A selfie drone that makes the case for ditching GPS, obstacle avoidance, and controllers.

I’ve played around with a few DJI drones over the years but always found them to be too cumbersome to master and use spontaneously. The $349 HoverAir X1 from Zero Zero Robotics is different. This so-called “selfie drone” is so easy to use that it’s already an indispensable tool for my work and play, right out of the box.

For example, the HoverAir X1 is responsible for this review photo, this 360-degree GIF, and this overhead shot, as well as all of the follow, orbit, and zoom in / out shots used in this ID Buzz e-camper review. Each shot was made with just a touch of a button on the top of the X1 — no controller required — including all the drone footage used in this e-bikepacking video.

The best drone is the one you have with you and the ultra-lightweight HoverAir X1 can easily fit inside a pocket to be taken everywhere. It launches so quickly that I can impulsively grab a more interesting drone shot instead of just defaulting to my iPhone. It returns automatically to land in your hand.

The HoverAir X1 is not without limitations, and I did manage to break one review unit after falling on it. But I have to admit I love this little guy precisely because of its shortcomings, not in spite of them.

The HoverAir X1’s flying weight is about half that of DJI’s sub-250g Mini drones, so it, too, is exempt from registration and licensing requirements in most countries. It folds up into a 5 x 3.4 x 1.2-inch (127 x 86 x 31mm) package that’s so small and lightweight that I could comfortably carry it in a thigh pocket on long bike rides or trail runs.

The primary user interface for the X1 is two buttons on the drone itself. One turns the unit on, and the other cycles through five presets that lock the camera onto the user as the drone completes a predetermined flight path, shooting video or taking photos along the way:

• Hover — floats in fixed space and tracks your movement
• Follow — flies behind or in front of you at different heights and distances
• Orbit — makes a wide circle overhead around a fixed center spot
• Zoom out — flies away and up and then back in
• Bird’s eye — for top-down shots directly over a fixed spot

There’s also a sixth mode that lets you assign a lightly customized flight pattern. The hover and follow modes can record videos or take photos for several minutes at a time, while the other flight modes begin and end at the point of launch and last for about 30 seconds.

The HoverAir app lets you tweak each of its automatic flight modes, including the altitude, distance, swapping between photo or video captures, portrait or landscape, and image quality. After some early experimentation to see what I liked, I rarely had to adjust these again.

In a metric I like to call “time to drone,” I can pull the X1 out of a pocket, unfold it, turn it on, select a predefined flight path, and set it aloft from an outstretched palm in less than 20 seconds. No DJI drone can come anywhere close.

That’s not to say that the HoverAir can compete with DJI’s consumer drones on features or capabilities. The X1’s diminutive size means compromises were made, starting with a max video resolution of 2.7K/30fps.

Shots also start looking a little shaky in light winds around 10 knots (5.1m/s), and the X1 can’t even fly once winds exceed a moderate 15 knots (7.7m/s). It’s also relatively slow. The X1 can track me fine on a trail run, but it’ll start losing its object lock when I’m road biking at a not-very-fast pace of just 12mph (20km/h). Even when it can keep up, it’ll lose me when the elevation changes rapidly on a steep climb or descent.

Otherwise, the X1’s computer vision tracking is very good — it’s the main reason you’d buy this drone. But when it does lose track of me for whatever reason, it’ll just stop, hover in place, and then eventually land, even over water or a busy street. There is no return-to-home feature to ensure a safe landing and recovery. It can, however, be configured to play a sound to help find it.

The X1 also lacks any obstacle avoidance. Instead, the drone’s four rotors are encased in a flexible plastic cage to protect the device from collisions. In most flight modes, the lack of avoidance tech isn’t really a problem so long as you give the immediate area a quick survey. It becomes an issue when the drone is in follow-me mode through narrow tree-lined trails, for example, or when walking around a sharp corner inside my home. Usually, it’ll just stop and hover in place if it runs into something, meaning I’ll have to double back to re-engage the tracking lock on my person or to collect it. But if it hits something when going faster — like chasing me on a bike — it’ll crash. My review X1 has already survived a few dozen crashes that sent it plummeting to the ground. It’s fine, other than a few scuff marks.

I did destroy another X1 when my full weight landed on it while testing some new clipless bike pedals (don’t judge!). The X1 is not indestructible, but it’s surprisingly robust for such a lightweight drone.

