Skip to main content

Autel’s EVO Lite and Nano drones are primed to compete with DJI’s best

Autel has launched its new EVO Nano and EVO Light drones, which are aimed at competing with DJI’s line of compact, lightweight drones. Autel is perhaps the most direct rival DJI has in the consumer drone space, and that rivalry just got a bit more intense.

First up is the EVO Nano, with its notable 249-gram weight, which falls below the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) 250-gram threshold. Drones above that weight must be registered with the FAA in the U.S. This is the same lightweight category currently dominated by the DJI Mavic Mini 2, against which the EVO Nano possesses a few notable advantages. For one, it features three-way obstacle avoidance, which is a unique innovation in a drone weighing less than 250 grams.

Autel EVO Nano obstacle avoidance.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Another advantage the Nano drones have is in its cameras: A 50MP 1/1.28-inch camera sensor in the Nano+, or a ½-inch 48MP sensor in the Nano. Both cameras easily outstrip the much smaller 1/2.3-inch 12MP sensor found in the DJI Mavic Mini 2.

Recommended Videos

The EVO Nano drones are also equipped with 4K 30 frames per second (fps) video, and transmit live 2.7k video to the controller with a range up to 6.2 miles. These drones offer 28 minutes of flight time.

The EVO Lite drones are slightly bigger and heavier, but are much more powerful. The EVO Lite+ offers a larger 1-inch 20MP sensor that’s perfect for shooting in low light. It also cranks the UAV’s video capabilities up to 6K 30 fps for ultra-high-resolution filmmaking and offers a variable aperture of F2.8-F11. That variable aperture gives it an edge over the comparable DJI Air 2S.

Autel EVO Lite series.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

The EVO Lite shares a camera with the EVO Nano+, and though this is a step down in terms of image quality from the EVO Lite+, it makes up for it with a 4-axis gimbal that allows you to flip the camera on its side and shoot vertical video for sharing on social media. The EVO Lite drones bump up the maximum range to 7.4 miles and offer 40 minutes of flight time.

These new drones come with all the automatic tracking and cinematic modes you’d expect in a modern consumer drone. They feature video game-style controllers that connect to your smartphone for video transmission and control.

The EVO Nano will retail for $649, with the Nano+ costing $799. The EVO Lite will set you back $1,149, and the EVO Lite+ will cost $1,249. Autel has not yet announced when these drones will be available for purchase.

It’s worth noting that these prices are significantly higher than comparable DJI drones. Though they offer some significant upgrades, it may be an uphill battle for Autel to win customers from DJI’s more affordable and recognizable lineup of drones. It’s great to see such fierce competition in the UAV space, which has for a long time been very one-sided in favor of DJI.

Andy Zahn
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Andy Zahn is a freelance writer and photographer living on a small farm in the shadow of Mt. St. Helens. He currently writes…
Phone cameras are so good, they’ve finally replaced my camera for work
Close up of the camera on the iPhone 16 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro.

For almost two decades, I’ve carried more than twenty pounds of electronics in my backpack for the slightest chance of needing to capture content for my professional life. My backpack usually contained my MacBook, a full-frame camera with a big lens, a tripod, and an assortment of video and audio gear that I always deemed essential.

As it turns out, over the past two years, many of these items were rendered obsolete, as many companies launched new products that were quickly able to replace technology that I previously considered irreplaceable.

Read more
This is what happens ‘when you get two uber-geeks in space at the same time’
NASA's Don Pettit on the space station.



During NASA’s first-ever Twitch livestream from the International Space Station (ISS) on Wednesday, current station inhabitant Don Pettit and recent returnee Matthew Dominick talked about what it’s like to live and work in a satellite 250 miles up.

Read more
The GoPro Hero 13 Creator Edition is $100 off, but not for long
A person holding the GoPro HERO13 Creator Edition in front of the ocean.

Outdoor enthusiasts who want to buy a new action camera should go for the brand that popularized the product and look for GoPro deals. Best Buy has an offer that's going to be hard to refuse, as it features the GoPro Hero 13 Creator Edition. From its original price of $600, it's down to just $500 as part of the retailer's Presidents' Day Sale. There are still a few days remaining before the $100 discount ends on February 17, but we highly recommend completing your purchase as soon as possible because stocks may run out before then.

Why you should buy the GoPro Hero 13 Creator Edition
The star of the GoPro Hero 13 Creator Edition is the GoPro Hero 13 Black, which is the latest version of the brand's popular line of action cameras. It's capable of recording video at up to 5.3K resolution, and you can grab photos of up to 24.7MP from your footage using the GoPro Quick app. The GoPro Hero 13 Black can also take videos that are slowed down by 13 times the normal speed, and it can last more than 5 hours on a single charge. The front and rear LCD screens will let you frame your shots perfectly, and the built-in buttons enable easy controls for lengthy sessions.

Read more