Snap recalls discontinued Pixy drone over fire risk

Snap and the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) are recalling the company’s discontinued Pixy drone and telling owners to stop using it or charging the batteries because of a fire hazard. This comes after the safety agency received “four reports of the battery overheating and bulging, resulting in one minor battery fire and one minor injury.”

The recall, first spotted by The Verge, involves a refund of at least $185 and up to $250 for those who bought the “flight pack” bundle. Owners can also get between $40 and $50 if they have the Pixy’s extra charger and battery combo, and between $16 and $20 for spare batteries themselves. More information about the recall is available here and at support.pixy.com. Anyone who purchased the drone from Snap, Amazon, or had it gifted to them is eligible.

Snap revealed the palm-sized drone camera in April 2022 after years of rumors, and apparently moved roughly tens of thousands of them according to the CPSC’s recall listing (though that includes the batteries sold separately) — not a shabby accomplishment considering the company backed away from the product only four months later.

The Pixy was always limited in functionality. It was designed to be used without a controller, or even a memory card. But CEO Evan Spiegel had high hopes for the project, once claiming the market for personal drones was even bigger than camera glasses — the other hardware category Snap has stumbled through.