DJI has single-handedly proved that they are kings of the drone market. The company had immense success, and its products are no short of being exceptional at the price point they are given. When Sony decided to venture into the same market, they discontinued their drone. There were plenty of reasons for that, but the one that stood out the most was the market dominance of the Chinese maker. And now, after years of successful launches, it appears there is no slowing down because the company is rumored to launch a new drone and four new accessories.
The article, first published by TechRadar (via Imaging Resource), states that the following launches include the Mavic 4 drone, a track accessory for the DJI Air 3s drone, alongside a gimbal, a mic, and a remote controller. The publications also note that multiple leaks of the Mavic 4 drone have occurred, which means the launch will be close. One can hope it will be at the beginning or mid-2025 rather than later in the year.
Furthermore, images and video images of the Mavic 4 enterprise version have already been leaked, meaning a version for users is not far behind. An enterprise variant is used for needs such as mapping a region, firefighting, or even helping in a rescue operation. The DJI RC Plus 2 remote controller is also rumored to launch, as it was seen with the Mavic 4. This also hints that the device could be a standard controller for a flagship device.
In addition, the RC Track was leaked. This accessory helps the drone track moving subjects. It can also be used to give orders to the drone when you don’t want to use a controller. Rumors suggest this will also launch very soon.
If one is wondering why DJI is so keen to launch the flagship drone so soon, then there is a reason for that. The company unveiled the Neo and mid-tier Air 3S this year, making the Mavic 4 the first flagship model to launch so early. Although DJI does not face any competition, the launch is important because of the country’s political climate. The election of Donald Trump made things challenging, especially when the DJI was placed on an Entity List in 2020. This is the list that Huawei was on, which stopped US enterprises from selling their tech to Chinese companies. Trump’s policies, thus, could affect Chinese-made products, including drones, as they are seen as a threat to the security of the nation.
In an interview with The Verge, DJI stated that US customs blocked Air 3S in October. However, this was later cleared as a misunderstanding by the customs team, and the fear of a ban looms over the company.
We liked the device when we tested the DJI Mavic 3 Pro for several reasons. We found it a versatile quadcopter flier, liked the battery life and the Micro Four Thirds primary camera and enjoyed the image quality and colors. However, what we noticed was purple fringing around highlights; the 166mm camera was all right; it was heavy and priced at $2000. So, while the drone was great, the caveats make one wonder whether they should go for smaller offerings.
We do not know the specs of the DJI Mavic 4, but we hope to see a near-perfect drone. We aren’t sure what the future holds for DJI, but we hope they get a chance to continue business with the states. Because if they are banned, we are not sure who to go to next.