It’s so hard to keep a secret these days, dontcha think? Everywhere there are people with smartphones and pesky internet connections. Any sort of slip up will result in your carefully carded info getting spread around the web like top secret peanut butter on a webby slice of bread.
OK, I’m pretty hungry as I write this, so that’s not the best comparison.
While we’ll never know exactly how and when DJI planned to let the world know about it’s latest baby, an inadvertent publication of an advert for the Mavic Pro 2 spilled the beans. Hey, it happens to the best of us.
What actually happened is that DJI was going to let us all know about the Mavic Pro 2 on July 18, but then decided to hold off for some reason. The poor retailer in question didn’t know in time to stop its catalogs going out and the rest is history. So ironically, in this age of internet spying it was a paper book that caused all the fuss.
@ArgosHelpers I have seen this drone (dji mavic pro 2) in your new catalogue today but I’m unable to find it on your website – please help! pic.twitter.com/8Kvk6P9Eh2
The DJI Mavic Pro 2 will come in 2 versions. The Mavic 2 Zoom will have a 2x optical zoom camera and the Mavic 2 Pro will have a 1 inch CMOS sensor. Both versions have a max flying time of 31 minutes, max speed of 44mph & omnidirectional obstacle sensing https://t.co/E5eaQog84Dpic.twitter.com/0o9ZIxRIVp
Fine, so now we know that the Mavic 2 Pro is a thing. That’s not a huge surprise. DJI have also confirmed the drone following the leak, so we know it isn’t some photo-shopped fake.
Given these two bits of information, what do we know about the Mavic 2 Pro?
A Tale of Two Mavics
The most important detail is that there will apparently be two Mavic Pro 2 variants. One will have zoom capability and the other will have a massive image sensor, at least for this price class. While it seems like you can’t have both in one Mavic, on their own each of these features have been the preserve of much more expensive models. So this is definitely a step up for drone photography as a whole. Assuming that the new Mavic won’t get a significant bump in price.
Slimmer and Trimmer
It also seems like the Mavic line is going on a diet for this iteration. It’s still foldable, but it seems DJI have managed to refine the design for even more compactness. Much more importantly, the listed flight time is now 31 minutes. That’s a great result for something this small and feature-rich.
The All-seeing Eye
DJI has been great at making their drones aware of the world around them and this new Mavic continues the trend. It now has sensors all the way around the machine, which means crashes should be even more rare now.
Very Excite
Despite the damp squib of an unintended announcement, I’m pretty sure we’re all keen to see just how much DJI have improved on an already stellar recipe. The Mavic Pro carved out a whole new niche in the drone market and if DJI have played their cards right, the Mavic Pro 2 should aim to pour concrete into that niche and really solidify it. We don’t know when it will go on sale, but it’s a fair cop that everyone is keeping their eyes peeled.
Sydney Butler is a prolific technology writer with a knack for digital gadgets and a love of flying things. He's been messing with tech since the early 90s and dreams of the day that quadcopter hoverbike finally goes on sale.
