Your text messages are about to get real interesting. At least, if you’re a WeChat user … and you’re located in China. Because sending words, images, and videos with your smartphone is no longer enough in our hyperconnected digital world. WeChat owner Tencent has unveiled a new drone with the sole purpose of streaming video directly to the popular messaging app. It’s slated to go on sale at the end of October, and will set you back $299.
Known as the Ying drone, the quadcopter will stream video to the Chinese messaging service, currently used by more than 800 million individuals. And this is no shoddy drone — the Ying’s onboard camera is capable of capturing 4K video and will stream its content at 720 HD quality. So you can be sure your message recipients will be getting an eyeful.
As Recode points out, the Ying drone is the first of is kind to be introduced by a large social media platform for the express purpose of sharing content with other users. The quadcopter is the result of a partnership among Tencent, Qualcomm, and Zerotech.
The tiny, foldable device weighs in at less than a pound and comes complete with a carrying case, so you can take it anywhere you take your phone. Drones are a popular item in China, considering that the largest consumer drone maker, DJI, is also based in the country. DJI unveiled a little foldable drone of it own last month. But the so-called Mavic Pro isn’t quite as approachable as the Ying appears to be — for starters, it’s much more expensive at $999, and weighs quite a bit more too at 1.6 pounds.
It’s still unclear as to whether or not the Ying will ever come to the U.S., but we may just have to keep our fingers crossed and our eyes peeled.
