A year ago DJI introduced the Spark mini-drone. The smallest, smartest drone yet. There’s was a great build up of news and rumors leading up to the Spark’s release, since DJI hadn’t produced a sub-$1000 drone for the masses yet.
The first younger sibling to the DJI Mavic Pro, the Spark rounded out the bottom end of DJI’s consumer lineup.
But now here we are in 2018, the year of the DJI Mavic Air, wondering what is next for the Mavic Pro. In a couple of months it will be the 2 year anniversay of the Mavic Pro launch, and everyone is wondering when it will be refreshed.
The release of the DJI Mavic Air, a smaller folding drone that shoots better 4K, but with shorter battery life, teased us all with what the next generation of Mavic Pro could look like.
We’ve been covering Mavic Pro II rumors almost since the Mavic Pro was released, and all of us got caught up in a false start back in the winter.
Self-proclamed “seer” OsitaLV, who has a mixed record of sharing or predicting what’s next at DJI, jumped the gun by announcing mid-winter that the Mavic Pro II (2) had already begun production. Six months later we all know that wasn’t the case, and OsitaLV’s credibility took a hit.
But what we’ve learned covering OsitaLV for a couple of years, despite a spotty track record, is that he does have connections to DJI’s development people, BETA testers, or both.
But back to the Mavic Pro, because it has been 2 years since launch we are actually overdue for a refresh. Last year we saw the Mavic Pro Platinum version released with smarter motor electronics and quieter propellers. No improvement in object detection or image sensors. Just quieter with 3 more minutes of battery life.
If you spend any time in the forums, you’ll know that these are ‘nice gimmicks’, but what drone pilots really want is a 1″ sensor to capture better still photos…a Mavic Pro that is on part with the Phantom 4 for photo quality. Rear are also a must have.
Over the last couple of years we’ve seen lots of photos leak out on new DJI products. And I don’t think DJI was happy that their development and logistics chain wasn’t secure. As a result we’ve seen very little (almost none) of the leaks we would normally expect, so DJI has tightened things up.
But last week OsitaLV announced that a second generation Mavic Pro, the Mavic Pro II is “on its way”. Informing us that the “ETA is less than 2 month.”
As always, we’re skeptical. We take everything with grain of salt.
But here’s what we know for sure: The Mavic Pro will get a refresh. Whether that happens this summer, Fall 2018 or who knows when, it will happen.
Parrot drones and others continue to develop new products to chip away at DJI’s dominance either in features or price, and DJI may choose to time it’s product updates to smother competitors.
Time will tell.
