Amazon Prime Air service, which drops packages by drone within 60 minutes or less of being ordered, took flight a few years back. Today, the tech giant announced that it will start delivering a new range of devices through drones in select regions. Amazon has received regulatory approval to deliver new categories of devices, including iPhone models, other Apple products, and Galaxy smartphones. The deliveries will arrive through Amazon’s MK30 drones, which drop packages from about 13 feet in the air.
Amazon Upgrades Prime Air Drone Delivery
Through a blog post on Tuesday, Amazon confirmed that its Prime Air drone delivery service has received approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to expand its operations. Customers now have access to over 60,000 items for drone delivery, with the selection expanding further. With the latest approval, Amazon can now deliver new product categories, including Apple iPhone models, Samsung Galaxy smartphones, AirTags, AirPods, Ring doorbells, and Alpha Grillers Instant Read Food Thermometers.
These deliveries are confirmed to arrive within an hour or less. Shoppers can choose the drone delivery option at checkout on the Amazon website or shopping app, if they are in an eligible area and the item in their cart weighs 5 pounds or less (around 2kg). Buyers can select and confirm a preferred delivery spot, like a driveway or yard.
Amazon states that a drone can calculate how long it will take to fly to an address and drop off the package. After the order is placed, Amazon provides an estimated delivery window. If delivery can’t be completed, Amazon will notify the users with the reason.
Prime Air identified “delivery zones” — clear areas without obstacles like trees or buildings. The deliveries will be done with Amazon’s new MK30 drones. Earlier, Prime Air required a QR code in the customer’s delivery area for drone deliveries. Now, no physical QR code is needed instead, the system uses the drone’s onboard computer to drop off directly at the designated delivery point. The drone drops packages approximately 13 feet above the ground.
Prime Air won’t accept deliveries in all weather conditions. The service uses a 75-minute forward-looking weather service to determine if a drone delivery should be available in the next hour.
Currently, Amazon provides drone deliveries to select areas in Texas and Arizona.
