We've been talking spooky, but as the costumes are still very much out and about, we're already looking ahead to the holidays so the drone market is moving into being a more toy and gift-based discussion.
That's especially odd since the DJI Air 3S has now been launched and a good bit of the rumor attention has turned to the possibilities of a Mavic 4 – but that's something we'll look at in more detail on the DJI Rumors page.
A big headline, though, is the likelihood of cheaper goggles – compatible with the DJI Neo – so the total gift price of a FPV bundle for the new DJI Neo is lower.
Oh, and there is also the matter of the massive trade war!
Lets go! Here is the official promo I found on the #DJI #GogglesN3: The ready to use 1080p #ultrawidescreen O4 goggles gives you a 2.7 hour battery to fly FPV.Oh, one more thing: the estimated release date it now set to Oct 30th. 5 days people! Thank you for #following! Cheers pic.twitter.com/1rdYKqOPsgOctober 25, 2024
Yes, a few weeks ago I was enjoying talking about lovely things like the role of drones in the making of Ridley Scott's Naoloeon (which I learned about at DroneX), but later that week Adam Bray (Skydio CEO) fired a warning of pain for DJI owners in America.
That might prove to be just a small salvo in a trade war which has gone from cool, to pretty warm as shipments of DJI products to major retailers in the US have been blocked at customs. That didn't stop Reddit users getting the new Air 3S, but it has focussed attention on what has looked like it was just internal US politics until now.
Now it seems that the Chinese government might be starting to have an opinion. This can be discerned because the Global Times, a state-owned newspaper, published an editorial which noted that DJI is being targeted and said "What is being done to Chinese companies today is not novel; any outstanding company from any country could become a US government's similar target."
To be fair – writing from outside either China or the USA – it doesn't look like international free trade is being entirely respected from the American side, but it's probably fair to say that you can substitute the words "international community" with "Chinese Government" in the last paragraph of that piece: "The international community is watching closely, and when the rules and facts are clearly laid out, what choice will the US make between adhering to the rules and engaging in political trickery?"
Perhaps, though, as I report elsewhere, the US government might finally be realising just how much switching away from DJI & Chinese drones is costing it (and by extension taxpayers) thanks to an auditors report.
Those hoping for a DJI competitor should look instead at HOVERAir, where the IndieGoGo campaign has more than comfortably passed 6250 backers for the 8K model. Since the drones seem to offer real remote controllers and high res, DJI might actually have a high-end consumer rival.
• IndieGoGO HoverAir X1 Pro campaign page
Interestingly 'beyond line of sight' tech is also being normalised for drones as small as the Mavic 3, which I'll be posting about very soon, I promise.
What about the other big names in drones? As I mentioned Parrot drones have been returning to French roots this September, 3D-modelling the Palace of Versailles in the company's largest project of the kind yet.
What of DJI? Turn to the next page...
DJI Rumors
DJI Mavic 4
We've not seen an update to DJI's premium folding drone since the Mavic 3 Pro in April 2023, but there is a lot of evidence that's about to change, some from pretty good sources. The phase 'Mavic 4' has appeared on more than one tweet, or, er, 'X'!
When the first DJI drone bearing the moniker Mavic arrived in 2016 – the Mavic Pro – with its then-revolutionary folding legs it marked the beginning of the end for the iconic Phantom line but, with the Insipre already out, there it wasn't clear this was the shape professional operators would be adopting, despite the 'Pro' in the name!
Over time we've seen lighter options (and weight regulations) bring the Mini, Mini Pro, and Air series drones arrive, while craft roughly the same size as the original Mavic have become ever more capable.
Anyway, the evidence...
So. A wild #Mavic4 popped up in China yesterday, notice the absence of sensors on the front and the camera being a perfect sphere making it possible to even photograph straight up. Will we see this before Christmas? Cheers! pic.twitter.com/GvHPtlKjP6September 22, 2024
Credibility Assessment: High
Jasper Ellens is one of the most reliable DJI rumor tweeters. He shared accurate images of the Mini 4 Pro, Action 5 Pro camera, and the DJI Neo drones ahead of their releases, so it's fair to assume he has accurate information. At the end of September he's also added what he thinks is a Mavic 4 FCC registration.
Here he might just be reposting an image from China, but the 'perfect sphere' which is a new camera mount has been seen in previous rumor images. He could just be a quick researcher though – Igor Bogdanov posted this image a day earlier, as well as this image of what looks to be the same camera module way back in July which suggests the testing cycle has been going on a while now...
Oh, and don't forget that in my own interview with DJI's Head of Global Policy he also happened to say "Mavic 4"...
👉Eh...The new DJI M4 camera was shown too soon. Oh, well. 💁♂️#dji #djimavic4 pic.twitter.com/IBpZTfjy4YJuly 19, 2024
It looks to me like the word 'Hasselblad' is there on the front, and until now that's only appeared on the high-end Mavic.
Anyway that FCC registration that has him convinced might be the icing on that cake:
I am positive this is the #Mavic4 FCC registration. We see a bigger battery, indicating flight time improvements and a #double registration like previous Cine and Pro versions. DJI is trying to hide the FCC names but it doesn't matter. Hello #Mavic4. pic.twitter.com/qB3IvfQooZSeptember 28, 2024
DJI Goggles N3
Perhaps the most interesting is another tweeted image appearing to show new "Cheaper" goggles. Youtuber DroneCamps RC posted a tweet by Jasper Ellens (yes, from all the other rumors/leaks!) and suggested that chaper LCD panels instead of OLED might be used in (what he calls) upcoming 'Goggles N3'.
The pic still seems to show pass-through cameras though – that can't be free!
Credibility-wise it's hard to say much about that detail, but it would make sense to get cheaper goggles out before Christmas given the relatively low price of the DJI Neo and the whopping price of the current Goggles.
Credibility Assessment: High
Again we're looking at very reliable source Jasper Ellens among others, and a FCC approval which is always toward the end of a product cycle. Personally I'd imagine DJI have Christmas in mind – or at least did have when they submitted to the FCC – who knows what the customs kerfuffle (see drone rumors) will have done to that?
DJI Air 3S is here (unless you're American)
The DJI Air 3S is an amazing drone and I've thoroughly enjoyed my time reviewing it, but it also seems to have been the one that an over-zealous customs official took the opportunity to try and block the sale of DJI products in America.
As of late October, the Air 3S wasn't shipping in the US in major retailers like Amazon, though there were – it seems – plenty of ways to get your hands on it, as some Reddit users found out (not just driving to Canada).
Credibility Assessment: High
Relying only on sources from Reddit would be a bit crazy, but the fact DJI has kept its store open to the US lends a lot of extra credibility to the details of the story.
Professional drone rumors
Perhaps the most interesting thing I saw at the DroneX show in London was more than a rumor, but the real-life presence of SkyWash in the UK, meaning the skywash drone – which is, in essence, a pressure-washer strapped to a drone – now has an international presence.
The drone is remarkable because it's capable of delivering a powerful water jet to windows without needing anyone to climb to them and, as UK Managing Director Aidan Coyle pointed out to me, the largest cause of death in the workplace in the UK (according to the ONS) is falling from heights.
The device operates like a tethered drone, save that a hosepipe – not a power cable – is the tether (in fact to my slight surprise batteries were still used on the demo unit I touched at the show).
Very excitingly, inductive power for drones might be on the way thanks to the tech of Inductive Power Projection – this is definitely a company to watch.
