First look: Hover Camera Passport, a lightweight, portable, iPhone-connected flying 4K selfie cam

The newly released Hover Camera Passport is one of the more unique flying cameras we've ever seen, focusing on a durable and portable lightweight design, competitive price, and ease of use through an iPhone app. AppleInsider had the opportunity to go hands-on with the camera, and offers first impressions.

While it shares much in common with other flying cameras, calling the Zero Zero Robotics Hover Camera Passport a drone wouldn't be entirely fair —rather than flying long distances or sporting a high end camera and gimbal, it instead focuses on being as easy as possible to use and transport.

The most striking thing about the Passport its its design. When folded up, it's about the size of an old VCR tape, but at around a half a pound, it's much lighter than you'd expect. This despite featuring protective grates that allow users to safely hold the Passport without fear of the propellers clipping their fingers.

Once unfolded, users can see an adjustable camera —complete with flash —on the front of the device. It's capable of capturing 4K ultra-high-definition video, as well as 13-megapixel images, putting it about on par with Apple's iPhone 6s lens.

Impressively, the Passport includes sensors on the bottom, including sonar, to measure the distance from air to ground. This allows for safe indoor use, giving the drone some idea of how far it is off the ground, and helping it to maintain a set altitude.

The Hover Camera connects to an iOS device over direct Wi-Fi, which limits its range. But again, this device isn't really intended to compete with the likes of DJI or the new GoPro Karma. Instead, it's a small and portable camera that allows you to capture quick aerial shots with minimal effort.

The iOS app for the Passport is well designed, offering simple onscreen touch controls for altitude, forward, backward, and strafing left to right. The Passport can also turn toward the left or right with a finger swipe on the iPhone screen, and swiping up or down angles the movable camera on the front of the device.