We test a bargain drone that flies itself and follows you around

Drones are likely to be looked back on as one of the defining technological innovations of the 21st Century. They're being used for all sorts of applications, from farming and conservation to deliveries and disaster rescue.

Personal drones, the sorts that just fly up into the skies and take pretty pictures, have become more affordable than ever these days. A good, usable drone that will capture decent footage can be had for between £300 and £400.

So imagine my surprise when I stumbled upon the DJI Neo, one of the latest launches from one of the market-leading companies in innovative image capture.

What sets the Neo apart isn't just its ability to fly itself, without even being connected to a smartphone, but its price. It starts at just £169.

Let me talk you briefly what it can do, and we'll come back to that. It uses AI to track a subject, and that tracking software will keep it a set distance away from the person while they're running, cycling, or walking around a landscape, constantly recording everything.

At the touch of a button the Neo, which weighs just 135g, will take off from the palm of your hand, complete its set task, and then land in your hand again.

It has voice control, stabilised 4K video, and it can capture sound through your smartphone to add it seamlessly to the silenced aerial footage.

It is predominantly, then, what's known in the industry as a "selfie drone". It's perfect for people who want to record an outdoor activity without carrying a selfie stick, or for content creators who want to go out and capture pieces to camera without having to bring a photographer.

Having said that, it can also, and this is the really remarkable bit, be controlled manually. Either through the slightly fiddly smartphone screen controls, or through a dedicated DJI controller. You could even link it up to a VR headset and fly it in real-time first-person view.

In this manual mode it can soar to a legally-restricted height of 120 metres, which is quite astonishing.

And let me remind you, this thing costs less than £200.

It even feels really well made. It has fairly substantial propeller guards, there's a removable protector for the camera and gimbal and the compact battery slots in securely beneath it. It can definitely survive a few dodgy landings, or the odd confrontation with a tree. And that, incidentally, is a good thing, because one of the features it lacks is collision avoidance.

But as a piece of kit for recording videos of our outings in the fresh air, it does an absolutely remarkable job. The battery lasts up to 18 minutes in normal modes, so you could capture a couple of miles of running, or a decent stint on a brisk bike ride.

I've mainly used it for recording picturesque dog walks, and it's been incredible. Even through my local woods, it's stuck with me in the follow mode and hovered a set distance away from me, capturing every step.

And then, when I get out in the open air, I can change its mode, either on my phone or using the preset buttons on the device, and it can do a wide, orbital shot; or a top-down shot, or cycle through various routines.

And that was before I started playing with the manual controls. DJI was kind enough to send me their "Fly More" combo, which contains a very useful extra pair of batteries, a neat charging station, and a controller.

This ramps the price up quite a bit, to £299, but it does massively widen the scope of what the Neo can do.

The controller connects through a short wire to your phone, which is clamped in place, and this acts as a display, so you can see what the camera sees.

Its little joysticks take some getting used to, but you'll soon be flying like a pro, chasing the dogs around as they sniff out squirrels and rabbits.

Flying higher is a daunting prospect, but it's easy enough to master, on a calm day, and there's a fly home self-landing mode in case you get in a pickle.

Whether you're using it manually or automatically, the footage can all be downloaded through the app. There's a basic editing suite in there, as well as DJI's excellent community-driven map, which gives you local no-fly zones, as well as areas people really like using their drones.

It feels very much like you're joining a network of people who love their hobby and are passionate about flying responsibly. And that's something you must adhere to, incidentally. You'll need to get a drone operators' and flyers' licence. It's fairly easy and costs around a tenner. Find out more by clicking here.

I've now spent quite a bit of time with the Neo, when the weather has allowed it, and I've got to know it quite well. I've by no means mastered the manual controls, but that's fine, I didn't expect to.

It's the automatic controls that really impress me, though. If I want to take a picture of a group of people I'm with, ordinarily I'd have to go and find someone to hold my phone. But now I can just whip the Neo out of my pocket, tell everyone to smile at it, and then instantly share the picture it's taken.

For that function alone, it's worth every penny of its £299.

Genuine drone enthusiasts will tell you its tiny size and light weight are a bit restrictive compared to bigger drones, and it is a bit vulnerable to high winds. And it is a little noisy. And sometimes the light balance from the camera isn't amazing.

But as a quick, simple selfie tool that just happens to have some of the features of a full-sized professional drone, I'm incredibly impressed with it.