This $1,300 customizable drone is built for speed

On the face of it, Teal was designed to be a racing drone. It has a top speed of 85mph, making it almost twice as fast as DJI's Phantom 4, which flies at 44.7mph in "Sport Mode." This enables Teal to become the ideal racing machine out of the box. The drone was designed to be more than that, though. Company founder George Matus told Wired that Teal is meant to be customizable, allowing users to make it the perfect UAV for any task they want. The machine can be made to follow people around while recording them. It can also serve as a decent photography drone in general with a module that adds a 13MP camera and is suitable for 4K videos.

When flying at slower speeds, Teal can be in the air for up to 20 minutes, comparing favorably with the competition. Flight time is often around 25 minutes per charge for many drones. However, at top speed, flight time is estimated to be 10 minutes. That, however, might be good enough for a race. If not, the battery on the bottom of the drone can be swapped out for a larger one, although it is heavier, which will likely impact top flight speed.

Teal also has the advantage of being relatively portable. The drone only weighs 1.6 pounds, and it has a small form factor. The product measures 10in diagonally, making it about the size of many tablets, although the drone is bulkier than a tablet.

Naturally, this adaptable drone does not come cheap. Teal costs $1,300. Compared with DJI’s prices and drone capability, the price is quite normal. Of course, many companies in China are making racing drones for much less, even if they are not as customizable.