fun drones you can control with your smartphone

Traditional RC toys rely on dedicated controllers to operate, but modern technology put an extremely capable smart device in your pocket and many manufacturers look to use it for their new toys. I’m being vague, I refer to quadcopter style drones you can control with your smartphone or tablet.

Higher-end drones still rely on a dedicated remote for actual flight controls, but many toy class units fly using nothing more than an app and a WiFi or Bluetooth connection. Let’s take a look at some of the best on the market today.

We will regularly update this post with new and exciting drones that you can control with your phone. This month we added the new GDU O2, one of the most portable drones we’ve ever laid hands on.

GDU O2

Only recently announced, and possibly not yet shipping by the time you read this, the new GDU O2 is a compact machine that is one of the most portable drones on the market today. We were at the official unveiling of this drone and got to go hands-on with it at InterDrone 2017, but we have not yet flown it ourselves. That comes next. Instead of folding down, like many portable machines today, the propeller arms slide into the body, keeping them safe and getting them out of the way.

Better than just sliding the propeller arms out of the way, the drone snaps directly to the remote control for transport. This protects all the important bits. We’re pretty impressed to say the least.

You can order the GDU O2 for $732 today. For those that can fly beyond line of sight, stay tuned for a Pro version coming soon with greater range connectivity.

DJI Spark

Also seen in our Best drone and Best selfie drones lists

Forget your smartphone, control this drone with your bare hands! That’s right, the new DJI Spark was designed for the maximum in ease of use, where a controller can be cumbersome to transport and a smart phone can be used, but maybe you want to save the battery, you can use hand gestures to control the quadcopter. From start to finish, you can fly this drone, capture some aerial selfies and land it right back in your hand.

If you own a larger smartphone, you’ll find it is larger than this drone, it’s that small. I mean, the fuselage is small, there’s still propeller arms and the folding propellers to deal with, but hey, it’s still one of the more portable flying machines around.

Pre-orders are open now, but the drone does not ship until mid-June. You’ll need $499 for the drone alone, a Fly More bundle will run $699.