Our Drone Buyers Guide Says a Mavic 3 is Imminent, And 1 Reason Why it May Not Happen

One of the most useful features of our 2021 Drone Buyers guide is the living graph that that illustrates, in real time, exactly how long it’s been since a drone was released and subsequently updated to it’s next version.

Tracking this timeline can be a useful way to visually predict when to expect the next version of a drone. The longer the time between drone models, the more DJI rumors appear and more likely it is that an upgrade is on the way

The original Mavic Pro, released in 2016 was updated to the Mavic Pro Platinum 320 days later. With quieter props and more efficient motor control the Pro Platinum added 4 minutes of flight time to the battery.

The next update to the Mavic Pro didn’t arrive until almost two years later when the Mavic 2 Pro was launched. By tracking the days since the release of the prior version of a drone we can get a pretty good idea of the length of DJI’s typical replacement cycle.

The current timeline of the Mavic 2 Pro, now 940 days old as of today’s publication date, tells us that it’s well overdue for an upgrade.

Aging Flagship

One of DJI’s flagship drones and available in a Zoom version or with a 20MP Hasselblad designed camera, the Mavic 2 is an incredibly robust quadcopter.  Further enhanced by it’s pairing with the optional Smart Controller, we knew it would have an incredibly long shelf life.

And the Mavic 2 Pro is absolutely a “pro-grade” drone that captures stunning 4K30 video and it’s variable aperture (Pro version) captures stunning 20MP stills. The Zoom lets you get closer to the action than you can fly and can automatically add a dramatic Dolly Zoom to your video.

After-market adjustments are also available from third-parties like Sentera and Kolar Vision that allow it to capture multi-spectral/near-infrared images for crop analysis.

But those specs are no longer industry leading.  The Mavic 2 Series has now fallen behind competitors like the 6K Autel EVO II which sports 6K video at 30p and 4K up to 60p, has category leading 40 minute flight time and superior 120Mbps bitrate.

The world should be beating a path to Autel’s door just based on the differences in specs.

The reason the Mavic 2 hasn’t been updated may lie with drones like the Mavic Air 2 and Mini 2.

We’ve always leaned on the Mavic 2 Pro whenever wind was a potential issue or the shot/video was of critical importance.  But since the release of the Mavic Air 2 we’ve been reaching for the Mavic 2 Pro less often these days.  Mavic Air 2’s 48MP camera allows us to capture incredible images that rival the Mavic 2’s, especially when we stitch images together to create incredibly sharp & detailed panoramas that can then be cropped to suit.

The Mavic Air 2 has the same wind resitance, Level 5, as the Mavic 2 Series in a much smaller airframe making it even more portable. Which often leads to us reaching more and more for the Mavic Air 2 for projects on the go. And that smaller size means we have 3 more minutes of flight time with the Mavic Air 2 compared to the Mavic 2.

Size Doesn’t Matter

In some ways, we think that DJI has already been replacing the Mavic 2 Series by engineering it’s best & newest features into more compact aircraft. Because why wouldn’t you? Having physical size & bulk is no longer a condition for a drone to have the most exceptional features and performance

Having some of the most exceptional features isn’t good enough. For a drone to be a ‘flagship’ drone it has to have them all. And the variable aperture and 1″ sensor on the Mavic 2 Pro are the two specs that actually lead all of the others and make the Mavic 2 Pro the flagship.

DJI has a reputation for fast-tracking new devices to steamroll the pending product launches of competitors. So it’s a little surprising that DJI allowed itself to be lapped by Autel while they were focused on the Mini and Mavic Air 2.

But it also bodes well for what is most likely on the horizon for the Mavic 2 Series since the aging leader’s best features (largest sensor and variable aperture) haven’t been replicated in the newest additions to DJI’s fleet.

We have good indications that DJI is close releasing an Autel-killer Mavic 3 Series that will keep the King on his throne for the foreseeable future.  The only question that needs to be answered is when.