with a controller, or with no controller

You can fly the Mantis Q with and without the added controller. Yuneec claims that when using the controller, a live image can be viewed with a latency of less than (200ms) on a smartphone which is connected to the remote control.

Size and weight

The Mantis Q weighs in at 16.9 oz (479g) with a battery attached. It has dimensions of  (LxWxH, folded) 15.24cm x 7.62cm x 5.08cm  (6″ x 3″ x 2″).

Here is what the competition weighs:

DJI Mavic Air: 15.16oz (430g)

DJI Mavic Pro: 25.91 lbs (734 g)

Parrot Anafi:  13.91oz (374 g)

Flight time

The Mantis Q is also claimed to be able to stay in the air for a category-leading 33 minutes.

Here is what the competition can do:

DJI Mavic Air: 21 minutes

DJI Mavic Pro: 27 minutes

Parrot Anafi:  25 minutes

Imagining system and camera

The Mantis Q uses a camera with a 1/3.06 inch CMOS sensor with a camera lens that has an equivalent focal length of 21.5 mm. The field of view is 117°. There is no indication of what the maximum aperture of the lens is.

Here is what the competition uses:

DJI Mavic Air: 1/2.3” CMOS sensor with a camera lens that has an equivalent focal length of 24 mm, at a maximum aperture of f2.8. The field of view is 85°

DJI Mavic Pro: 1/2.3” CMOS sensor with a camera lens that has an equivalent focal length of 26mm, at a maximum aperture of f2.2. The field of view is 78.8°

Parrot Anafi:  1/2.4’’ CMOS with a camera lens that has an equivalent focal length of 26-78mm, at a maximum aperture of f2.4. The field of view is 69.0°

Video recording formats and resolutions

The Mantis Q records to Class 10 or U3 Micro SD cards in either MP4 / MOV. Yuneec doesn’t specify what the bitrate is. The resolutions and frame rates it can record in are:

4K: 3840 x 2160 @ 30fps

1080P: 1920 x 1080 @30fps or @60fps (with image stabilization)

720P: 1280 x 720 @60fps (with image stabilization)

Here is what the competition can do:

DJI Mavic Air

Records to Class 10 or UHS-1 Micro SD cards in MP4 / MOV, at 100 Mbps. The resolutions and frame rates it can record in are:

DJI Mavic Pro

Records to Class 10 or UHS-1 Micro SD cards in MP4 / MOV, at 60 Mbps. The resolutions and frame rates it can record in are:

C4K: 4096×2160 24p
4K: 3840×2160 24/25/30p
2.7K: 2720×1530 24/25/30p
FHD: 1920×1080 24/25/30/48/50/60/96p
HD: 1280×720 24/25/30/48/50/60/120p

Parrot Anafi

Records to MicroSD cards, class 10 U3 at 100 Mbps recommended in MP4. The resolutions and frame rates it can record in are:

C4K 24fps (4096×2160)
4K UHD 24/25/30fps (3840×2160)
FHD 24/25/30/48/50/60fps (1920×1080)

Stabilization and gimbal

It’s interesting to note that on Yuneec’s website they only list the 3-axis stabilized (Electronic Image Stabilization EIS) system as working in HD. Whether it works in 4K is unknown. If it doesn’t work in 4k then that is a huge problem and this drone won’t really be a DJI Mavic Air or DJI Mavic Pro competitor.

Battery

The Mantis Q uses a 3S 2800 mAh Lipo Battery which takes approximately 1 hour to fully charge.

Full specifications