Is the Inspire 3 Coming Soon? Discontinuation of Inspire 2 Fuels Speculation that Next Generation of of the Inspire Is Just around the Corner

BY Zacc Dukowitz

2 February 2022

DJI recently sent a notice to its resellers in China announcing that it would soon be discontinuing the Inspire 2, stating that it would not be making any more of them.

The news was shared by DJI insider @OsitaLV, one of the most reliable sources for DJI leaks—they’re the same ones who leaked news about the Mavic 3 and the DJI FPV last year before those products were launched.

In the tweet, they shared the original notice in Chinese from DJI with the caption “Farewell, Inspire 2.”

Farewell, Inspire 2 pic.twitter.com/QxceF6fdRT

— OsitaLV (@OsitaLV) January 26, 2022

The notice tells resellers that whenever the Inspire 2 sells out, no more inventory will be provided. Further—and this point is key—it informs resellers that they should get ready for a “new product.”

And it looks like the remaining Inspire 2s will go fast. Right now the DJI website shows it as sold out. More pricey combos are still available, but who knows how long they’ll last.

Amazon also seems to be running out of Inspire 2s—they only have one left in stock.

So why are we talking about this? Because many speculate that the discontinuation of the Inspire 2 could be the clearest sign yet that DJI plans to launch the Inspire 3 this year.

What Could We See in the Inspire 3?

The Inspire 2 came out way back in 2016.

At the time, it was one of the best aerial cinematography drones on the market.

DJI – Introducing the Inspire 2

Watch this video on YouTube

It is compatible with both the Zenmuse X5S and the ZenMuse X7, cameras that have a 3-axis gimbal and a 15mm micro 4/3 lens, which lets you shoot at up to 5.2K in Apple ProRes and 6K in CinemaDNG/RAW (when using the Zenmuse X7). The system was incredibly robust for the time, and still holds up today for capturing high quality footage.

The Inspire 2 also has a 2-axis onboard FPV camera, which separates the flight view from the main camera view, letting the pilot tap a point on the screen to set a flight route.

In addition to the camera, a big upgrade from the Inspire 1 was the body of the Inspire 2. It was made with a new magnesium-aluminum hull that lowered its weight, allowing its speed to increase from 50 mph to 58 mph and its flight time to increase from 18 to 27 minutes.

But it’s been five years now, and it’s clear that the Inspire 2 is long overdue for an update. So what might we expect to see in the leap from the Inspire 2 to the 3?

Here are some features we might see:

An improved camera system—we could even see a new Zenmuse camera come out to accompany the launch of the Inspire 3.
An updated airframe, possibly one that’s lighter than the Inspire 2.
Longer flight time, possibly of 5-7 minutes or more.
Improved obstacle avoidance, including rear sensors.
Improved transmission technology with less latency and an increased flight range.
A new remote control.
An Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast system (ADS-B)—this is now standard on DJI drones.

One observation that’s been made regarding the Inspire 3 is that the release of the Mavic 3 Cine late last year may negate the need to continue the Inspire line with a third iteration.

The Mavic 3 Cine | Credit: DJI

The Mavic 3 Cine is probably the best prosumer cinematography drone on the market right now, and, at about $5K, it certainly has the price tag that goes with that status.

If DJI does launch an Inspire 3, we would guess that they’ll stick to the low- to mid-$3K price range (about the same price as the Inspire 2, which sells for $3,299 on the DJI website) to avoid cannibalizing sales for the Cine.

When Might We See the Inspire 3?

According to a leaked image that purportedly shows a product roadmap from DJI, the Inspire 3 is slated for release this September.

We have to say, this image doesn’t exactly look like the way the biggest drone manufacturer in the world would lay out its launch plan for the year.

But who knows? It could be that this information was pasted over to a spreadsheet by an employee who felt like spilling the beans.

If we run with the premise that the information comes from a legitimate source, you can see that the Inspire 3 isn’t the only release that’s been predicted for 2022 in the roadmap.

Here are all the other DJI products that have been rumored for launch in 2022: