SpeedyBee's New Stack: The Sincerest Form of Flattery?

SpeedyBee just released their new F405 V5 stack. The hardware is perfectly fine—all the modern bits like Bluetooth and USB-C are present and correct. The interesting, or perhaps 'concerning', part is the ESC firmware. It’s a new closed-source affair called OX32, and it gives us a serious case of déjà vu.

Let's be blunt: the OX32 configurator is a near-perfect clone of BLHeli32's. The company behind it claims it's a fresh creation, which, if true, is an impressive feat of parallel thinking. If not, it raises some awkward questions about provenance and licensing. Mads Tech has the full, rather suspicious, breakdown in the full review here.

On top of the questionable software, SpeedyBee also decided that you can't use your new flight controller until you've handed over your email address for 'activation'. A bold choice. For a more visual deep-dive into the components and the controversy, you can watch the full video from Mads Tech below.

The takeaway? The F405 V5 hardware is solid. The OX32 firmware, however, is an unproven entity wrapped in a mystery. We’re holding off on calling it a winner until the community—that's you—gets some flight time in and reports back. For now, proceed with a healthy dose of British skepticism.