DJI Mavic Mini expected to launch this week

DJI has a new drone, possibly the Mavic Mini, set to launch on Oct. 30.

The Chinese dronemaker sent out invitations for its next production launch, dubbed “Fly As You Are,” set for Wednesday, Oct. 30 at 9 a.m. ET.

Since the event is dubbed, “Fly As You Are,” it’s safe to assume DJI will launch a drone. Many of their recent launches have been ground based cameras, such as the Osmo Pocket which was released during the 2018 holiday season and the Osmo Action, a small action camera released earlier this year and designed to compete directly with the GoPro Hero.

And rumor has it that the new drone will be a Mavic Mini.

Even if it’s not called that, you can expect it to be impossibly light, almost weightless, based on DJI’s teaser image for the event.

Leaked images suggest it will weigh less than 250 grams. If that’s true, it’s a smart DJI, as it will allow its drones to get around many restrictions, both from the FAA and other country’s governments, that prevent drones exceeding a certain size from flying unless the pilot has a license and/or require them to be registered

With fewer barriers to entry for legal flight, DJI can sell a whole lot more drones.

Other leaked images show the actual size next to a ruler:

The drone will be still much bigger than the Tello, DJI’s smallest drone weighing just 80 grams (including propellers and battery). The Mavic Mini takes on the form of DJI’s existing Mavic drones.

If this is the same drone revealed this week, it will be interesting to see how it holds up in the wind — I don’t fly my Tello outside if there’s any breeze at all.

It’s been a while (in DJI time) since the company last released a significant drone update. The Mavic Air launched a bit too late for the 2017 holiday season, in January 2018, initially priced at $799. Last summer, DJI improved upon its original Mavic with the Mavic 2, that included options for telephoto lenses and a Hasselblad camera.

I’ll be surprised to see if this drone has any wild professional features, like better cameras, since the light weight is clearly targeted at a consumer market. But if the sky is the limit, what features do you want to see in the Mavic Mini?