Antigravity halves the A1 drone's entry price with watch and ring controls

It is an accessory package for the Antigravity A1, a drone with 360-degree cameras. Antigravity says the bundle pairs the A1 with new accessories to make an 8K 360 follow-me drone.

Engadget lists what is inside: propeller guards, a watch remote and a ring remote. The company says the Watch and Ring Remotes give you wearable control and hands-free shooting for outdoor sports, solo adventures and family gatherings.

In real life You are on a bike ride. You launch the drone from your hand, tap yourself on the watch screen, and ride. The drone follows and films, and you can still decide later which angle to keep.

The A1 was already known for its price. The Verge says the complete set with the company's FPV goggles cost upwards of $1,599. Now a complete A1 kit with the Follow Me bundle costs $799 in the US.

• Complete kit: $799, drone included.
• Accessory kit: $340 for the watch, ring and guards.
• Existing owners: Engadget says $272. The Verge says a 20% discount applies for people who can prove they own the aircraft, and lists the guards alone at $40.

The catch: Engadget points out the bundle adds to the cost of an already expensive consumer drone if you buy it on top of the goggles set.

You pick a subject on the watch screen. Then you press and hold the ring's button. Engadget says the watch confirms it with a sound and a vibration.

From there, you point and move your arm. The drone follows left, right, up or down. Rotating your arm and wrist inward brings the A1 closer, and doing the opposite sends it farther away.

The Verge describes it as waving your arm like a magic wand. It also says the ring does nothing the watch cannot do. It is an extra button, so you can launch and reposition the drone with one hand.

The watch has a touchscreen. The Verge says it shows a swipeable preview of what the drone sees. You can choose quickshots or summon two sliders, forward and backward and ascend and descend, to fly the drone by hand.

Engadget adds that the touchscreen can launch the A1, switch video modes, adjust flight paths and start pre-programmed moves such as vertical spirals and flyovers. It names an "antigravity line," a vertical climb followed by a sudden dive toward you, and orbit paths that avoid trees and buildings.

Recent updates also added a palm take-off, so you no longer need the landing mat. The Verge says you hold a button to launch the drone from your hand.

Antigravity says it does. The watch has built-in GPS, and the bundle combines it with visual tracking. The company says that gives greater consistency during fast movements and brief obstructions, such as hiking, cycling and lively group gatherings.

Engadget confirms the idea and explains why. The base A1 already has a Deep Tracking mode that uses visual tracking, but many users report it struggles with biking and snowsports. Adding GPS is meant to fix that.

Both testers say it works, with limits. Engadget calls the gesture control responsive. The Verge says the drone followed it through a dense suburban area.

Both reviewers found rough edges. The Verge's Sean Hollister says the A1 crashed three times in his tests, and warns it is not yet smart enough to dodge everything. He suggests caution around power lines, thin branches and utility pole guy wires.

His other complaints:

• Touchscreen: swiping around feels sluggish.
• Landing: it will not land on your hand without switching back to manual mode.
• Start: you have to find yourself on the watch and tap yourself, then tap another button to begin tracking.
• Hills: it stopped following once he crested a high hill, because it thought it was flying too high.

Engadget's Mat Smith has gripes of his own. He calls the watch chunky, says the strap links and the ring's Velcro feel flimsy, and found the voiced notifications annoying, though you can turn them off. He also wishes he could control distance and position at once. Each change needs the button released and pressed again.

Neither reviewer lost the drone to a crash. The Verge says the watch plays the last seconds of footage before a crash, which made it easy to find.

The A1 did not have propeller guards at launch. Engadget calls that a mild oversight and says he slammed the drone into several walls, scratching and chipping propellers.

The new full-coverage guards enclose the propellers. Antigravity says that, combined with omnidirectional obstacle avoidance, they offer peace of mind in low-altitude flights and complex environments. The Verge saw the drone bounce off an obstacle and keep flying.

Guards come at a cost. Engadget says the arms cannot fold away while they are attached, so portability takes a hit. The Verge says they are easy to remove, and the kit bag fits all four plus the folded drone. A new quick-release cover also protects the cameras.

Yes. Antigravity says the bundle is for outdoor flying and recommends at least 2 meters of vertical clearance. If you take off in a cramped spot, the drone and the watch beep until there is enough room. Engadget says an experimental feature cuts that to a meter, at your own risk.

Engadget also notes that the kit lets you fly without a buddy nearby. Flying an FPV drone solo while wearing goggles is illegal in the US and Europe because the pilot must be able to see where the drone is going.

For another drone story, see how DoorDash is testing text orders and drone deliveries.

Antigravity says it was incubated by Insta360 in collaboration with third parties. It released the A1, which it calls the world's first 8K 360 drone, in late 2025.

Because the A1 films in every direction, Antigravity says you can pick subjects and add pans and reveals after landing. CEO Michael Shabun says the bundle makes the A1 "the best 360 follow-me drone for family outings and sporting activities."

The Verge's Hollister calls last year's A1 the best beginner drone he has tried. He compares the A1 to the folding Skydio he wishes that company had made before it left consumers behind to serve industry.

• Cheaper entry: $799 for a complete A1 kit is half the old goggles-and-controller price.
• Less gear: you can pull the drone and watch out of a bag and fly with one hand.
• Owners can upgrade: the accessory kit costs $340, or $272 with the owner discount Engadget lists.
• Expect quirks: testers crashed, wrestled with the touchscreen and wished for automatic tracking.