Holy Stone HS 220 

Drones are fascinating and yet frightening to people. And why wouldn’t it be? It is like flying a remote-controlled car. Most of us have a lingering wish to fly drones, either for fun or to use for professional photography and videography.

However, without knowing the basics of how to fly one, it can be a daunting task. Keeping this in mind, Holy Stone, a US-based toy company, has manufactured a toy grade drone for beginners, the Holy Stone HS 220. It is a lightweight, easy to fly a drone with some great features.

In this article, we will be giving you a detailed review of the Holy Stone HS 220.

Our Verdict

The is an amazing beginner drone with some exciting features. The foldable enclosed propellers provide safety and stability and create a compact design, making it ideal for indoor flying or even cramped spaces. The battery interchangeability between the drone and the controller is a unique feature that we have not seen in any other drone of the same range. This eliminates the need to buy an additional battery and doubles the flight time. Tracing a flight route on the screen is a neat new feature as well, and with the ability to perform flips, it is sure to impress your peers. The camera is a decent one. It is not great for professional videos and photos, but it gets the job done. Besides these, the Holy Stone HS 220 offers a ton of features, which makes it a satisfying and lucrative drone to purchase and fly.

Design

The Holy Stone HS 220  comes with many features, the foldable propellers being the best amongst them. The foldable propellers provide a dual advantage. In the folded mode, the drone is much more stable, emphasizing the flight. In the unfolded for expanded mode, the drone can fly and record videos and photos using its 720p resolution camera. The Holy Stone HS 220 can perform flips in both modes. It is lightweight and hence highly responsive. Because of its lightweight, it does not have to be registered with the FAA or Federal Aerial Administration if you use it in the United States of America. It has 4 brush motors, which are enclosed propellers, providing greater stability and safety. The foldable feature is also space-saving, making it easy to carry around. The camera is not something professional photographers and videographers would use for business purposes, but it is great to make home videos. It can be operated using a controller or a smartphone via a mobile application. The controller does not have an LCD screen, so you need to use your smartphone to view the live feed. It has interchangeable batteries to use the same battery for both the controller and the drone. The drone’s LEDs increase visibility and act as indicators such as notifications for low battery, need for calibration, etc. It can easily perform flips, which is a great way to impress your peers. The drone is Wi-Fi enabled and can even follow a customized flight pattern through the mobile application. Just trace a route on the screen, and the Holy Stone HS 220 will move in that direction. The instruction manual is comprehensive and makes it easy to understand the Holy Stone HS 220.

Flight

The can be turned on just by tapping the logo. It comes in two modes, foldable or normal and unfolded or expanded mode. This is a unique feature presented by the Holy Stone HS 220, which is not seen in any other toy grade drone. The drone can be calibrated using the controller. It can be flown either using the controller or a smartphone via a mobile application. It is WiFi-enabled, giving us a stronger connection to the controller than Bluetooth. It has various features such as Altitude Hold, Headless Mode, Gravity control, etc., in altitude mode; the drone will hover in position unless prompted by the user. This means that you don’t have to worry about the drone flying about once it is switched on. It will maintain its position unless prompted by the user. In headless mode, you don’t have to worry about where the drone’s nose is, whether the drone is turned around or even upside down. No matter the orientation, when you command the drone to go left or right, it will turn in the appropriate direction from your point of view. Gravity control gives more stability to the drone.

The Holy Stone HS 220 is made for children, the enclosed propellers making sure that the drone is not damaged even if you crash it. It is a great drone that provides a flight time of about 8 minutes. And with the interchangeable batteries between the drone and the controller, you can easily swap them and double your flight time. The transmission range is about  40 to 60 meters, but we found that it can go up to 100 meters indoors. It has 4 flight speeds, depending on the skill of the user. Thus, as you grow more confident flying the drone, you can increase the speeds to refine your skills further. However, it is lightweight and is not recommended for windy conditions. It does not have an obstacle detection, being toy grade, but it does have an emergency stop button making up for it.

Camera Quality

The Holy Stone HS 220 comes with an FPV or first-person view camera. This means that the camera will display a live feed from the drone’s point of view. The camera can only be used in the expanded mode, as in the folded mode, the enclosed propellers act as a cover for the camera, preventing it from recording anything. It can record videos up to a maximum resolution of 720p, which is a bit underwhelming. While a toy grade quadcopter cannot be expected to have a high-quality camera, many toy grade drones feature a camera with 1080p recording. It has a lens angle of 60 degrees. It doesn’t have video stabilization, so the video is not as smooth as one would expect. However, considering that it is a drone for beginners, the emphasis is placed more on the flying experience than the camera. It is great for making home videos with your family and loved ones.

Build Quality

The is built, keeping in mind that it is a beginner drone. So there are bound to be a few crashes. The enclosed propellers are built for stability and long-lasting durability. The drone also comes with additional propeller guards to ensure that the drone doesn’t become nonfunctioning because of a few minor crashes. The body is made of a strong plastic polymer, and it is made lightweight to ensure a responsive drone. The rubber stands on the propellers’ bottom aid a smooth landing without damaging the motors or propellers. It has 7.67 x 7.67 x 1.57 inches when it is in expanded mode and 5.7*5.7*1.57 inches in folded mode. It weighs less than three ounces, which is lighter than your smartphone. However, it is made for indoor flying and cannot withstand wind resistance.

Battery

The Holy Stone HS 220 comes with 2 rechargeable detachable Lithium- Polymer batteries of 3.7 volts and 750 mAh.they are proprietary batteries and work quite well with the drone. You can charge it via a USB cord to either your laptop or computer, or you can use a wall adaptor with similar compatibility. A pro tip, if you are going to use your laptop, use the USB port, which has a plus sign or a battery sign on it. These USB ports charge the drone battery, or any battery for that matter, faster. The charging time is 150 minutes, disappointing as most toy-grade drone batteries charge in about 90 minutes. A 150 minute charging time for about eight to nine minutes of flight time is much more than we expect.

The controller and the drone use the same proprietary battery; this means that you can easily interchange the drone’s batteries, doubling its flight time. Also, you can use the smartphone as a controller when the extra battery is being charged. This dual ability feature is a neat addition to the Holy Stone HS 220.

Controller

The comes with a controller. It does not have an LCD screen and needs a smartphone to view the live feed and flight data. However, you can easily mount the smartphone on the stand exclusively provided on the controller for this very purpose. You can even use the smartphone as a controller via a mobile application, especially when using the controller battery for the drone to increase your flight time.

It has two throttle sticks for navigation, namely forwards, backward, left, and right. It has a takeoff and land button, a trim button to adjust the roll, pitch, yaw, and throttle of the drone in case it is off balance. It has a single button for taking photos and videos. A single press will take photos, while long-pressing the button will make the drone start recording. It has an emergency stop button, altitude hold, headless mode buttons for ease of operation. At the same time, the four flight speeds can be adjusted on the controller as well. Overall, it is a great controller that fits easily into your hands and is similar to driving a remote-controlled racing car.

Pros And Cons

No product is perfect. There is always room for improvement. The Holy Stone HS 220 is no different. This section will discuss the pros and cons of using the Holy Stone HS 220.

Final Thoughts

The is a great starter drone with some excellent features. It can be a great holiday gift for children or a fun toy to invest in to satisfy your inner child. It is built for durability; the enclosed propellers are one of the many features which make the drone ready for more than a few crashes, making it great for beginner flyers.

We strongly advise readers to use the Holy Stone HS 220 only for its intended use. We do not recommend the drone for any illicit surveillance, illegal photography or videography, or any other related activities.