Drones Now Available From Apple Store
They may not be iDrones, but they are certainly drones and Apple has begun selling them Tuesday through the Apple Store.
They may not be iDrones, but they are certainly drones and Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) has begun selling them Tuesday through the Apple Store. Made by Chinese manufacturer SZ DJI Technology, the “Phantom 3 Professional Camera Drone” comes complete with a 4K video camera that shoots video at 30 frames per second and shoot stills at 12 megapixel resolution. A free downloadable app allows users to see what the camera sees on their own iPhone or iPad.
The drone has a flying time of 23 minutes and is flown by a dedicated controller that is included in the package. The entire package weighs less than three pounds. The “Professional” model costs $1,295.95 and an “Advanced” model with an HD video/12 megapixel camera sells for $999.95.
Apple is not the first reseller of the DJI drones, which the Chinese company first began selling in early 2013. Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) also sells the items.
Privately held SZ DJI raised a $75 million investment in May from venture-capital firm Accel Partners, which valued the Chinese firm at roughly $8 billion, according to The Wall Street Journal. Venture firm Sequoia Capital is also an investor in the firm.
In addition to their obvious role in filmmaking, DJI’s drones, and similar devices from other manufacturers, have been used in farming and construction, regardless of the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration’s moratorium on the devices. DJI last year placed a software limit on how high its drones could fly (985 feet) and the company’s software also prevents their use near airports.
In late 2014, DJI claimed about 2,800 employees, three factories and revenue of more than $130 million.
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Paul Ausick has been writing for 247Wallst.com for more than a decade. He has written extensively on investing in the energy, defense, and technology sectors. In a previous life, he wrote technical documentation and managed a marketing communications group in Silicon Valley.
He has a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Chicago and now lives in Montana, where he fishes for trout in the summer and stays inside during the winter.