The HoverAir X1 also lacks any kind of advanced GPS positioning. Instead, it opts for a VIO (Visual Inertial Odometry) system to estimate its position in 3D space, indoors or out, so that its preset flight modes can return the drone to its original starting point. It worked very well in my testing, often living up to the HoverAir’s claim of “centimeter-level precision,” even when flying orbits around me with a 20-foot (six-meter) radius.

The drone also responds to a variety of hand gestures when the user is standing still. For example, you can send the X1 left or right with a wave of an arm or tell it to land with your arms crossed overhead. You can also just grab the drone out of the air and flip it upside down to turn those protected rotors off.

The HoverAir X1 does offer a manual Wi-Fi-connected flight mode whereby your phone becomes the controller. It’s fun, but I found it unresponsive at times, making it difficult to control flight with any real precision. I consider it a bonus feature you might want to use in a pinch.

The X1 is limited to 32GB of built-in storage without any option for microSD expansion. I’m currently using just 8.8GB to store the 113 videos and 60 images I’ve shot at max resolution over the last few months of testing. The footage transfers quickly to a phone over a direct Wi-Fi connection using the HoverAir app or over USB-C to a laptop. That USB-C connection will also charge the X1’s battery in about 55 minutes.

On paper, the X1 is dumb and unremarkable. But the HoverAir is so good at doing what many people actually need from a drone that its shortcomings rarely matter at all.

DJI is still the king of sweeping panoramas, but the HoverAir X1 makes a strong case for being the drone you choose to capture yourself doing things — indoors and out — especially for social media.

I do wish it was more capable so I could trust it to capture action over water when kitesurfing on windy days, keep up with me when road cycling at pace, or maintain its object lock when I’m bombing down a steep hill on a mountain bike. A 4K/60fps shooting mode would also be nice so long as none of these wishes increase the price too much.

Still, the X1 does 90 percent of what I want a drone to do without adding GPS, obstacle avoidance sensors, and a physical controller that’ll just make everything more expensive, more complicated, more cumbersome to carry, and slower to launch. Maybe DJI’s rumored Neo will fill in that last 10 percent because it certainly looks like a response to the HoverAir hype.

The HoverAir X1 lists for $429, but it’s nearly always on sale somewhere, often at or below $350. But I’d recommend opting for the $400-ish bundle that adds a dual-battery quick charger and two extra batteries that each only last about 10 to 12 minutes before needing a 35-minute recharge. Like the X1 itself, they’re so small and lightweight that you can easily bring them along to help document your next activity.

All photography by Thomas Ricker / The Verge

Apple’s App Store “steering” policies violate the EU’s Digital Markets Act meant to encourage competition, said regulators in their preliminary ruling Monday. The European Commission has also opened a new investigation into Apple’s support for alternative iOS marketplaces in Europe, including the core technology fee it charges developers.

“Our preliminary position is that Apple does not fully allow steering,” said Margrethe Vestager who heads up competition policy in Europe. “Steering is key to ensure that app developers are less dependent on gatekeepers’ app stores and for consumers to be aware of better offers.”

Under the DMA, Apple and other so-called gatekeepers must allow app developers to steer consumers to offers outside their app stores free of charge. Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, ByteDance, Meta, and Microsoft are the six gatekeepers who had to be fully compliant with rules as of March 2024.

“Throughout the past several months, Apple has made a number of changes to comply with the DMA in response to feedback from developers and the European Commission,” said Apple spokesperson Peter Ajemian in a statement sent to The Verge. “All developers doing business in the EU on the App Store have the opportunity to utilize the capabilities that we have introduced, including the ability to direct app users to the web to complete purchases at a very competitive rate. As we have done routinely, we will continue to listen and engage with the European Commission.”

Apple is the first to be charged under the DMA rules after the EU’s competition authority opened several investigations in March. (Meta and Google are also being scrutinized for noncompliance.) Apple has time to respond to the European Commission’s preliminary assessment ahead of its final ruling before March 2025. Apple could be fined up to 10 percent of its annual global revenue for infringement, or $38 billion based on last year’s numbers. That increases to 20 percent for repeat infringements.

Apple had previously been fined €1.84 billion (about $2 billion) by the EU’s antitrust regulators over the App Store’s anti-steering practices in a case that predates the DMA. That fine stemmed from a 2020 lawsuit announced after Spotify filed an antitrust complaint.

