According to DJI, the drone’s technical specs are more than a little impressive as it boasts an upgraded camera from the original Mavic Air and a flight time longer than most competitors in its field. Of course, this means that the price is set to reflect all these features and it very clearly shows.
Last week (or maybe a little before then, it’s impossible to keep track of the days) we reported on a leak and a teaser, sent out by DJI themselves, regarding the apparent release of their latest drone which everyone believed to be the Mavic Air 2, the follow-up to the highly-regarded original Mavic Air. While the teaser itself was probably enough to go on, the leak couldn’t have been more detailed and, as it turns out, nearly every nugget of information in that slipped piece of information was accurate as DJI has officially unveiled the Mavic Air 2 and it’s a beast of a machine.
So what can this piece of hardware do exactly? Ditching WiFi for DJI’s very own OccuSync transmission technology, the Mavic Air 2 is equipped with a bigger image sensor and can be flown for around 34 minutes before needing a recharge, which is surprisingly long flight time. It also comes with a reworked controller for more precise flight and preprogrammed scene detection to enhance your composition even further. Moreover, the Mavic Air 2 will also offer AirSense, a program installed onto the drone that warns the pilot of nearby aircraft. Oh, and a whole range of global obstacle sensors means that you’ll only fly this baby into a tree if you really wanted to but unless you’re stupidly rich and/or senseless, you shouldn’t do that.
The sensor thrown into the Mavic Air 2 is a half-inch, “Quad Bayer” sensor which can capture a default of 12-MP photos but the sensor itself is very close to the 48-MP sensors you can find in most modern smartphones so you’ll probably be able to tweak it and up your resolution. In terms of video, you’ll be able to capture 4K footage at 60fps and can film in HDR. It can also export 8K time-lapse footage but not all the models will support this at launch.
Now, these are all very impressive specs but the real question is how much the thing will cost. Well, for just the drone and controller you’ll be paying $799 which is roughly R15 000 at the time of writing. You could also go for the Fly More bundle which includes the drone, controller, charging hub, three spare batteries, prop guards, carrying bag and ND filters for $988, or around R18 500 at the time of writing.
Like, if you’re able to spend that much on a drone in this economy, you could certainly do worse than the Mavic Air 2. It seems like a potent piece of machinery, but we, unfortunately, don’t have an official local release date. Given the current state of things, expect it to arrive a little later than you’d like.
The Mavic Air 2 will be available in two variations: a standard package which includes Mavic Air 2, one battery, remote controller and all the required wires and cables for R19,000, and the Fly More option which includes all items from the standard version as well as a shoulder bag, ND filters, charging hub, and three batteries for R23,000.