BREAKING: New DJI ‘Camera Drone’ Is a Mavic Mini 2

Our FCC sniffer just alerted us to an application by DJI for a new ‘Camera Drone’. DJI has refined the names it sometimes gives to devices seeking FCC authorization by giving them a generic name. In this case we don’t have the actual model of drone, DJI instead opted to just call it Camera Drone.

Spoiler alert: it’s an upgraded Mavic Mini!

Looking at the FCC filing information and renderings submitted with the FCC application it definitely looks like it is a Mavic Mini 2.

Like the original Mavic Mini, the FCC label is placed squarely at the rear battery drone of the camera drone.  The rear battery door configuration looks identical to the original Mavic Mini, as do the battery contacts and locking mechanism.

The rear of the DJI Camera Drone also sports a microSD slot and USB connector in the same place as the Mini.

One possible difference we noticed is that instead of a microUSB connector, the new DJI Camera Drone uses USB-C.

Another clue that Camera Drone is a Mavic Mini 2 lies in the atual Model # listed in the FCC application. The original Mavic Mini was assigned model #: MT1SS5 and MT1SD25 for sale in Europe and Japan respectively since the Japan model needed to be even lighter.

The new Camera Drone is model MT2PD.  So the first two digits, ‘MT’ place it in the same family of drones as the Mavic Mini.

(For example the FCC filings for the Mavic 2 Series of drones list the Mavic 2 Pro as L1P and the Mavic 2 Zoom as L1Z…both sharing the same ‘L1‘ prefix in the model #.

The odds definitely favor this being a Mavic Mini 2.

We know that DJI is also about to launch an FPV Race Drone, but the leaked images of the body style look nothing like the image in the ‘Camera Drone’ FCC label location rendering. Twitter user @Ositalv shared the image below of DJI’s new FPV racing done and the body shape looks nothing like the image in the FCC filing.

Wow, that's it. pic.twitter.com/SSTUMSLWwb

— OsitaLV (@OsitaLV) October 6, 2020

What’s different in the new Mavic Mini 2

Searching the filings the first thing we notice is the frequency change.  The original Mavic Mini was operated using a 5.8GHz frequency to the controller. The new ‘Camera Drone’ uses both 2.4 & 5.8GHz frequency. So why the difference? Well, 5.8GHz is a faster signal but it sacrifices distance. A 2.4GHz signal isn’t as fast but it has a greater range, so both frequencies give you a broader spectrum for optimized transmission.

Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)

This new Mavic Mini 2 sports something not seen in any previously: Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) transmission. We think this means that the new drone could be controlled by your smartphone within a very short distance. Or perhaps bluetooth is being used for file drops to your smartphone.

Special mention is given to details regarding the wifi antenna to a filing with Canada’s Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED) ministry, but we have no information (yet) on why this is significant. Could the pending release of a modified Mavic Mini 2 be a clue that further refinements are coming to the Canadian drone laws?

Battery voltage on the new Mavic Mini 2 is 7.7V from the battery, just slightly higher than the 7.2V of the original Mavic Mini.

When is the Mavic Mini 2 being released? Well, based on the original Mavic Mini application we could expect to see ‘Cameral Drone’ released to the public within weeks.

The original Mavic Mini FCC application showed up almost exactly one year ago on October 8th, 2019 and was ‘officially’ released on October 31st.

We expect DJI to release the Mavic Mini 2 on the same timelines.

And now that news of the Mavic Mini 2 is loose on the internet, you should expect to see a flurry of new leaked specs and images. Be sure to sign up to our newsletter, or click ‘yes’ for notifications to be the first to know when news drops on the Mavic Mini 2.

What to you think? Is this new DJI drone a Mavic Mini variant, or the all new FPV racing drone? Let us know in the comments below.