Your kids caught World Cup fever and now you’ll be spending your weekends every fall and spring at the soccer field. Take it from a longtime soccer dad — you’re going to love it.
In fact, you’re going to get so wrapped up in this beautiful game that you’re going to want to record those games for posterity. Here’s another lesson this veteran soccer parent learned the hard way: You’re not going to want to hold your arm up for an hour to record the match. Your arm will get tired, and you may find yourself paying more attention to your smartphone than to the moment itself.
That’s where a sports tracking camera comes in. You set the camera up on a tripod on the sidelines of the pitch, hit record, and sit back and enjoy watching the game. The sports-tracking camera follows all the action, with an assist from AI.
For most parents, there’s been one AI sports tracking camera that has risen above the rest: The XbotGo Falcon. And Mashable spent the last soccer season testing the camera out.
The problem with most sports tracking cameras
You may have heard of some of the big players in the space like Veo and Trace. Why not just go with those?
There’s no doubt that Veo and Trace sports cameras have really good output. But, go take a look at their price pages. You’ll find that you’re spending hundreds of dollars on a camera that you can’t even use without a subscription service, which often costs hundreds more per year. Before you know it, you’re spending thousands of dollars annually. These services are more in line for soccer clubs, schools, leagues, or other situations where you’re recording multiple teams and players on a regular basis.
You’re just one parent. You have one (or at most a handful) of kids who play. You don’t or can’t spend that much on the camera, nor do you need anything fancy with player analytics and other bells and whistles. You just want to capture your kid making a great play or scoring a goal to share with the family.
XbotGo Falcon: No subscription required
I have long been searching for the perfect sports tracking camera. One where I can set it up and trust that it will reliably record the game, follow the action, and not require a subscription.
The XbotGo Falcon
Credit: Matt Binder / Mashable
This is where the XbotGo Falcon sets itself apart from other AI sports tracking cameras
So, why doesn’t the XbotGo Falcon require a subscription? Sports cameras like Veo and Trace basically record the entire length of the field, upload the footage to the company’s servers, and then track the action within the footage after the game. XbotGo Falcon avoids those post-processing costs, as the device actually physically moves left and right, up and down, and zooms in and out during the game.
XbotGo is a fairly new company that strictly makes AI auto-tracking sports cameras and related products. The company found success in 2024 with the XbotGo Chameleon, a tracking device that required a user’s smartphone to record. In March 2026, XbotGo released its next-generation AI tracking camera, the XbotGo Falcon.
XbotGo Falcon inside of its case
Credit: Matt Binder./ Mashable
XbotGo Falcon price
The XbotGo Falcon currently retails for $799.
There will no doubt be some initial sticker shock at the retail price. But, again, you need to look at its competitors.
The Veo camera, for example, costs $1,299 just for the device, followed by a minimum of $84 per month for their Starter base plan. Paying $799 once is certainly a lot less than $2,298 upfront, followed by $999 every year after that.
You will also need to factor in the price for a tripod of at least 13 feet or more. XbotGo sells one for $189.99, but you don’t necessarily need theirs. However, it’s a must-have accessory, which I’ll get to in a little bit.
XbotGo Falcon: By the numbers
Here are the key specifications to know:
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4K video at 30fps or 1080p video at 60fps
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1/1.8-inch Sony CMOS sensor
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9,600 mAh battery that can last for approximately 4 hours
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360-degree rotation
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160-degree tilt
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Records to a MicroSD card of up to 1,024GB (sold separately)
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Weighs 1.8 pounds
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134.2 × 116 × 71.7 mm
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Fully compatible with iOS and Android
XbotGo Falcon vs. XbotGo Chameleon
Technically, both the XbotGo Chameleon and XbotGo Falcon have a camera built into the device. But that camera is for the tracking technology that follows the action on the field. The XbotGo Falcon has a second camera built in that actually records the game instead of using a smartphone to do that, as required by the XbotGo Chameleon.
XbotGo Chameleon’s one camera vs. XbotGo Falcon’s two cameras
Credit: Matt Binder / Mashable
XbotGo still sells the XbotGo Chameleon at around $300 for people who prefer that more affordable option. Also, some users prefer the XbotGo Chameleon, as you technically upgrade the camera quality as you upgrade your iPhone, by attaching the smartphone to the device to record.
However, having also spent multiple seasons using the XbotGo Chameleon, the XbotGo Falcon would be my go-to for a few reasons
First of all, having my smartphone available while using the XbotGo Falcon is huge. I can use my smartphone as a remote to monitor the XbotGo Falcon in case I need to pan or zoom the camera if it gets lost in the action. The XbotGo Chameleon requires that you attach your iPhone to the device. And while the Chameleon also offers remote usage with a second smartphone, how often do you have two smartphones on you? I know I don’t.
In addition, the XbotGo Falcon footage is a crisp, clear 4K from a 1/1.8-inch Sony CMOS sensor. I can’t imagine getting much more out of a smartphone camera anytime soon. The quality also means the files are fairly big. My 128GB iPhone is already nearly full from everything else. I would be unable to store much on it, and I’d have to spend time managing and moving files around after every other game. Having the ability to swap MicroSD cards is a huge draw to the XbotGo Falcon.
Using the XBotGo Falcon
The first thing you’ll notice when getting the XbotGo Falcon is, well, its size. It’s big, and it comes in a nice big carrying case as well. Its size is especially standout if you’re upgrading from the much more compact XbotGo Chameleon.
The size difference between the XbotGo Chameleon vs. XbotGo Falcon
Credit: Matt Binder / Mashable
To set up the device, you do need to sync the XbotGo Falcon hardware with the XbotGo app on your smartphone. The app is used to set up the recording, monitor the camera during the game, manually control the camera’s movements, and update the device itself when XbotGo pushes out a firmware update. During your initial setup, there will most definitely be a firmware update so be sure to give yourself some time before you need to use the device.
From there, you pick your sport.
XbotGo says the Falcon is compatible with recording nine different sports, which include soccer, basketball, ice hockey, handball, tennis, pickleball, lacrosse, badminton, and volleyball. There are also three additional sports in beta — American football, rugby, and flag football.
For my XbotGo Falcon review, I focused on capturing soccer. Due to the larger field, this really pushes the tracking capabilities to the limit.
Once you’ve selected all the necessary settings, the camera will start to spin as it calibrates. Place the XbotGo Falcon on your tripod, which should be set up a few feet from the sideline near the midfield. Then, extend the tripod to at least around 12 feet in the air. The higher the better.
Users can add a scoreboard, set up a livestream of the event, record pan, tilt, and zoom manually during the game, and monitor what the camera is capturing, all from the XbotGo app.
And that’s pretty much it. The XbotGo Falcon features physical buttons on the device for quick record options, but I prefer to use the smartphone to record, as the camera is already many feet in the air at kickoff.
Controlling the camera remotely is as simple as tapping on a sidebar menu option to call up an on-screen joystick, which allows the user to move the device around.
XbotGo Falcon performance
I tested the XbotGo Falcon to record at least a half dozen youth soccer games from full-field 11 versus 11 matches to smaller pitches for 9 versus 9 games.
So, how did it do? Most importantly, how was the tracking?
XbotGo Falcon in action, following the action
Credit: Matt Binder / Mashable
I was able to trust the AI tracking capabilities for the vast majority of each game. When referring to my iPhone to monitor the XbotGo Falcon, it properly tracked the game at least nine out of 10 times. In fact, I would say I only had to remotely control the device with my phone once or twice per game. Sometimes, I didn’t have to touch the manual controls at all.
The camera produced very high-quality footage, too. In fact, recording in 4K allowed me to manually zoom even further using my editing software to get closer to the action when clipping highlights and still have clear HQ quality when exporting the punched-in clip.
Due to connectivity issues on my end at the fields, I was not able to test out the livestream capabilities in the proper setting. Personally, I prefer to record the games as the footage quality really matters when recording at a distance. Any sort of lower video quality due to livestream connectivity issues from your cellular or internet service provider will drastically reduce the watchability of the game. In addition, you’ll most likely be clipping highlights from the full video rather than regularly watching the entire match, so again, the focus on the local recording is key for me.
