It's all in the experience.

While I could tell you all about the specs and the new features and the performance -- and I will get to those --

it's the overall experience of using DJI's Phantom 4 that puts it above the rest.

Polished is the word that comes to mind. Other drones I've flown aren't necessarily more difficult to get started with and pilot, but DJI makes doing these things painless and uncomplicated. (Though, if you've never flown one before, you'll want to at least read the quick-start guide or, god forbid, the full user manual). This, along with the Phantom 4's new Obstacle Sensing System (OSS) and streamlined design, are why it's quickly been tagged as being great for beginners. At least, beginners with deep pockets: The Phantom 4 sells for $1,399 in the US, AU$2,399 in Australia and £1,229 in the UK.

The Phantom 4 might truly be the drone anyone can fly and it is certainly worth the money if you've got it. Still, for however polished the experience is, it might be too much of a good thing for absolute beginners.

Joshua Goldman/CNET

Crashproof? Yeah, not so much

If you've read anything about the Phantom 4, you know it's the first consumer model you can buy with an advanced obstacle-avoidance system that DJI calls OSS. The stout quadcopter has a set of optical sensors in front -- eyes that will help it navigate around or over obstacles within 0.7 to 15 meters (2.3 to 49 feet) of it or it will simply stop and hover until you pilot it away. (It also enables a couple new flight modes, which I'll get to in a bit.)

For the most part it works really well and it will likely prevent many accidental collisions. Yes, you can test it by flying it directly at things like fences or buildings or cars or yourself, and it will stop on its own. But what I worry about most when flying are trees.

Clip a tree at 100 feet in the air and it can either start an uncontrollable fall to the ground or, perhaps worse, get stuck like some cruel Christmas tree ornament you can see but never touch. Having the ability to avoid trees is especially important when using the return-to-home feature that summons the drone back to you.

Joshua Goldman/CNET

The Phantom 4 fared better than I expected. I tested just as the Northeast was headed into spring, so I was flying around a lot of trees that were bare from winter. It had no trouble stopping itself before flying into a line of pine trees on an autonomous flight back to me. When navigating around sparse branches stripped clean of leaves, it didn't immediately recognize them as an obstacle. Had the branches been thick with leaves, it might have stopped in its tracks as it had when I flew near trees in full bloom. Or, maybe it was operator error.

You see, I was coming at the tree from an angle that could've been outside of the OSS's visual range. It senses what's in front of the Phantom, not above, to the sides or behind it. So while the system can stop a head-on collision, you'll have no problems crashing it from other directions. My point is, the OSS is great to have, but for new pilots it could create a false sense of security.

Sport mode is fun, but dangerous for newbies

All it takes is a flip of a switch on the controller and you'll be able to fly at speeds up to 45 mph (72 kph) using the Phantom 4's Sport mode. It's not just faster going forward and back, but it can ascend at 6 meters (20 feet) per second and descend at 4 meters (13 feet) per second. This is a really nice addition because it lets you get to a location that much faster to get the shot you want. It gives you a bit of a racing drone experience, too, and with an HDMI module for the controller you can connect FPV (first-person view) goggles to immerse yourself in the experience.

Joshua Goldman/CNET

A little movement on the stick literally goes a long way, though. And the OSS doesn't work in Sport mode so if you're flying head-on into something, don't expect these sensors to save you. Plus, when it is travelling at top speed, it takes much more time for it to stop. The DJI Go app warns you of this the first time you enter the mode, but never again. Regardless, it's not a mode I would suggest for first-time pilots.

Alright, you probably get the idea by now: the Obstacle Sensing System can potentially keep you out of trouble, but it's no excuse to fly recklessly or not learn how to properly pilot the drone. Now, on to the good stuff.

Better video through autonomy

So yes, the Phantom 4 can use its optical sensors to avoid crashing into things when you're piloting. But it can also use them to automatically do your bidding in the air.