DJI Mavic 3 Pro Rumors Fueled by Possible Discontinuation of Mavic 2 Pro

According to DJI insider @OsitaLV, the Mavic 2 Pro will soon be discontinued to make way for the Mavic Pro 3.

The end of mass production for Mavic 2 is near, according to some local resellers.

— OsitaLV (@OsitaLV) June 1, 2021

In addition to the Tweet, recent discounts have been reported for different professional versions of the Mavic 2 Pro in China, like the Mavic 2 Zoom, which is common when DJI is trying to clear out inventory of an older generation model in anticipation of a new release.

Although the Mavic 2 Pro is a go-to option for higher-end professional drone pilots, it has been around for some time.

The popular drone was first released in August of 2018—a long, long time ago in the drone world—and since then DJI has released several other models at different price points and levels of quality.

Photo credit: DJI

For the most part, all of those releases have been of drones that are less expensive and of a lower quality than the Mavic 2 Pro. (There are exceptions of course—the Mavic 2 Pro Zoom came out right after the Mavic 2 Pro, the Mavic 2 Enterprise Dual came out in October of 2018, and the brand new Air 2S is a really high-quality drone, even though it still can’t quite compete with the 2 Pro.)

This is all to say that although the Mavic 2 Pro has been a mainstay of prosumers, it is more than time for the release of the 3 Pro.

Everything We Know About the Forthcoming Mavic 3 Pro

We’ve been hearing rumors about the Mavic 3 Pro for over a year now.

Early last summer a series of patent applications drove people to speculate that DJI was working on the 3 Pro. Since then the rumors have kept coming, with supposed release dates announced and then passed along with grainy pictures of drawings and drone components.

Unlike both the DJI FPV drone and the Mini 2—both of which were accidentally sold at Best Buy ahead of their official launch and subsequently leaked on YouTube—we haven’t seen a whole lot of hard facts about the Mavic 3 Pro.

Until recently, that is.

Here is everything we know right now about the Mavic 3 Pro:

• It will have 8K video resolution with 30 fps and 4K video resolution with 240 fps
• The sensor will probably be bigger—up from 1/2″ to 1″ or possibly even 4/3″
• It will probably come with OcuSync 3.0
• It will have better obstacle avoidance, with possibly a 360° obstacle detection
• It will have improved follow-me/tracking technology
• It will be aimed at higher-end videographers, just like the Mavic 2 Pro is
• It will have a variable aperture (based on one of the patents filed last summer)

Rumors and Speculation about the Mavic 3 Pro

In addition to the above, there have been several rumors floating around about the Mavic 3 Pro online.

Here’s our roundup of all those rumors.

A Drone with “Skydio-Like” Features

According to @OsitaLV, DJI has filed for a patent to make a “new Mavic which has 2 downward motors and 2 upward motors,” similar to how the motors are mounted on the Skydio 2. And before tweeting that information, @OsitaLV sent out this cryptic Tweet:

Question:
Mavic 2+Skydio 2+Autel EVO 2 PRO=?

— OsitaLV (@OsitaLV) April 20, 2021

If @OsitaLV’s information is correct, the biggest change in the 3 Pro could be that it is designed to allow for more cameras to be mounted on the drone, which could help improve its tracking and obstacle avoidance—features Skydio is known for. Here’s a picture supposedly from DJI’s patent application showing a drawing of a drone that matches the description of being “Skydio-like”:

Longer Flight Time

Based on rumors that the 3 Pro will have a rear-mounted battery and a cooling scoop, indicating the need for higher cooling due to a great capacity for power, people have speculated that the forthcoming drone will be able to fly significantly longer than the Mavic 2 Pro’s flight time of 31 minutes.

It Might Have LiDAR

According to a Tweet from last year, the Mavic 3 Pro might also be equipped with a LiDAR scanner.

Nowadays, even iPhone has a LiDAR, DJI can do the same. pic.twitter.com/HdRg7uSoiN

— OsitaLV (@OsitaLV) November 2, 2020

Adding that kind of sensor seems a little weird for the Mavic Pro series, since LiDAR is used for surveying and mapping, not professional videography. It could be that @OsitaLV was just speculating that this is something DJI could do, not that this is a definite feature we should expect to see on the 3 Pro.

It’s Going to Cost a Lot More than the Mavic 2 Pro

According to a DroneDJ source, “the price [of the Mavic 3 Pro] will definitely be way up.”

The Mavic 2 Pro costs about $1,500, so we might see a price as high as $2,000, or possibly even higher, for the Mavic 3 Pro.

When Will the Mavic 3 Pro Be Released?

Q2 is almost over and DJI hasn’t teased anything yet about a big release, so it’s looking like the 3 Pro will launch sometime in the second half of the year.

DJI could time the launch for August to coincide with the 3-year anniversary of the Mavic 2 Pro.

But there’s no telling when exactly we’ll see the 3 Pro hit the shelves—all we know is that its release date certainly seems to be getting closer based on the information we’ve been seeing on the web.

Keep in mind, all of the details we’ve shared in this article are based on rumors and unverified leaks. DJI hasn’t officially confirmed any of the specs shared above, or even that a Mavic 3 Pro is in the works at all.

Are you excited about the next model in the Mavic Pro series? Share your thoughts in this thread on the UAV Coach community forum.