The European Commission has also opened new proceedings into Apple’s support for alternative iOS app stores. The investigation is focused on the contentious Core Technology Fee, the laborious multistep process required for users to install the third-party marketplaces, and Apple’s eligibility requirements for developers.

“We have also opened proceedings against Apple in relation to its so-called core technology fee and various rules for allowing third party app stores and sideloading,” said Vestager. “The developers’ community and consumers are eager to offer alternatives to the App Store. We will investigate to ensure Apple does not undermine these efforts.”

On Friday, Apple blamed “regulatory uncertainties” related to the DMA for delaying the rollout of cornerstone iOS 18 features to European users this year. Apple blamed interoperability requirements that could undermine user privacy and data security.

Update, June 24th: Added Apple’s statement regarding anti-steering ruling.

Sharing this solar generator’s batteries with a 3-in-1 solar fridge, freezer, and ice-making combo is a good idea that might get better.

Solar generators and battery-powered fridges are highly desirable additions to vans, boats, cabins, and sheds, or anywhere power and refrigeration is needed off the grid. Both are meant to be portable by necessity but suffer from the same issue: weight.

Bluetti just started shipping its SwapSolar kit that pairs an AC180T solar generator with its MultiCooler, a 3-in-1 solar-powered fridge, freezer, and ice maker. What makes this kit interesting is that the MultiCooler and AC180T devices can share the same B70 LFP batteries, which can be charged inside either device when plugged into your car’s 12V socket, a standard power outlet, or solar panels.

This modular approach has some other interesting benefits, too:

• Divide these heavy devices into multiple components for easier transport.
• Worry less about charging batteries or buying bigger ones by getting as many B70 batteries as you need to cover your average roadtrip, workday, or home blackout.
• Repair or replace just the battery or the unit it powers should something go wrong or upgrades become available.

Building a modular ecosystem of products around small interchangeable batteries has already seen success by makers of handheld power tools. Bluetti is expanding the concept to devices needed for extended off-grid living, with more SwapSolar products coming.

Great, but first we need to see if the devices shipping today can independently justify the total price of the $2,000 SwapSolar kit.

Editor’s note: When this review was finished, we went back to take one last photo and discovered that the MultiCooler would not turn on for reasons explained below. We are therefore withholding its score until Bluetti can assure us it’s not a widespread defect.

The SwapSolar B70 battery at the heart of these systems holds 716.8Wh of energy and is built using LFP chemistry. LFP — short for lithium iron phosphate — batteries last longer, are safer, and work in a wider range of operating temperatures than the smaller and lighter NMC-based batteries they’re rapidly replacing. The B70 should hold 80 percent of its original charging capacity, even after 3,000 cycles.

Bluetti will sell you as many B70 batteries as you’d like, but right now, they only work with the AC180T solar generator and MultiCooler. The AC180T can be powered by one or two batteries, while the MultiCooler fits only one.

MultiCooler

The 3-in-1 MultiCooler (model F045D) refrigerator, freezer, and ice maker is very similar to the EcoFlow Glacier I reviewed last year. However, the MultiCooler lacks EcoFlow’s dual-zone feature that lets you divide the main compartment into both a freezer and fridge that can run simultaneously. That could be a deal-breaker for some. On the other hand, Bluetti’s MultiCooler runs longer on battery and is usually a little quieter.

Noise is a critical factor for any device that runs all night within earshot of your bed in an RV, cabin, or boat. Bluetti’s MultiCooler is thankfully nearly silent until the compressor kicks in. Then it gets about as loud as a home theater projector, or about 35dB in my testing, as it cools the unit down. Cooling is relatively slow, however. Even with the refrigeration mode set to Max in the Bluetti app, it took 23 minutes to go from room temperature to 6 degrees Celsius / 43 degrees Fahrenheit and then another 17 minutes to reach -10C / 14F. That’s slower, but quieter, than the EcoFlow Glacier.

Bluetti consistently reported a lower temperature than my own trusty thermometer during testing. For example, my thermometer placed inside the unit read -8C / 17.6F when the app and MultiCooler display read -10C / 14F, and when the MultiCooler said it was 3C / 37.4F, the thermometer read 5C / 41F. At least it was consistently inconsistent, which is something I can work around.

