Two compact, foldable quadcopters – DJI’s Mavic Pro and GoPro’s Karma – hit the drone market in quick succession last month, but it soon became clear that the former was having issues with production.
Comments started appearing on forums from pre-order customers growing frustrated at having to wait long past the October 15 launch date for their Mavic to arrive. Many are still waiting.
Some buyers speculated as to whether DJI had rushed the launch of its diminutive flying machine in panicked response to the arrival of GoPro’s foldable Karma copter, which was unveiled seven days before the Mavic in September but started shipping about a week after DJI’s rival product, on October 23.
‘We owe you an apology’
In an effort to keep its customers informed and onside, DJI on Thursday issued a statement that started, “We owe you an apology for our delays in delivering the new Mavic Pro.”
The Chinese firm said it had expected to deliver the first Mavics in mid-October, but “ramping up production to full speed at top quality took longer than planned.”
Without going into technical details, it said the problem was partly down to an issue “integrating a part into the Mavic Pro,” though it said this has now been resolved.
It also said that demand for the $1,000 machine, which has been praised for its extensive feature set, small size and light weight, was beyond its expectations, and so it’s now “working diligently to ramp up production.”
Despite “round-the-clock” efforts to get more Mavics produced, Shenzhen-based DJI said that high demand for the product meant it was still not in a position to offer specific delivery dates for most orders.
The company said that for orders received before November 3, 2016, it would do its best “to clear them all within the next seven to eight weeks,” which suggests some buyers might not receive their Mavic till after Christmas.
Keen not to lose customers to rival firms, DJI promised it’s “doing everything we can to get Mavic Pro to you as quickly as possible.” But do Mavic Pro buyers have the patience to wait?
