Drones are growing rapidly, regardless of what the government does

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Smartphones sales are cooling, tablets are sinking, and PCs are stagnant - but demand for drones just keeps on growing. As this chart from Statista shows, consumer drone sales in the US have increased sharply over the past few years, and are expected to keep growing. The Consumer Technology Association projects drone sales will cross the $1 billion mark in 2017, while Gartner expects global personal drone sales to grow from $1.7 billion to $2.36 billion in 2017.

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The gains last year are impressive in light of FAA regulations that required users to register their drones with the government. Last week, though, an appeals court struck down that rule, easing up the buying process again.

One story to watch here is whether anyone can challenge DJI, the Chinese firm that is towering over the rest of the consumer drone market, across price ranges, off the back of increasingly impressive devices. The company is rumored to announce a new and seemingly tiny drone on Wednesday, which may boost its reach even further.

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Mike Nudelman/Business Insider/Statista

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