DJI Mavic 3 in Summer 2020 – Are the Latest Rumors True?

As per the latest industry rumors, the DJI Mavic 3 shall be released in summer 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

This is another tweet from January 17, 2020:

Rumor says Mavic 3 is under field test, but I’m interested in the appearance.
Could be a false alarm, don’t be too serious.
They can keep the camera and upgrade the body.

— OsitaLV (@OsitaLV) January 17, 2020

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.

How Industry Competition has Forced DJI to Push Back the Mavic 3 Release Date

We had initially reported that DJI was planning on launching the Mavic 3 in January 2020. However, it seems that the launch of the Autel Evo 2 and the Skydio 2 have forced DJI to go back to the drawing board.

As we mentioned above, Skydio is the first to come out a drone with autonomous capabilities. According to industry reports, the DJI Mavic 3 might come with a powerful Ambarella sensor that will equip this new drone with the ability to capture superior footage AND possibly fly with greater autonomy. Wish to learn more about Ambarella sensors? Check out our DJI Mavic Air 2 blog post now.

Additionally, Autel Robotics launched the Autel Evo 2 which will come in 8K, 6K and dual variants. As per reports DJI was shocked to learn the first-in-class specs of the Autel Evo 2.

It seems that the above developments have forced DJI to revise the DJI Mavic 3 release date from January 2020 to summer 2020.

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