DJI Air 3 – Is One On The Way, and What Features Will It Have?

Good day folks, Shawn here from Air Photography. In today’s video, we’re going to be discussing the DJI Air 2S and the possibility of a DJI Air 3. Now, this is just a discussion video, and there’s been no indication from DJI that there will be an Air 3 at all.

That also raises a question, is there even room for a DJI Air 3 in the current DJI drone lineup? If so, what kind of features could we expect DJI to add, or what features would we want as consumers?

DJI Air 3 discussion video

The latest version of the DJI Air series is the Air 2S, and it was released almost two years ago, in the spring of 2021. Before that, the DJI Air 2 was released in the spring of 2020.

Spring is in the air. Will there be a DJI Air 3 as well?

If drone maker, DJI continues its tradition of releasing a DJI Air drone series in the spring, we could see a DJI Air 3 sometime at the end of April. However, as mentioned, we haven’t seen any leaks or talk or DJI rumors of an Air 3, so I believe that is highly unlikely.

The big question is whether there’s even a spot in the current DJI lineup for an Air 3. A lot of people’s opinion is that the Mavic 3 Classic, which was released last fall, is replacing the Air lineup. They don’t think there’s going to be a new DJI Air 3 drone. But, I don’t think that is the case. In fact, I’m confident that there is still a place for an Air 3.

Looking at the current lineup and pricing, the DJI Mini 3 Pro with the standard RC-N1 controller comes in at $759. The current DJI Air 2 is $999, and the DJI Mavic 3 Classic jumps all the way up to $1599, basically sixteen hundred dollars.

If DJI were to get rid of the Air 2 lineup and not release anything new, that means we’re jumping from a price tag of $759 all the way up to $1600. I’m pretty confident that DJI will fill that with a newer, updated drone.

DJI Air 2S is almost a perfect drone

In my opinion, the DJI Air 2S is almost the perfect drone. This has been a very popular choice with many people, and it’s probably been one of my favorite drones. And probably would continue to be my favorite drone if the DJI Avata had not been released. I think that now is my favorite, but the Air 2S is just an excellent marriage of price and size, features, and quality.

The video quality that this thing can capture is absolutely stunning, as are the flight performance, the safety features, and the intelligent flight features. It’s just a great, little drone for the size and price.

But, as mentioned, it is two years old, and technology has changed a little bit. So there definitely are some improvements that DJI could make. Improvements that would maybe entice some people who own the Air 2S to upgrade to an Air 3.

Improved flight time on the DJI Air 3

The first thing I would like to see on an updated model is an increased flight time. The Mavic 3 is rated for 46 minutes. The Mini 3 Pro I believe, is 47 minutes, whereas the Air 2S is rated at 31 minutes. So there are some improvements that can be made there.

If they could increase the flight time of the Air 3 to 46 or 47 minutes, or perhaps even push it up to 48 minutes, that would be very compelling to many people.

Charge the DJI Air 3 with USB-C

Another upgrade they could add to the DJI Air 3 is USB-C charging. Similar to how they’ve done it with the DJI Mavic 3 and the DJI Avata. Getting rid of that big, clunky power brick and replacing it with just a simple USB-C charger would definitely be an improvement.

If you’re a person who owns multiple DJI drones, having one simple USB-C charger that can charge up all your drones, especially if you’re traveling and taking a few drones with you, would definitely be very beneficial.

Nothing is worse than having to pack several power bricks when you bring in a couple of different drones with you. So hopefully, that’s something that they do, and I imagine they will with the DJI Air 3.

DJI Air 3 should feature upgraded video resolution and low-light performance

Now, the camera on the Air 2S is pretty phenomenal, but there are some improvements they could make to it. Myself, I’m happy with the one-inch sensor. I don’t think they need to jump to a 4/3 sensor like the Mavic 3. That would make the overall footprint of the drone a little bit bigger.

I think a one-inch sensor is more than adequate on a drone like this. They could increase the resolution of the video recording capabilities, perhaps up to 6K. That could increase the megapixels when taking photos as well.

Most likely, the DJi Air 3 would have a fixed aperture just like the DJI Air 2S. But they could make it a smaller aperture. Maybe 1.7 compared to 2.4, similar to what they did with the DJI Mini 3. That would allow for perhaps a little bit better low-light performance.

