Why the Ruko U11MINI 4K Is the Best Thanksgiving Gift To Capture Moments

When consumer drones first came about, they were extraordinarily expensive, bulky, and only suitable for filmmakers or content creators. While brands like DJI have brought the price of drones down, there’s still a huge underserved market of people wanting drones to capture precious moments under $400. And that’s exactly where Ruko comes in. For those unfamiliar, Ruko is a Chinese company that has been around since 2017 and specializes in value-for-money drones.

This approach has actually made the company quite popular in the US, where it’s just come out with a new one, the U11MINI 4K. The drone builds on its predecessor and houses an all-new 3-axis gimbal stabilization system and a much-improved sensor that allows it to record in 4K. With Thanksgiving and the Black Friday sale season just around the corner, the U11MINI 4K drone three-battery kit will cost just $303.99, while the battery alone would cost $231.99, making it a great investment for capturing precious moments with your loved ones.

Design & Battery

The Ruko U11MINI 4K is a drone that sticks to the basics. That’s because it weighs just 249 g and doesn’t require you to get an FAA license, which saves the headache. The design in black is unassuming, in a good way, and features a couple of LED lights on the front as well. The propellers fold into the body. This, coupled with the U11MINI 4K’s light weight, means you can carry it in your pocket as well.

In the flying kit, you don’t just get the drone, though. There’s also a controller that attaches to your phone, a total of three battery packs, replacement propellers, and a carrying case to keep all the items safe. The controller is fairly standard and easy to use, with buttons for different filming modes, gimbal, and the return to home feature. On the subject of battery, each battery pack can power the drone for up to 32 minutes at a time. Since there are three batteries, which can be hot swapped, the total flying time is 96 minutes.

What About the Flight and Camera performance?

A drone can have all the bells and whistles, but if it doesn’t fly great, then it won’t be of any use. According to those who’ve spent their hard-earned money, the Ruko U11MINI 4K flies really well. The controls are super responsive and suited for someone with no flying experience. To keep people from mashing into the trees, the Ruko U11MINI 4K also features a whole host of assistive features. There’s AI take-off and return to home, which takes away the headache for users and, in practice, has worked great for all buyers.

Beyond the basics, the U11MINI 4K features GPS positioning, barometric altitude hold, and TOF positioning, all of which enable the drone to maintain a set point and capture smooth footage. Speaking of footage, the camera performance of the U11MINI 4K is what has impressed people the most. That’s because the drone houses a 48MP 1/2″ CMOS sensor, capable of capturing videos in up to 4K@30fps and photos in 8K resolution. Reviews have adored the video capturing capabilities, with people highlighting the clear and sharp videos in daytime scenarios, along with decent dynamic range and color reproduction. There are different levels of wind resistance, which help the drone withstand gusts of up to 24 mph and still capture stabilized footage.

To make taking videos even easier, you can also configure Cruise Control, GPS Follow Me, Image Follow, Waypoints, and Point of Interest features in the Ruko U11 app, which users say is super easy to navigate and helpful. However, if you do manage to hit an object or, god forbid, crash your drone, then Ruko’s 24/7 customer support service will come in handy. Amazon reviews are filled with happy customers who got their issues resolved within a few minutes.

All this makes the Ruko U11MINI 4K a perfect beginner’s drone. It’s easy to use, captures great footage, and has tons of features to keep anyone entertained. If you’re looking to get your first drone, then getting the U11MINI 4K, along with three batteries for $303.99 or one battery for $231.99, as a Thanksgiving gift during the Black Friday promotion, is a solid choice.