If you’ve ever lost a drone in water, my condolences. While on land, the ubiquitous ‘return to home’ feature found on most drones tends to work reliably, the opposite is true when flying a drone from any sort of watercraft. Fortunately, HoverAir is here to ensure no drone sinks to Davey Jones’ locker ever again.
The new HoverAir Aqua, announced at CES 2026, is a completely waterproof (IPX67-rated) drone that is easily spottable thanks to its bright orange color, and which gently floats along the surface. Here’s everything you need to know about it.
HoverAir Aqua: Price and availability
The HoverAir Aqua drone is live on IndieGoGo right now, with an early-bird price of $999 for the standard combo. Said combo includes the drone, battery, a waterproof bag, and a repair kit.
It also comes with a waterproof, arm-mountable controller for managing take-offs and landings from the comfort of a wakeboard, surfboard, boogie board, stand-up paddle board… you get the idea.
HoverAir Aqua: A light yet capable drone
Lightweight (under 250 g) and easy to fly, the HoverAir Aqua is capable of capturing 4K capture at up to 100 fps for a slow motion effect using a 1/2.8-inch sensor (similar in size to what you’d find in a modern smartphone).
It also offers all the handy follow-me features found in the brand’s lineup of land-based compact drones, like the HoverAir X1 Pro. The Aqua also boasts 128GB of onboard storage and a nifty 1.6-inch AMOLED screen built into the top of the device.
With an emphasis on helping outdoor enthusiasts document their adventures, from mountain top to forest floor, the Aqua isn’t just waterproof, it’s also designed to withstand all the bumps and bruises of life in the great outdoors.
HoverAir Aqua: Lots of tracking modes and long flight times
The HoverAir Aqua can take off from land or sea with a single press of the drone’s top button. You can even toss it in the air to start a flight. However, you’ll want to select your flying mode first. Options include follow tracking (noted above), orbital tracking, birds-eye tracking, and many more (there are 15 total).
The average flight time for the HoverAir Acqua is a respectable 23 minutes. Better yet, the battery is swappable. A full recharge takes roughly 55 minutes.
HoverAir Aqua: Solid speed and wind resistance
Of course, it can get pretty windy when you’re scaling peaks or out on the high seas, which is why the HoverAir Acqua boasts an impressive wind-resistance rating of up to 33 knots. It can also cruise at speeds up to 34 mph, which is, coincidentally, right around the top speed I tend to snowboard at.
HoverAir Aqua: ‘Turtle flip’ feature
Okay, so the HoverAir Aqua floats on water, but what if you accidentally land it upside down in the wet stuff? Worry not! A nifty self-correcting ‘turtle flip’ mode rights the drone in one swift, and splash-inducing movement.
It may sound far-fetched, but based on my CES demo of the features, it works remarkably well.
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