The drone world is abuzz these days – based on a couple of leaks.
In short, those leaks point to a radically new drone design being released by DJI. Apparently named “Mavic” – the smaller-form drone is a completely different design for the Chinese drone giant. Its arms and propellers all fold to make for a compact package. It’s black. And, when folded up, is vaguely reminiscent of an insect ready to jump. Check out these images – posted earlier on WeTalkUAV and apparently snapped up from DJI’s Chinese website. They were disseminated by someone using a Chinese WeChat (social media) account:
Now, depending on where you look, there’s a bit of a mystery around the release date. The Chinese source indicates mid-October – which could well be the truth.
But other sources seem to indicate that September 15 is the “D-Date.” In some ways, the September date would make a lot of sense, and here’s why: GoPro is set to launch its much-anticipated GoPro Karma just four days later. There’s been a lot of hype around the Karma, and expectations are high. But not a lot is known publicly about the multi-rotor, and GoPro has been deliberately vague in its teasers. Check out this one, released just a few days back:
If you were DJI and had the product ready – what would you do? Launch four days before GoPro and steal their thunder? Or wait until the buzz had died down and launch your own new slick machine a few weeks later? Tough call. But here’s a cleaner version of one image – plus a second showing a rumored 4k camera protected by a (hopefully) scratch-resistant sphere. Image via Heliguy/Digital Trends.
Images via Heliguy/Digital Trends
There’s only one way to know for sure what’s coming: To wait.
Either way, there will be two new very cool drones on the market in the very near future. And – undoubtedly – more speculation to come.
