Though not confirmed by the company itself, DJI is expected to unveil an update to its popular Mavic Air 2 drone this week.
The new drone is expected to be called the Air 2S, and while the name suggests an incremental update rather than a major design overhaul, there will still be some notable improvements. The news comes courtesy of OsitaLV, a reliable leaker who called it right with, for example, DJI’s FPV drone and the Osmo Pocket 2 camera.
For starters, the Air 2S could become DJI’s first consumer drone to shoot video at 5.4K resolution, up from the 4K resolution offered by the Mavic Air 2.
On top of that, the new quadcopter is expected to come with a 1-inch CMOS sensor, an upgrade from the half-inch image sensor on its predecessor, though the same size as the one on the Mavic 2 drones.
Flying range looks as if it’ll get a slight bump, too, from 6.2 miles (10 km) to 7.5 miles (12 km).
A photo (top) that apparently shows the new drone sees the Air 2S maintaining a familiar design, though the front end appears to show an extra pair of sensors, facing slightly upward. Another image, this time of the box (below), shows the controller and a couple of batteries.
According to DroneDJ, DJI is planning to unveil the Air 2S on Thursday, April 15. We won’t know all the details until it finally drops, but rumors point to a $1,299 price tag for the Combo edition that includes a bunch of extra accessories. For comparison, the Mavic Air 2 Combo is currently selling for $988 via DJI’s own online store.
The expected launch of the Air 2S comes just over a month after the China-based company unveiled its first-ever racing machine, the DJI FPV drone. Flown via first-person-view goggles, the quadcopter can hit 62 mph in just two seconds before hurtling on to a maximum speed of 87 mph. Digital Trends has posted a hands-on review of the DJI FPV drone.
