Leaked photos of what is assumed to be a new DJI Mavic Air drone puts an end to what has been a sleepy start to the year for DJI. With now major product release at CES2020 in Las Vegas, DJI instead chose to highlight their tech development division and showcase their achievements in LiDAR and autonomous vehicle devices.
But today we found exciting new photos of a new member for the Mavic drone family. With the recently launched Mavic Mini more-or-less taking the place of the fixed wing Spark drone, the only model that is due for a refresh is the Mavic Air.
Mavic Air 2
So we’ll call this one a Mavic Air 2 for now.
In the leaked drone photos from Twitter, the first major difference you’ll notice is that the Mavic Air 2 has adopted the same body style as the all other new Mavics. In fact it looks just like a smaller version of the Mavic 2. Or is that a larger version of a Mavic Mini?
The second difference you’ll notice is in the remote contoller. The swing out arms at the bottom of the controller have been replaced with a sliding grip at the top, putting the screen more in line with your field of view as you operate the drone.
Inspired by Smart Controller
The new remote is also bigger, which may mean that the Mavic Air 2 has some enhanced features to look forward to. Could it be Occusync 2.0 like the Mavic 2 Pro and Zoom?
As with pretty much all prior DJI drones, the center switch toggles between Tripod, Normal (P-mode), and Sport. Overall the new Mavic Air 2 remote is follows the design of the DJI Smart Controller with sticks and the top of a wide body, making it sit comfortably in your hands while flying.
Quiet Props
The propellers on the new Mavic Air 2 look larger than it’s predecessor, and have the distinct swept tip of the Mavic 2 props that help to reduce noise and enhance flight time. AirSense can detect airplanes and helicopters from mil
es away, farther than a drone pilot can hear or see them, and displays their locations on the screen of the pilot’s remote controller.
Bottom LED Light
The same photo, above, that shows the Mavic Air 2 propellors also reveals what the bottom sensors look like. Borrowing more tech from the Mavic 2 Series of drones, the new Mavic Air 2 sports an LED down light for better landing and ground observance as well as IR sensors that help the drone detech the ground, even when there’s not enough texture or contrast that the regular vision sensors need for landing.
In 2019 DJI announced that all drones released in 2020 and beyond would have ADS-B receivers, called AirSense, in them allowing for airplane and helicopter detection and while in flight. This could also explain the increased size of the remote controller.
Looking at the side-view photos, with the arms folded we can’t get a look at any lateral sensors, which would be an addition since there were no side sensors on the original Mavic Air.
We also don’t get a view of the top of the new Mavic Air 2 to see if there are sensors there as well. But based on the shape of the aircraft being almost identical to the Mavic 2, it looks very, very likely that the Mavic Air 2 sports side sensors just behind the folded front motor and on the top — giving it 360 degree obstacle avoidance.
No specs on the camera, but it goes without saying that it will have to be at least 4K30fps just to equal the original Mavic Air. And with the Autel EVO II coming out later this month with 8K30FPS or 4K60FPS in the base model.
Looking at the photos, the camera gimbal looks very much like a cross between a Mavic Air and an Osmo Pocket camera.
Lighter Body, Longer Flight
Holding a Mavic Air in our studio, while scaling the photo above to get finger size reasonably close, it looks like the Mavic Air 2 will be just slightly longer than the original Mavic Air but have a much lighter body like the Mavic Mini. DJI’s engineers have been continually improving the components and airframe of it’s drones to maximize strength and/or reduce weight.
All of this means that the new Mavic Air 2 likely sports a 30 minute flight time just like the other new Mavic Series drones like the Mini and Mavic 2. We would be shocked if DJI released a drone with less than 30 minutes of flight time.
Price Confirmation
The next step in confirming that a Mavic Air 2 is imminent will be when we see retailers like B&H Photo and Adorama start to heavily discount their remaining inventory. Looking today, it appears Adorama already has the Air on sale $120 cheaper than B&H.
After that our FCC sniffer should pick up it’s clearance as a wireless device certifying it compliant for sale in the US.
DJI has a video, below, that explains how ADS-B and AirSense will work in consumer drones. Stay tuned for more leaks and specs on the Mavic Air 2, be sure to click ‘Yes’ for notifications or subscribe to our newsletter to be the first to know all about DJI’s newest folding drone.
https://www.dji.com/ca/newsroom/news/dji-adds-airplane-and-helicopter-detectors-to-new-consumer-drones?from=dap_unique&pbc=KHK8jEk8&pm=custom
ADS-B Receiver
In 2019 DJI announced that all drones released in 2020 and beyond would have ADS-B receivers, called AirSense, in them allowing for airplane and helicopter detection and while in flight. This could also explain the increased size of the remote controller.
Looking at the side-view photos, with the arms folded we can’t get a look at any lateral sensors, which would be an addition since there were no side sensors on the original Mavic Air.
We also don’t get a view of the top of the new Mavic Air 2 to see if there are sensors there as well. But based on the shape of the aircraft being almost identical to the Mavic 2, it looks very, very likely that the Mavic Air 2 sports side sensors just behind the folded front motor and on the top — giving it 360 degree obstacle avoidance.
No specs on the camera, but it goes without saying that it will have to be at least 4K30fps just to equal the original Mavic Air. And with the Autel EVO II coming out later this month with 8K30FPS or 4K60FPS in the base model.
Looking at the photos, the camera gimbal looks very much like a cross between a Mavic Air and an Osmo Pocket camera.
Lighter Body, Longer Flight
Holding a Mavic Air in our studio, while scaling the photo above to get finger size reasonably close, it looks like the Mavic Air 2 will be just slightly longer than the original Mavic Air but have a much lighter body like the Mavic Mini. DJI’s engineers have been continually improving the components and airframe of it’s drones to maximize strength and/or reduce weight.
All of this means that the new Mavic Air 2 likely sports a 30 minute flight time just like the other new Mavic Series drones like the Mini and Mavic 2. We would be shocked if DJI released a drone with less than 30 minutes of flight time.
Price Confirmation
The next step in confirming that a Mavic Air 2 is imminent will be when we see retailers like B&H Photo and adorama.rfvk.net/aX7oR start to heavily discount their remaining inventory.
DJI has a video, below, that explains how ADS-B and AirSense will work in consumer drones. Stay tuned for more leaks and specs on the Mavic Air 2, be sure to click ‘Allow’ for notifications or subscribe to our newsletter to be the first to know all about DJI’s newest folding drone.
https://www.dji.com/ca/newsroom/news/dji-adds-airplane-and-helicopter-detectors-to-new-consumer-drones?from=dap_unique&pbc=KHK8jEk8&pm=custom
Pingback: BREAKING: DJI Mavic Air 2 Drone Is HERE!