Yesterday, here in New York, DJI showed off what would be their latest drone or what you could consider as an update to the Spark or realistically, the Mavic Pro. The Mavic Air. It’s an impressive drone and it’s feature packed and it’s updated for 2018. DJI wants to start the new year off correctly and with the Mavic Air, DJI gives us the much needed technology boost that was completely missing on the Spark and probably needed on the Mavic Pro. Make no mistake, both of those drones were great for what they were but the Mavic Air is better.
Whenever you consider buying a drone, it’s all about the specs and you get plenty of that here. The Mavic Air shoots video in 4K. The camera comes with a 2.3-inch sensor that’s capable of shooting that 4K video at 24 or 30 frames per second. You get 1080p video at 120 fps and if you prefer stills, the camera on the Mavic Air shoots those with a 12-megapixel camera. You also get a wide-angle 24mm f/2.8 lens and a 32 mp option for wide panorama shots.
The Mavic Air is tiny, just about as big as the Note 8, maybe slightly bigger and because of it’s size, just like it’s predecessor, it’s super portable and with that small form factor it’s able to glide through the air and it can do it quickly with a top speed of 42.5 mph. I don’t know if you’ll ever need to push it to that speed but know that it’s there. The Mavic Air has a 2.5 mile range with the antenna and get up in the air really high, If i’m not mistaken I believe I heard something like 16,000 ft but don’t quote me. Flight time isn’t bad but it isn’t great, You’ll average 21 minutes give or take. There’s also some newer in flight technology that allows for the Mavic Air to avoid obstacles and give you a more stable hovering experience. DJI calls it APAS (Advanced Pilot Assistance Systems). We won’t elaborate on this until we get our hands on the Mavic Air for a full review but DJI has taken all of the necessary steps to making sure that the Mavic Air is stable and capable for a variety of situations and terrain.
The Mavic Air comes in three colors . Arctic White, Onyx Black and Flame Red. It’s available for pre-order at $799 and with that you get the Mavic Air and the remote, travel bag/case, charger, a pair of replacement propellers, propeller guards and so on. The $999 bundle gives you twice as much of everything including an extra battery which makes it a better value out of the two price points but that of course is up to you. If you do order one then don’t expect it to ship until January 28th but that’s not a long time from now.
The Mavic Air is a fantastic little drone and it’s super impressive and it’s no wonder why DJI may the best in business at making consumer based drones. When we get our hands on one we’ll give you a full review but until then hopefully you get your hands on one so you can experience it for yourself.