The Avata 2 and the Neo are both DJI, both carry cameras, and both are aimed at creators — but they are not really competitors. The Neo is a flying selfie camera; the Avata 2 is an FPV drone. Choosing between them is less about specs and more about which experience you actually want.
The Neo is the simpler tool. At roughly 135 g it launches from your palm, tracks you with automated shot modes, and can fly straight from the phone app without a controller. It is built for hands-free selfie and vlog footage, and its propeller guards make it forgiving around people. As a low-risk first drone it is hard to beat.
The Avata 2 answers a different question: how do you put yourself inside the flight? It is a cinewhoop flown through DJI goggles on a live feed, with integrated prop guards that let it skim walls, indoors and low to the ground for shots no camera drone can frame. Easy ACRO turns flips and rolls into one-button moves. This is a genuinely different skill — you watch the feed, not the drone — and the footage looks it.
The buyer point that decides most of this is the licence. The Neo is C0, so there is no A1/A3 exam. The Avata 2 is a 377 g FPV drone in class C1 — the A1/A3 certificate is mandatory before the first flight, and you also need to buy the goggles. There is no sub-250 g shortcut with the Avata. What the two share is registration: both carry cameras, so operator registration at e.caa.gov.lv is mandatory for both, Neo included — that is the single most common beginner miss.
So the honest split is by intent. If you want easy hands-free footage and no exam, the Neo is exactly that. If you want immersive FPV and will do the A1/A3 exam and buy the goggles, the Avata 2 is a different world worth the entry cost. Either way, register the drone and learn the airspace rules before you fly — a C0 drone is bound by them just as firmly as a C1 one.