DJI's Mavic Air drone is the best flying machine you can throw in your backpack

By now, the form factor of a drone like this should be pretty familiar--four blades, a couple antennas, a whole pile of sensors, and a controller that links up with your phone to command the whole thing. The Air uses a collapsible form factor like the 1.6-pound Mavic Pro, but weighs just 15-ounces and is about the size of three or four iPhone 8 Plus devices stacked on top of one another. Unlike the Mavic Pro, however, the Air takes its commands via Wi-Fi instead of radio frequency. This may be something many consumers wouldn't even notice without looking at the spec sheet, but it does have an effect on the flight. Syncing it up, for instance, can be a little finicky if you're in the vicinity of other familiar Wi-Fi networks.