As per the latest industry rumors, the DJI Mavic 3 shall be released in January 2020.

Known for their wily marketing tactics, it is certainly no small coincidence that DJI chose to “leak” the news of the Mavic 3 release right after Skydio 2 hit the market on October 1. Drone enthusiasts may recall how DJI adopted this same strategy by releasing a drone right after the ill-fated GoPro Karma.

In today’s blog post, we reveal the Mavic 3’s rumored specs and debate whether this new DJI drone shall be able to replicate the success of its predecessor, the Mavic 2 Pro.

Will There Be a Mavic 3? Is There a New DJI Drone Coming Out?

This tweet from a Chinese pilot started DJI Mavic 3 rumors last week -

Mavic 3, they need to do better than this. pic.twitter.com/1BYMUf27D5

— OsitaLV (@OsitaLV) October 2, 2019

We have been following this Twitter account for a while now, and DJI rumors shared here have been proven right, more often than not. As per this tweet, these are the rumored Mavic 3 specs-

• ActiveTrak 3.0
• ADS-B receivers
• 4K60 capabilities
• 10 visual-sensing cameras
• ActiveTrak 3.0
• Visionsync 3.0
• Occusync 3.0

Will DJI Equip the Mavic 3 with a Superior Camera Sensor?

The Mavic 2 Pro’s 10-bit Hasselblad sensor might be great for aerial photography. But, the inability to shoot 4K60 is a sore point for many Mavic pilots. In fact, on a recent ADU show, we shared some of our Mavic 2 footage from the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta. Shot in low-light conditions, we ended up with noisy and soft footage that was far from desirable. Check out these snapshots which show how Mavic 2 Pro falls short when compared to a 4K60 drone like the DJI Inspire 2.

The Good

Thankfully, DJI is looking to address this issue with the next-gen Mavic. As per industry sources, the Mavic 3 will come with 4K60 capabilities.

Given the phenomenal response for the Mavic 2, it is likely that DJI will persist with a Hasselblad sensor for the Mavic 3 as well.

The Not So Good

If you are hoping to use the Mavic 3 for drone mapping, you are in for a disappointment. It seems that the Mavic 3 will come with a rolling shutter. So, a global shutter and drone mapping capabilities are still reserved for Phantom pilots.

Wish to learn why you should use a drone with a global shutter for drone mapping? Check out our blog post, “How to Complete your First Drone Mapping Project” for detailed insights on this topic.

ADS-B Receivers for Enhanced Drone Safety

A while back, DJI released a whitepaper titled, “Elevating Safety” which contained 10-key steps for enhancing drone safety.  One of these steps is the installation of ADS-B receivers on all DJI drones from 2020 onwards. Based on this, we can confidently assume that the Mavic 3, with a rumored release date of January 2020 will be equipped with ADS-B receivers as well.

This video shows how the DJI Airsense feature allows DJI drones to receive ADS-B signals and determine if there is another aircraft in the vicinity.

Drones like the Matrice 200 and Mavic Enterprise already have DJI Airsense installed on them.

Can DJI Catch up on Advanced Metrics to Cinematically Avoid Obstacles and Astronomically Lower the Learning Curve?

The Mavic 3 will come with “ActiveTrak 3.0”. As per OstivaLV’s post, the next-gen Mavic will be equipped with ten V10 cameras and utilize 64 Megapixels of data. Moreover, as per the tweet, the Mavic 3 shall be able to “Return Home without GPS” as well.

Now, this is a significant technological advancement from the Mavic 2 which utilizes just 4.9 Megapixels of data. The Mavic Air utilizes 1.9 Megapixels of data.

The recently launched Skydio 2 uses six cameras for similar AI-equipped obstacle avoidance. As per the initial reviews that are rolling in, the Skydio 2, a product of 10-years of painstaking research has impressed many with its autonomous capabilities.

In our detailed Skydio 2 Review, we shared how this American-made drone has far superior obstacle avoidance capabilities compared to the Mavic 2 Pro.

Will the Mavic 3 manage to match and even outshine Skydio 2? We shall be the first to review the Mavic 3 as soon as it hits the market. Watch this space for updates!

Comments (8)

• W

  Thank you so much! I have been posting this messages to companies using footage of flying over vehicles and people. But the answer I get back from these companies:

  ” for this footage we worked with a federally approved, licensed commercial drone operator company to ensure all footage was obtained in compliance with FAA regulations.”

  So this puts a bad taste on us who want to follow the regulations!

  William F
• G

  what about someone parking his or her car in a parking lot of an owned store, etc, takes out their drone and flies it to take pictures of a wawa being built or a red tailed hawk on a utility pole over and around a major highway and intersection. Is this allowed. aren’t you illegally flying your drone on someone else’s property?

  George W Murphy
• J

  I have been in contact with an engineering firm in Maine. They are looking to have me photograph a couple large bridges in Maine and New Hampshire. To inspect the bridge towers it may be messy to fly over the deck below. The company would prefer to use a drone instead of spending more money hiring a helicopter.

  Would you be available to give me some advice?

  This is the first time I have been contacted regarding a job on this scale. The bridge spans a major roadway and it would be impossible to divert traffic or close the bridge during the drone operation. Would a helicopter be a better choice for this type of work? Or would it be better to apply for FAA authorization to operate over people?

  Any insight you might have would be greatly appreciated.

  Respectfully,

  Jacob Lawrence
  Part 107 Pilot

  Jacob
• M

  Our local police department does it and proudly posts those videos on their FB page!!

  Matt
• A

  If you follow this rule then you cannot shoot anything in an inhabited area. There are cars and roads everywhere. You would only be able to shoot out in the countryside otherwise..

  Anon
• P

  We had a very large drone helicopter type fly over our car while we are we’re on the freeway coming home on I 26 in Portland Oregon. It was quite low and startled us quite a bit because it was such a big drone it would had black screens and a front red on the bottom white on the sides and it flew right over our car and diagonally and in off towards the West. We did you think that this was allowed in the city it was awfully large startled us quite a bit

  Patti
• B

  As a traffic engineer consultant I want to know can I fly a drone not over an intersection but off the side to record traffic during peak hours?

  Benny Johnson
• T

  While in Oahu with my Daughter we went to the rocky coast to mabe see whales. There was a drone about 200feet out from us hovering. The wind was blowing so hard you had to hang on to the guard rail to stay in place.The drone was locked in one place with know visible effort. It did not even wiggle.Then shot off to the upper clife to the owner.I was blonw away. The wind was in the upper 40s to 50. Do not know what kind to far to see.

  Terry R Smith