The DJI Mavic family hasn’t seen much update over the past year, and DJI has introduced the Mavic Air today, a drone that is as portable as the DJI Spark drone, which is technically the size of a standard smartphone or a can of soda, depending which way you prefer to describe it. Unlike the DJI Spark, the Mavic Air features a larger 1/2.3″ camera sensor that takes 12-megapixel stills at f/2.8, it supports 4K 30fps video recording at 100Mbps bitrate, which is insane for a small drone like this. On top of that, the Mavic Air also does 1080p 120fps slow mo videos, HDR photos, 32-megapixel sphere panoramas, and has 8GB of built-in storage with support for MicroSD storage expansion, you will also be able to charge the drone using a USB-C cable, which isn’t available on the current Mavic Pro, thus completing it as the perfect drone for the adventurous pros.
As standard on the Mavic family, the Mavic Air is able to be fold up like its Pro sibling for transporting in a bag, which the Spark isn’t able to do so. The Mavic Air features DJI’s FlightAutonomy 2.0 vision sensing system that avoids obstacles and detects terrain levels, which pilots can take advantage of when using ActiveTrack to track objects when shooting in environments like forests and mountains. Flight performance is also rather impressive, as DJI claims up to 21 minutes of flight time and it can sprint up to 68.4kph in Sport mode, a new propeller system is also given to ensure efficiency and safety even when flying at 5000 meters above sea level. As for wireless transmission, the Mavic Air uses an enhanced WiFi video transmission that works on both 2.4/5.8GHz transmission and streams 720p video to your phone’s screen up to 4KM away, the remote control isn’t the same one as the Mavic Pro as also lacks an LCD display to show the drone’s status.
DJI is pricing the Mavic Air at a competitive retail price of $799 (RM3136) in the US, it is $200 cheaper than the Mavic Pro and almost double the price of a DJI Spark, the company also offers a Fly More Combo package that costs an extra $200, which you will get extra batteries, spare propellers, prop guards, storage bag and more. What the Mavic Air attracts even more, is having the color option of Arctic White, Onyx Black and Flame Red, which easily entices users looking to upgrade from the Spark if they desire for a better performing drone.
The Mavic Air is already available for purchase over at DJI’s online store, shipping will start January 28 onwards.
