Almost four years after teasing it at CES 2021, Sony is discontinuing the Airpeak S1 drone that was designed to work with Sony’s mirrorless cameras. According to a notice posted to Sony Japan’s website on November 1st, sales of the $9,000 drone will end on March 31st, 2025, while all support will end five years later, as reported previously by PetaPixel.
Sony will also stop selling Airpeak S1 accessories like the drone’s gimbal, battery charger, and remote control next year. However, it will continue to sell replacement batteries and propellers until March 31st, 2026, and will offer inspections, repairs, and software maintenance until March 31st, 2030.
The AirPeak S1 promised capabilities including a top speed of 55.9mph, flight times up to 12 minutes with a camera and gimbal attached, and an ability to maintain a stable flight in winds up to 44.7mph when it was officially announced in 2021. However, the drone struggled to compete with offerings from companies like DJI, and early reviews were not positive. PetaPixel reviewed the Airpeak S1 in 2022 and concluded it was “not ready for commercial use.”
Sony eventually improved the drone’s capabilities with software updates that added advanced flight mapping, the ability for the aircraft to return to a home point autonomously, and improved flight path recreation. The company also introduced a lighter camera gimbal and a larger battery that extended flight times to 20 minutes with a payload. However, when Sony announced its ILX-LR1 61-megapixel full-frame drone camera in 2023 that wasn’t compatible with the Airpeak S1, it indicated the drone’s days were numbered. That is now confirmed.
Original author: Andrew Liszewski