The unit goes almost completely silent once it hits your defined temperature set in the app or on the physical display, interrupted by a few bubbles and scratches now and again that likely won’t be too annoying for most people. The compressor runs for about 10 minutes at around 33dB, followed by 20- to 40-minute gaps of near silence in my testing. It turns on with what sounds like five distinct clicks of a mechanical button and turns off with a slight rattle that’s noticeable when empty (the lightweight food baskets inside the fridge shake).

Ice making is a much noisier affair, as you’d expect, and occurs in its own dedicated compartment — not in the freezer. The first batch of ice takes about 23 minutes as the MultiCooler produces a loud 48dB from a distance of one meter. The noise is constant and only stops about one minute before the ice drops into the bucket. Each batch thereafter is just as loud but only takes about 12 minutes. You can select between small or large ice, which yields a sheet of two dozen small (or less small) hollow cubes. It can produce ice continuously until the one-liter water reservoir is empty — that’s about 100 cubes. In my testing, the ice was about half melted after being left in the closed bucket for six hours.

One quirk of making ice is that Bluetti stops cooling the main compartment to do it. That should be fine in all but the hottest environments, so long as the lid is left closed. To test the quality of the insulation, I turned off the MultiCooler that had been operating for a day at -10C / 14F while half full of frozen food. According to the app, it measured -8C / 17.6F after one hour, -6C / 21.2 F after two hours, and -5C / 23F after three hours. It was still at 1C / 34F some 14 hours later.

Battery life is very good. In Max refrigeration mode, I was able to bring the temperature down to -10C / 14F, make four batches of ice, and then maintain that temperature for 36 hours before a recharge was needed. In Eco mode, I started the timer when the temperature was already -10C / 14F, made two batches of ice, and maintained the temperature for 40 hours before the battery died. In both cases, the battery quit inelegantly with an E1 error (low battery voltage protection) at about 5 percent charge left. Bluetti tells me “this is normal” which is... come on.

Bluetti provides adapters to power the MultiCooler by three other methods: a 12V / 24V DC connection to a car socket; a standard AC wall jack; or up to 200W of direct connected solar panels, but only if there’s a battery inside. Bluetti didn’t provide any charging data like watts, voltage, and current when I connected a 200W solar panel to the MultiCooler — it just shows it charging on the display and in the app. The unit can make ice no matter how the unit is powered, unlike the EcoFlow Glacier.

The MultiCooler includes a handle and wheels as standard, which make it relatively easy to transport over flat ground when fully loaded. It’s still heavy even without the B70 battery installed, and the wheels are rather small, resulting in limited ground clearance — that means occasionally having to drag the MultiCooler over rougher terrains.

Unfortunately, as I was wrapping up this review, I found that the MultiCooler would not turn on after sitting idle for about a week. It is now back with Bluetti, and a preliminary report suggests that my issue was caused by a heatsink detaching from a MOS tube — a critical voltage control element on the MultiCooler’s circuitry — possibly as a result of rough handling during shipment. Bluetti will now determine if this is a one-off situation or a general defect that requires changes in the manufacturing and assembly process.

We will update this review and add a MultiCooler score when we get the final analysis from Bluetti.

I should also note that while 3-in-1 fridge, freezer, and ice-making combos are impressive in all they can do, they are also expensive compared to simple 12V portable car fridges that cost less than half as much. But those won’t make ice from the power of the Saharan sun, so what’s even the point?

AC180T

The AC180T solar generator is a nicely designed power station with a built-in MPPT charge controller to connect solar panels. Nearly all the outputs and display can be conveniently found on the front, with the AC input on the side. A lid on the top hides the two B70 slots, which are keyed to ensure the batteries are inserted correctly, for a total capacity of 1.43kWh.

For context, 1.43kWh is enough to keep a 6000BTU window air conditioner (400W) running for about six hours, boil about 35 liters of water from a 1000W electric kettle, or keep a Starlink internet from space system running for about a day and a half.

Bluetti’s modular approach really helps to divvy up the weight of the AC180T. Each 5.3 × 6.3 × 13.8in / 134 × 160 × 350mm battery weighs 18.7lbs / 8.5kg, which brings the total weight of the AC180T up to 58.4lbs / 26.5kg when both are inserted — that’s a lot for most people to carry.