XbotGo Falcon tracking from right to left
Credit: Matt Binder / Mashable
XbotGo Falcon issues
Now, as great as my time with it was, there are some negatives with the XbotGo Falcon.
First, for those looking to buy a sports-tracking camera that’s completely hands-off, the XbotGo Falcon will disappoint. Yes, it is mostly hands off in my experience, but it’s also not “set it and forget it.” While you don’t need to monitor the recording like you would if you were holding a camera, there are clear points in a soccer match where you’ll have to check if the XbotGo Falcon is keeping up.
For example, the XbotGo Falcon seems to struggle with goal kicks, corner kicks, and penalty kicks. There’s something about the lack of typical back-and-forth movement on the pitch that causes the device to seemingly try to find it sometimes. I’ve unfortunately experienced missed penalties to the point where I would just use my iPhone to record the penalty and leave everything else to the XbotGo Falcon.
There is another limitation to the XbotGo Falcon, which really isn’t the device’s fault. At a youth soccer game, there are going to be kids off to the sidelines practicing while they wait for their game. There may also be more than one field at a location with multiple games going on. If any of this is in the view of the XbotGo Falcon, the camera will often get confused.
I will say XbotGo devices are now much better at dealing with distractions thanks to recent firmware updates, which added the ability to draw field boundaries so your Falcon doesn’t stray. However, I had an issue where the Falcon was focused on one side of the field as a free kick was set up, a ball being used on the sideline rolled onto the field with a kid in tow on the opposite side of the field, and the Falcon spun around to catch that while missing the goal scored off the free kick.
With that said, the XbotGo Falcon does catch the action most of the time. In fact, remember when I mentioned the necessity of a big tripod? Most of the complaints I’ve seen online regarding its performance mainly revolve around the fact that many users just don’t seem to raise the tripod high enough. The XbotGo Falcon needs to basically hover high over the pitch at almost a bird’s eye view to get the best performance from it. It needs to see everything in order to track and capture it. If you put it too low, it will not track to the best of its abilities.
You want to get the XbotGo Falcon up high on a tripod for the best performance.
Credit: Matt Binder / Mashable
I also faced one weird issue with the XbotGo Falcon that appears to be a one-off, but I have to mention it.
During the very first game with the camera, it inexplicably stopped recording with 20 minutes left to go in a 60-minute game. There was no battery life issue or lack of SD card space. The device just stopped recording. At first, I thought it had something to do with moving out of range of the device with my synced iPhone monitor, but XbotGo told me that wasn’t the case. Their logs oddly showed that a second smartphone synced with the device, and that device stopped the recording. It seems unlikely that another individual knew I was using an XbotGo device, downloaded the XbotGo app, and synced it with my device to stop it. While I never figured out exactly what happened, the device never stopped recording again.
Finally, aside from tracking issues, there is one persistent complaint among users: the watermark on the videos. There is a decent-sized XbotGo Falcon logo embedded on the lower right-hand side of all videos taken with the camera. There is no way to remove it. That’s right. There’s not even an option to pay extra. For me personally, I didn’t find it intrusive. You can always put your own logo over the XbotGo Falcon watermark, and I never found it in the way of any of my videos. However, it is odd that it is there no matter what.
The bottom line: Is the XbotGo Falcon worth it?
This soccer dad was happy with his experience.
I can see why the XbotGo Falcon is hands down the most popular sports tracking camera on the market without a subscription. While it is pricey, it’s nowhere near as costly as the ongoing fees its competitors charge.
Credit: Matt Binder / Mashable
However, there are tradeoffs, too. The fact that the XbotGo Falcon has to physically follow the action means that it will sometimes miss a moment. At the same time, the ability to monitor the camera from your smartphone is extremely useful and means you can manually guide it along, too.
One thing I will say: The company is very proactive when it comes to releasing firmware updates, which often add brand new features and fix ongoing performance issues. It’s a huge plus in my opinion, which should make you feel secure in knowing that there’s significant support behind the product.
Is it the perfect sports tracking camera I’ve been searching for? No. But it’s getting there.
All in all, if you’re tired of holding up a smartphone camera for an hour at a time, I suggest you give the XbotGo Falcon a try.