It’s been three years since DJI’s Mavic 2 drone first went on sale, and now, according to leaks, it looks like DJI has some major upgrades planned for the Mavic 3 when it comes out sometime later this fall.
According to leaked info reported by Jasper Ellens and DroneDJ, DJI is expected to announce two versions of the Mavic 3: a standard model and a slightly more expensive Cine model with an onboard SSD and a “high-speed data cable” for quickly downloading footage off the drone at up to 1 Gbps.
Both models will also reportedly come with two cameras: a primary 20-MP wide-angle camera with a large Four Thirds sensor, augmented by a 12-MP telephoto cam with an o.5-inch sensor and what looks to be a 4x zoom. And for video, the Mavic 3 is expected to be able to record 5.2K video.
But what might be the most enticing thing about the Mavic 3 is that despite reportedly weighing slightly more than Mavic 2 (920 grams vs. 907 grams), the Mavic 3 will boast a longer maximum flight time of up to 46 minutes on a single charge, up from 34 minutes on the Mavic 2.
Elsewhere, it appears DJI is changing up the Mavic 3's overall design just a bit by orienting the drone’s obstacle avoidance sensors downward slightly to potentially give sensors a wider view to better anticipate incoming obstructions. And as you’d expect from a DJI drone, the Mavic 3 will reportedly come with all of DJI’s special shooting modes like MasterShots, hyper-lapse, panorama mode, and more, in addition to support for DJI’s latest OcuSync and APAS (advanced pilot assistance system) protocols.
Alongside the Mavic 3, DJI also had one more piece of upgraded hardware for use with the drone thanks to its new Smart Controller V2, which is said to feature a built-in touchscreen with a 1920 x 1080 resolution and a strong brightness topping out at around 1000 nits.
The one downside to all these upgrades though is that the Mavic 3 will likely be more expensive than the previous model, with DroneDJ claiming the standard Mavic 3 will start at $1,600, with prices going even higher for people who tack on DJI’s traditional Fly More kit (which includes extra propellers, batteries, etc.), and potentially going up to around $2,500 for the more advanced Cine model.
Regardless, with the previous Mavic 2 having come out back in the fall of 2018 and having now gone out of production, it’s about time for DJI to release a true follow-up to one of the best enthusiast drones on the market. So keep your eyes out for the DJI Mavic 3 as we get closer to its rumored official launch date on November 15.