DJI has officially announced its latest product, the Mavic Air 2. The new drone features a larger image sensor, provides up to 34 minutes of flight time, and comes with a redesigned controller. Additionally, the device is dropping WiFi connectivity in favour of DJI’s own OccuSync transmission technology.
In a design standpoint, the drone is slightly bigger and heavier than the original Mavic Air, but is still smaller than the Mavic 2 Pro and Zoom models. That said, the Air 2 is compact and allows its propeller limbs to be folded for storage, as well as portability.
In terms of the design, the new Mavic Air 2 is slightly bigger and heavier than the prior generation, but still looks like a smaller sibling to the Mavic 2 Pro and Mavic 2 Zoom. All three drones finally share a similar design language — gray housing — and now look more like part of a lineup.
The Mavic Air 2 is equipped with a half-inch Quad Bayer sensor which is installed behind a fixed 28mm f/2.8 lens. The camera is able to shoot 4K footage at up to 60fps, comes with HDR capabilities (which lowers down 4K fps to 30), and is capable of capturing 8K time-lapse videos. Photo-wise, it can capture 12MP and 48MP images, allows for HDR panorama photos, and snapshotting video stills at full resolution.
The drone is the company’s first device to feature AirSense technology that detects and warns the drone controller of nearby aircraft. Other safety features include obstacle sensors on its front and rear to help avoid collisions, bottom sensors to assist on landing in low-light conditions, and upgraded autonomous flight modes. DJI touts the Mavic Air 2 to be its smartest and safest drone yet.
Unlike the previous generations, the Air 2’s controller is redesigned from the ground up. This time around, DJI is using a spring-loaded phone mount which places your phone on top of the controller rather than below it. A very welcomed change, especially for users who own larger handsets.
The DJI Mavic Air 2 is expected to ship in the US on 11 May and is priced at US$799 for the basic bundle, and US$988 for the Fly More bundle which comes with ND filters, a carrying bag, prop guards, charging hub, and three batteries. Local distributor March has listed preorders for the drone bundles at RM3,290 and RM4,290 respectively, but did not specify an expected arrival date in Malaysia.