Intelligent flight features for the DJI Air 3

They could add some extra intelligent flight features, adding night mode as they did with the Mavic 3. And perhaps they could reintroduce some form of HDR video. Of course, you can do HDR with the Air 22, but you have to film in that HLG format, which is really tricky to color grade to get it to look good.

Having an intelligent flight mode that automatically does HDR, I think, would be beneficial in many different ways.

Vertical video shooting for social media

Now, another thing they could do, just like the DJI Mini 3, is they could have the camera shoot vertically. I know not everybody’s into shooting vertical video. But for those people who are building social media channels, things like TikTok, YouTube shorts, and Instagram reels, shooting vertical videos can be fairly important.

So there are some improvements that they could do with the camera to make it a compelling upgrade.

Make the DJI Air 3 even smaller, and lighter

When it comes to the size of the DJI Air 2S, a lot of people find that very appealing when compared to the DJI Mavic 3. As you can see here, there is quite a size difference. And if you’re looking for a drone that’s a little bit more portable and travel-friendly.

Especially if you’re going to be out for the day backpacking or sightseeing, or you’re traveling, and you need to pack light, having a smaller drone can be very beneficial.

Perhaps with an updated Air 3, they could shrink it down even a little bit more, not by much, but just a little bit to make it a little bit lighter and easier to pack.

Now, you don’t want it to go too light because then you’ll lose some wind performance. Of course, the Mini 3 Pro does quite a good job in the wind, but drones like the Air 2S or the Mavic 3 perform just that much better in the wind just due to their weight. So we don’t want it to get too much smaller or too much lighter. But I think there is room for improvement. They could shrink it down a little bit.

Improved obstacle avoidance on the DJI Air 3

Another thing I would really like to see on an updated Air 2S is better obstacle avoidance. When I fly, I often have obstacle avoidance turned off or am in sport mode where I do not have any obstacle avoidance.

However, there are situations where obstacle avoidance is very important, especially when flying backward or sideways or when doing any type of tracking point of interest. If they could introduce some fisheye obstacle avoidance sensors as they did with the Mavic 3 and put that technology on an upgraded DJI Air 3. That would allow for good front-facing, rear-facing, and sideways obstacle avoidance.

The Air 2S has good front and rear obstacle avoidance, but sideways obstacle avoidance is lacking. Of course, Mavic 3 has this feature, so it may not be made as robust in the DJI Air 3. But they could even exclude the top-facing sensors and have only the front, rear, and side sensors. I think that would be a good compromise.

When it comes to tracking on the Air 2S, it is not bad, but it still uses the ActiveTrack 4.0 system. Upgrading the DJI Air 3 to ActiveTrack 5., which is a little bit more robust, would be a nice upgrade as well.

DJI Air 3 should support DJI Goggles

Lastly, a feature I would love to see on the Air 3 is DJI Goggle 2 support. Goggle compatibility with various drones has been rumored for the last year, and we have not seen it come to fruition yet.

I know not everyone wants to fly their Mavic drone with goggles, but many, including myself, would like to do that. I wouldn’t fly every flight with goggles, but I think there would be those situations where it’d be fun or even beneficial. I would like the option to be able to do that. Perhaps, the DJI Air 3 is finally the drone that DJI brings that to reality.

Those are the improvements and upgrades I would like to see on a DJI Air 3. Let me know down in the comments what upgrades and features you would like to see that would persuade you to upgrade.

If DJI releases an Air 3, they will most likely include a bundle with the RC-N1 controller, and they’re more than likely to have a bundle with DJI RC as well.

With the last couple of drones DJI has released, they have also released a drone-only package because many people already have these controllers and don’t want to pay for another one.

However, it would be nice if, on launch day, they had all the packages available to purchase. The drone-only package tends to get released months down the road. If DJI releases an Air 3, I hope it’s available from day one.

Let me know in the comments what your thoughts are. Do we need a DJI Air 3? And if so, what features and upgrades would you like to see on it?

Hopefully, you enjoyed this video and found some value in it. If you did, please give it a thumbs up. It’s always greatly appreciated, and we’ll see you in the next one.