When plugged into an AC wall jack and in the fastest “Turbo” mode, charging two batteries from zero to 100 percent took 77 minutes and produced about 44dB of noise (from one meter away) while drawing 1.4kW from the grid. Charging in Standard mode still produced 44dB but pulled only 920W, while Silent mode dropped things down to 37dB and 735W. Charging a single battery in Turbo mode took 66 minutes and pulled a steady 860W. In all cases, charging began to slow down at around 95 percent full, as you’d expect.

I also tested Bluetti’s claim that the AC180T can produce up to 1200W of continuous AC output with one battery inserted or up to 1800W with two hot-swappable batteries.

With one battery installed, I was able to run a microwave at around 1250W for three minutes without issue, but a 2100W hair dryer resulted in an inverter overload, causing it to shut down for safety. I then added the second battery and plugged in the same hair dryer, which ran fine at a steady 1874W, until I plugged in a 1200W toaster for a total load of 3074W, which quickly shut down the inverter with another overload. No smells, no funny noises, no mess, as you’d hope. So, both tests passed.

To test the hot-swappable claim, I started the 1250W microwave with two batteries inserted. It continued to run as I removed and reinserted one of the batteries. I then unplugged the microwave and plugged in the hair dryer, drawing 900W, which continued to blow as I removed and reinserted a battery. I then bumped the heat to max (drawing over 1850W) with two batteries installed, pulled one, and the hair dryer shut off within seconds. Good.

As with all power stations, the AC inverter will drain the battery when left on. With no load attached and the AC output turned on, my two AC180T batteries (1.43kWh) dropped 30 percent in 24 hours. That works out to about 17.92Wh lost per hour, or a steady 18W just to power the inverter, which is fairly efficient. Still, you should enable Bluetti’s AC Eco mode (on by default) to automatically turn off the AC inverter after a user-defined time of low or no load. Otherwise, those fully charged batteries will die in just over three days.

For what it’s worth, I was able to plug the MultiCooler directly into the 12V / 10A DC car jack on the AC180T with the included cable, which obviates the need to swap batteries if you can keep the units close together. You can also power the fridge off the AC180T’s AC port, of course, but DC is more efficient (no wasteful inverter).

The Bluetti app is fine, but it’s cluttered with promotions and only works with the MultiCooler and AC180T over Bluetooth, not Wi-Fi like EcoFlow’s products. That means you’ll have to be nearby to check on your battery status or to adjust temperatures.

Conclusion

On their own, the SwapSolar AC180T solar generator and MultiCooler 3-in-1 fridge are each very competitive products — assuming, of course, that the defect on my MultiCooler review unit was an isolated issue. If so, then Bluetti’s SwapSolar kit is a winning combination.

Regardless, I hope to see Bluetti’s modular ecosystem approach adopted by competitors like EcoFlow, Jackery, and others. A company called Runhood has already been selling less powerful solar generators with modular batteries and accessories for over a year.

What SwapSolar is missing, however, is a small portable charging accessory to independently charge each B70 battery. Bluetti’s Evelyn Zou tells me that a “base” is in development to do exactly that. Then you only need to bring the base and battery into a shop, cafe, or gym to get things charged, instead of conspicuously dragging in the entire fridge or solar generator. The base will also convert the B70 battery into a standalone power source for your USB gadgets. Zou says that Bluetti is looking to expand the SwapSolar ecosystem in the future and is “actively working on new products.” But those are just promises for now, with no dates or prices.

Ideally, owners of the AC180T and MultiCooler and any other SwapSolar device could even upgrade to compatible batteries with improved chemistry over time. Or maybe it opens up a market to cheaper third-party alternatives. We’ll see!

Bluetti is selling the AC180T directly for $1,099. But the MultiCooler is still in that weird Indiegogo “indemand” phase — which means you’ll have to wait until August, according to Bluetti, if you prefer to buy directly from the company and avoid all the Indiegogo “perk” nonsense. The AC180T is covered by a five-year warranty, which drops to two years for the MultiCooler.

For the MultiCooler, my advice is to wait or look elsewhere until Bluetti explains itself.

The SwapSolar MultiCooler and AC180T combo kit is currently priced at $1,999 on Indiegogo. That sounds about right given that a comparable system from EcoFlow that combines the Glacier 3-in-1 fridge with a less powerful River 2 Pro solar generator currently sells for $1,499 or $2,799 when paired with a more powerful Delta 2 Max. The AC180T lists for $999 while the MultiCooler can be purchased separately for $799 (without a B70 battery).

Photography by Thomas Ricker / The Verge