Sony unveils Airpeak drone, shows off aerial footage of its road-tested Vision-S concept EV

In a nutshell: Sony teased its entry into the drone market with the ‘Airpeak’ brand a few months ago and has now given a brief first look at its four-rotor model at CES this week. The company plans to launch the new Airpeak drone in spring and is targeting it at professional filmmakers and content creators.

There are a few crucial details still under wraps for Sony’s upcoming drone, such as its price and specs. However, it does appear to be a high-end, expensive piece of kit considering that Sony has designed the drone around its Alpha series of mirrorless cameras.

Drone hobbyists might find the Airpeak out of their reach, but it could prove popular among filmmakers, videographers, and seasoned photographers that are already invested in Sony’s ecosystem. The company says it’s the smallest drone capable of carrying an Alpha camera in its payload and should enable high-quality, full-frame aerial footage thanks to the Airpeak’s flight-stabilizing and image-steadying tech.

Sony also shared a behind-the-scenes video of the drone chasing its Vision-S EV prototype during a test drive in Austria where a few noticeable features of the Airpeak can be seen, such as the quadcopter design, an array of onboard cameras and sensors, and the motorized landing gear extensions.

Although Sony is debuting in the drone industry with a high-end model catering to moviemakers and professional content creators, it could expand into consumer-grade hardware down the road considering that DJI, the current market leader for commercial drones, recently found itself added to the US Entity List amidst the ongoing US-China trade war.