It's really not a take on a French press. An aero press imparts flavour through forcing water through the grounds, a French press imparts favour trough immersion then you push down to remove the grounds.

I disagree: try comparing pressing immediately after pouring water into the Aeropress versus pouring after waiting for 20-30 seconds or so. (If you press immediately you're going to end up with some really week coffee.) The pressure helps but most of the extraction is due to immersion even in an Aeropress. Most people who use the upside-down Aeropress method seem to let it brew for even longer, up to two minutes.

Many baristas today brew the AeroPress inverted so it also serves as an immersion brewer. I've been gathering AeroPress recipes [1] for about a year now, and I've noticed the trend shifting towards more people doing inverted than regular.

[1]: https://github.com/tedmiston/aeropress

That's one of the few gadgets I use every single day, to the point that I forget I even have it. Five years strong so far, and I love that damn thing.

Fun fact, it's made by the same people who make the Frisbee :)

Nit: Aerobie, not Frisbee. Both are fun!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frisbee

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerobie