Bevy of Leaks Reveal Three New Autel Drones—The Autel Evo III, the Autel Evo Lite, and the Autel Nano Mini

A spate of recent leaks reveal three forthcoming drones from Autel: the Autel Evo Lite, the Autel Nano Mini, and the Autel Evo III.

Autel is known for its Evo II, which was designed to compete with DJI’s Mavic 2 Pro.

Photo credit: Autel

The company is apparently following the same playbook with these new leaked drones, each of which seems to be designed to compete with a DJI drone:

• The Autel Evo Lite seems made to compete with the DJI Air 2S
• The Autel Nano Mini seems made to compete with the DJI Mini 2
• And the Autel Evo III seems to be made to compete with DJI’s anticipated Mavic 3

The leaks about these three drones have been so abundant that it seems like Autel might be making them itself, trying to drum up buzz ahead of its product launches.

On this topic drone industry insider @OsitaLV—who’s commonly known for sharing authentic leaks about DJI drones, including the Mavic 3—commented “So this is a way of marketing.”

Here is the original video of leaked new Autel small drone, normally an unannounced product should never appear in their exhibition hall. So this is a way of marketing. pic.twitter.com/h7mBuYGHOP

— OsitaLV (@OsitaLV) September 17, 2021

The same thing could be said for DJI.

Leaks about its new drones are so abundant that we often know everything about them before they ever hit the shelves. Whether DJI is doing this on purpose or not is almost besides the point—the leaks help drum up excitement and buzz about their new products, and it looks like Autel may have taken note.

In the end, what we care about are the drones themselves—here’s everything we know so far about Autel’s three new drones.

Autel Evo III

News about the Autel Evo III was broken by Jasper Ellens, who shares drone industry leaks and rumors on his Twitter account 27 Leaks.

So, apparently @AutelRobotics is ready for battle with the @DJIGlobal #Mavic3. Next to the Nano and Light, this is the #EVOIII. The specs: A 4/3 inch sensor, omnidirectional av, 40 minutes flight and maybe launched next month?Special thanks to my friend E.B. for this exclusive. pic.twitter.com/R7DAcwQQdV

— Jasper Ellens – 27 Leaks (@JasperEllens) September 17, 2021

The Evo III is designed to capture professional images/video in a foldable drone, just like the Evo II, which comes with the ability to take high-quality images in dimly lit environments.

Here are the specs we have so far for the Evo III:

• Flight time—38-40 minutes
• Flight range—6.2 miles (10 kilometers)
• Obstacle avoidance—Omnidirectional obstacle avoidance

There will be four versions of the Evo III:

• EVO III—1″ CMOS sensor
• EVO III Pro—4/3″ CMOS sensor
• EVO III Supersense—1.4″ CMOS sensor
• EVO III Zoom—8K dual camera, 10x zoom

All of these models will come with dual-band, high definition image transmission.

It looks like the Evo III was made to compete with DJI’s forthcoming Mavic 3—and it may be released ahead of the Mavic 3. The projected release date for the Evo III is just next month, in October, while the Mavic 3’s release date is rumored as October/November.

Autel Evo Lite

News about the EVO Lite and the Nano Mini was also broken on Twitter by Jasper Ellens.

The Evo Lite will target professional content creators. With an ability to make flying and shooting aerial shots, and then sharing what you shoot, quick and painless, the Evo Lite seems poised to go head-to-head with DJI’s Air 2S.

Here are the specs we have so far for the Evo Lite:

• Flight time—40 minutes
• Flight range—6.2 miles (10 kilometers)
• Obstacle avoidance—3 directions (front, back, and down)
• Special mode—”vertical shooting” mode allows you to switch between vertical and horizontal with one click
• Camera—4K/60FPS

• Autel EVO Lite—1/1.28″ CMOS sensor + front, back, and downwards obstacle avoidance.
• Autel EVO Lite Plus—one” CMOS sensor + downwards obstacle avoidance.

Autel Nano Mini

Like the DJI Mini 2 and Hubsan’s new Zino Mini SE the Autel Nano Mini weighs less than 250 grams, which means it doesn’t have to be registered with the FAA. (250 grams is the cut-off weight for registration requirements in other countries as well.)

The drone is “highly portable” and looks like it may be a solid option for those just getting into aerial videography.

Here are the specs we have so far for the Evo Nano Mini:

• Flight time—30 minutes
• Flight range—6.2 miles (10 kilometers)
• Obstacle avoidance—3 directions (front, back, and down)
• Special mode—”vertical shooting” mode allows you to switch between vertical and horizontal with one click
• Camera—4K/60FPS

There will be two versions of the Evo Nano Mini:

• Evo Nano Mini—comes without obstacle avoidance
• Evo Nano Mini Plus—comes with 3-directional obstacle avoidance

When Will These Drones Launch?

Autel has confirmed a launch date for the Evo Lite of September 28, and it looks like the Nano Mini may launch then as well.

As for the Evo III, despite the projected launch date of October in the leaked materials, it may be another month or two before it goes live—or even longer.

Autel has faced delays with product launches before. Given how many drones it is planning to unveil—four types of the Evo III, two types of the Evo Lite, and two types of the Nano Mini, for a total of eight models—we wouldn’t be surprised if they run into delays getting the Evo III ready to launch.