DJI Phantom 4 Pro discontinued — what does it mean?

If you have your heart set on becoming the owner of a DJI Phantom 4 Pro, then buy it now. The DJI Phantom 4 Pro has been discontinued.

A note has popped up on Chinese drone-maker DJI’s site this week stating:

The DJI Phantom 4 Pro is no longer in production. For the latest in DJI technology, please view our product recommendations below.

The “recommendation below” links out solely to a DJI Mavic 2 Pro.

The Mavic 2 Pro, like the Phantom 4 Pro, was built with professionals in mind. The Drone Girl team personally prefers the Mavic 2 Pro given its light weight and extreme portability (the arms and legs fold up to about the size of a water bottle). And far and away the coolest feature of the Mavic 2 Pro is the drone’s the Hasselblad camera with a 1-inch sensor.

DJI Phantom 4 discontinued: what does this mean for future products?

Many are hoping that the news is a sign that the DJI Phantom 5 will arrive soon.

But others have speculated that supplier problems may be the cause of DJI’s decision to pull the plug on the Phantom, pointing to a tweet from DJI’s Support Twitter account indicating a shortage of parts making DJI unable to manufacture more DJI Phantom 4 Pro V2.0 drones.

The original Phantom 4 launched in March 2016 as  the first consumer drone to have the ability to sense and avoid obstacles, marking a huge leap in preventing drone crashes. When it launched, it was $1,399 and came equipped with two forward-facing optical sensors that could scan for obstacles and automatically direct the drone to fly above the obstacle to avoid it.

Just a few months later, DJI released an improved version, the Phantom 4 Pro, that added the ability to sense obstacles not only in front, but also behind and on both sides of it. The Phantom 4 Pro was priced at $1,499 when it launched in November 2016, just $100 more than what its predecessor cost when it was released in March — a move that left industry experts wondering how much downward price pressure the drone-making behemoth can put on the industry.

The DJI Phantom 4 Advanced launched in April 2017 as an upgrade to the Phantom 4 drone, improving on its predecessor’s camera with a 1-inch, 20-megapixel sensor and a mechanical shutter lens.

Both the Phantom 4 Advanced and Phantom 4 Pro V2.0 are still available for purchase on DJI’s site. They can also still be found at other retailers like Amazon and B&H Photo. Get your hands on that Phantom 4 Pro now before it’s gone.