Welcome to my review of the JJRC X9 Heron drone.

Just a few years back, there were hardly any drones that could shoot and record in HD and the few that did come with this technology were very expensive. However, with growing market demand for cheaper alternatives to the likes of DJI, there are plenty of drones that come with HD cameras and advanced features at affordable prices and one of these drones is the JJRC X9 Heron.

For anyone not familiar with JJRC, they are a technology company based in China and specialise in RC toys. They have released a number of drones that are suitable for everyone, even for beginners. The JJRC X9 Heron is one of their latest drone releases and it comes packed with some amazing features at a surprisingly low price.

JJRC X9 Heron Review

First of all, I should mention that the JJRC X9 Heron is an upgrade to the JJRC X9, it comes with many more features and an advanced HD camera with a gimbal system for image and video stabilisation.

Out of the box, you get a wide range of accessories like spare propellers, 1 lithium-ion battery, USB charging cable, L-type hex wrench and the remote controller.

The drone has a very nice design, it actually looks a lot similar to the DJI Spark which is one of DJI’s cheaper drones and I think this may have been done intentionally by JJRC. This is because DJI’s drones are fantastically designed and come with superior technology. Now, smaller drone companies just do not have the R&D to copy the technology but they can imitate some of the design elements and this what many like JJRC have done.

The drone is built from durable plastic and is pretty lightweight, including the battery, it weighs just under 250g.

The drones come in two colour options, grey and black or white and grey, I personally prefer the grey and black colour scheme, I think it makes it look a bit more futuristic. Another cool aspect of this drone is that each rotor has LED lights underneath them. These LED lights make the JJRC X9 Heron suitable to fly during the night and drones with LED that are flown at night make a fantastic spectacle. A great way to impress family and friends.

Like most modern drones, this one comes with one lipo battery that has a 1000 mAh capacity. This gives it a flight time of around 15 minutes which is on par with most other drones in its price range.

While 15 minutes of flight time is decent, it’s not really enough time to enjoy flying a drone, this is why I always advise people to purchase extra batteries. Luckily batteries can be purchased from major online retailers like Banggood and Amazon. However, with the JJRC X9 Heron, you get the option of getting an extra two or three batteries when you order from Banggood, I do highly recommend you choose either one of those options instead of having to purchase batteries individually later on.

The last thing I want to mention before I get to the main features of this drone is the JJRC X9 remote controller. It looks simple, has rounded edges which makes it comfortable to hold and is larger than I imagined it would be. There is a smartphone holder at the top and it comes with a lot of controls which corresponds to the advanced features the drone comes with.

There is a gimbal dial at the top which controls the 2 axis gimbal on the drone, there are also buttons for recording videos and taking pictures and two joysticks to control the drone’s movements. The controller has a transmission range of around 1000m in optimal conditions, so expect a lower a transmission range because weather conditions are not always perfect and sometimes drone companies overstate their drone range.

You can also control the drone just through your smartphone via the Enjoy-Fly app, this app is compatible with both Android and iOS devices and most of the features are available through the app. The stated FPV range for the drone is around 800m, this seems a bit generous, tests have shown the limit to be way less.