In the drone/quadcopter industry for many years, we have found that many consumers, or partners who are new to the toy quadcopter market, often confuse toy quadcopters with drones. Here we publish an article to re-understand the difference between toy quadcopter and drone.
In terms of definition, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) refer to unmanned aircraft operated by radio remote control equipment which can do many things for people in much more convenient and efficient way. Therefore, toy quadcopters and drones are both the sub-categories to UAV.
But as we usually say, there is a big difference between the two.
What is the difference between a toy quadcopter and a drone?
Why is a small four-axis quadcopter so much cheaper than a drone? Of course it is a question of “what you pay for”.
There are a lot of advanced technologies in drones, all of which are expensive; but of course the cheap toy quadcopters do not have those advanced technologies. However, many companies or advertisements use small toy quadcopter to package them into drones for sale, making you think that these Dozens of dollars can really be used to make blockbuster movies; many novices who want to save money often cannot help but start, But later on find out that it was not the same as what they wanted.
In fact, there is still a big difference between the toy quadcopters and drones.
Toy small quacopter’s control performance is unstable. We distinguish toy small quadcopters and drones, the most important thing is to see if they have GPS. Although the small quadcopter also has a gyroscope to stabilize the fuselage, without GPS, but it cannot achieve the same flight stability and precise positioning as a GPS drone, not to mention “one-key return” and anyother functions such as “follow shooting”;
The power of the quadcopter toy is poor. Most small quadcopter toys use “coreless motors”, but most drones use brushless motors on them. The power components of the brushless motor are more complex, costly, weight and power consumption are also higher, but its biggest advantage is better power, stronger wind resistance, more durable, and better stability. In contrast, the small quadcopter toy is positioned as a high-tech toy that is mainly for indoor flight and does not support long-distance flight outdoors;
The video quality of toy quadcopters is not as good as that of GPS drones. High-class GPS drones are equipped with gimbals (image stabilizers), which are very important for aerial photography, but gimbals are not only heavy, but also expensive, and many low-priced GPS drones are not equipped. However, there is currently almost no toy small quadcopter that can be equipped with a gimbal, so the stability and quality of the videos taken by the small quadcopter is not as good as that of GPS drones;
The performance and flying distance of the toy small quadcopter is far less than the GPS drone. Now even many new small quadcopter have added functions such as “one-key return to home”, “altitude hold”, “WIFI real-time transmission”, and “mobile remote control” like drones, but they are limited by the cost relationship. The reliability is far less than that of a real drone. In terms of flying distance, most entry-level GPS drones can fly 1km, and high-class GPS drones can fly 5km or even more. However, the flying distance of many toy quadcopters is only 50-100m. They are more suitable for indoor or outdoor non-long-distance flying to experience the fun of flying.
Why buy a toy quadcopter?
In fact, when drones were not very popular, many friends who were new to drones belonged to two groups: 1. The group who likes remote-controlled helicopters and similar products, and 2. They like toy quadcopters(of course, many people also have both at the same time). So, to some extent, the toy quadcopter is the enlightenment machine for many drone players today. In addition, the most important reasons are the following:
Cheap: The price for the cheapest toy quadcopter is only around RMB 50-60. Even the high-end toy quadcopter equipped with functions like WIFI real-time transmission (FPV) or Altitude hold, the price is often less than 200 RMB. Compared with those GPS drones that cost more than 2,000 RMB, the first choice for beginners to practice is definitely the toy quadcopter;
Low destructive power: The GPS drone is driven by a brushless motor, which is powerful. If it is hit, the consequences will be serious; but the toy quadcopter uses a coreless motor with poor power, and if it is hit, there is less chance of injury. Moreover, the structural design of current toy aircraft is very safe and friendly to children and beginners. Therefore, even if the beginners are not very skilled, they will hardly cause injuries;
Easy to practice: Today’s toy quadcopter has a very low control threshold, and it can be easily learned without any experiences. Many quadcopters now have a barometer to set the height, so you don’t have to worry about the quadcopter flying too high or too low to easily lose control, and some even have a throw function. Users only need to pair the frequency and throw it into the air, the quadcopter will fly by itself and hover. As long as you practice for an hour or two, you can hover the small quadcopter steadily in the air. Moreover, another advantage of the toy quadcopter is that its basic operation is similar to that of a GPS drone. If you are familiar with the operation of the toy quadcopter, it will be easier to learn about the drone;
Lightweight: Because the design of the toy quadcopter is much simpler than that of the GPS drone, its volume and weight can be much smaller than that of the drone. The wheelbase of a drone is generally 350mm, but many quadcopter toys have a small wheelbase of only 120mm, whereven fly it at home or in the office, you can fly by yourself, or you can have fun with your family.
So If you were in toys business and want to pick a toy as beginning to your line, we suggest to choose the toy quadcopter, but not the professional and bigger one, which is only suitable for some special group of fans, but not all people.
Remark: this article is only to tell the differences between a “Toy Quadcopter” and a “Big GPS Drone”. For common saying, we will still call a toy quadcopter to “toy drone” or “drone”.
Post time: Sep-18-2024