Hello fellow pilots, a very good Sunday morning to you. I hope your coffee tastes perfect and your drones fly well.
I was about to start writing about the DJI Neo 2 (which, although I still don’t have in my hands, with so much info available and so many videos to see, I can already say is the next best thing… for the next ninety days). But something came to my mind: DJI is releasing products—not just drones—at the same speed that I can eat a hamburger. And that means an inhuman speed.
If we look back, since 2022 they have released 24 different drone models. That’s an average of one new drone every 60 days. You have to think about that.
What’s the Strategy?
Sincerely, what other company has the tech, the R&D, and the financial muscle to do this? And even if they had the money to sustain this release rate, who else is doing it? Is DJI taking risks and working at this speed because it feels threatened? That could be one reason. Or maybe they’re just too good at making drones and they can’t contain themselves.
I remember when they released drones around 2017 and (like Nikon) they tried to avoid feature overlapping at all costs. For example, if they released a drone that recorded at 4K 60, the cheap version would only record at 30, or it wouldn’t have any sensors, or maybe it just didn’t shoot RAW photos (like the first Mini 1). But then, something magical happened: they just started giving us (almost) everything.
The New Motto: The Flagship is the Mini
Just look at this sum: Mavic 4 + Air 3S = Mini 5 Pro.
Remember the last time you paid $4,000 for a flagship drone, only to see some of its coolest features appear in the latest Mini drone a few months later? Or how about the newest mid-class drone’s camera just being slapped onto that same Mini? What are we seeing here? Or better yet: what is DJI’s next move? The new Romo robotic vacuum cleaner with the latest Zenmuse camera head?
Is DJI Scared and Planning an Exit?
As every DroneXL reader knows, things aren’t easy right now for Frank Wang’s company in the United States of America. Despite the fact that many law enforcement agencies, rescue agencies, and even a huge number of farmers, surveyors, and audiovisual producers have been using their drones for many years—and they have proven to be more than reliable during service—there are US-based companies that want to see them completely out of the picture.
Of course, there have been many proven points regarding the privacy of the information that these drones collect. I have some friends who are experts in that area and could easily talk about these practices. But I have another question here:
What About the Pilots DJI Created?
What about the drones that helped civilians get started in this world?
Yes. I know that some Skydios can do what most Matrice drones do. But first of all, I’m not a DJI fanboy. I’m more of a drone lover. And when I bought my first drone in 2017, it was a DJI Mavic Air. Why that specific model and make? Well, mostly because it was easy to fly, transport, and buy.
DJI has done a great job democratizing access to drones for people who are just starting out. And for real cheap, you can get birds that you can use for professional work. Once again, drones are just tools, they are brushes in an artist’s hands.
Is DJI getting ready right now to abandon the United States market, and is that the reason why they are releasing so many drones during these last months? Right now you can get some drones through gray markets and still use them, but the political pressure is just growing every minute.
What’s Next?
Today, I cannot give you a sincere DroneXL’s Take. It just looks like in this drone economic war, the only losers are going to be us, the recreational and professional pilots.
Photo credit: DJI
