The DJI Mavic Air 2 is almost ready to take off, according to the latest leaks and rumours. But why would DJI release a drone during a global pandemic that is keeping so many of us at home, let alone being able to walk away with a new drone? The idea is not as counterintuitive as it seems, according to industry analysts. Recent leaks suggest that the DJI Mavic Air 2 will be a mid-range drone that will succeed the original Mavic Air from 2018, and could well launch during the DJI event on April 27 at 9:30pmEDT / 2:30amBST. / 11:30 a.m. EST. But why doesn't DJI just postpone the announcement to take place at a more drone-friendly time? Partly because it needs a boost now, according to one analyst. "DJI looks forward to publicizing its latest design," said William Stofega, director of IDC's mobile technology and trends program. "It suffered somewhat due to the US-China trade dispute, with some models being pulled from its online store. Nothing like a new product announcement to draw attention to 'a business' products," he added. Another possible reason is new competition from rivals: "No one knows exactly how long Covid-19 will be with us and a drone that is not on the market cannot be sold. So why wait?" said Lukas Schroth, Senior Market Analyst at Drone Industry Insights. "Another reason could be the new version of the first Skydio drone, which is now also aimed at the commercial market and was launched late last year. : the Skydio 2," he added. Skydio currently only ships its drones to the United States and Canada, but "hopes to expand to other countries soon," according to its website. According to Lukas Schroth, this makes it a big enough rival to putting pressure on DJI to get the Mavic Air 2 off the ground. "In its price and weight category, the Skydio 2 is currently looking for its peers, and despite Covid-19, it's selling very well. Since we're waiting for a competitive model for the Skydio 2, why should DJI now? wait for market launch? he said he.
![DJI Mavic Air 2]()
A possible image of the DJI Mavic Air 2 from a recent DroneDJ leak (Image credit: DroneDJ)
Cleared to take off
It's not just economic and market gusts that are driving DJI to stick to its Mavic Air 2 launch plan. While it may seem strange to launch a product synonymous with travel photography and video, it's not impossible to fly drones right now. under our pandemic-related restrictions. "While there are stay-at-home restrictions in place in many parts of the world, hobbyists can still fly their drones over their sights." "Consumer drones tend to sell better during the summer and this release was probably on the product release schedule long before the pandemic," said Kevin Sartori, co-founder of drone software provider Auterion. "Home restrictions in many parts of the world, hobbyists can still fly their drones over their scopes, unless they reside in restricted airspace," he said. he watched. The restrictions are naturally much tighter for those who don't own a lot of private land, while police in some countries have seen relaxed drone laws to help them enforce social distancing rules. The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), for example, recently published new guidelines allowing police to fly closer to the public than usual and also at higher altitudes. However, the DJI Mavic Air 2 is unlikely to be the type of drone used for these more dystopian measurements. Instead, it looks like another beginner-friendly model for hobbyists who want to add a new dimension to their photos and their making. In this sense, it may well become a model that many people stick to their watch list instead of their shopping cart, at least while the current global restrictions are in place.
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(Image credit: DJI)
A new flight path?
But what does the likely release of the DJI Mavic Air 2 tell us about DJI and drones in general in 2020? One somewhat curious aspect of the DJI launch event on April 27 is its start time. The event starts at 9:30pm EDT / 2:30am BST / 11:30amEST, which is unusual for DJI. For example, their Mavic Mini launch started at 9:00am EDT / 1:00pm GMT / 11:00pm AEST. Could this suggest that events like the US Department of the Interior's decision to ground its entire fleet of drones for national security reasons have an effect on DJI's consumer releases? IDC's William Stofega doesn't think so. "I don't think the American critics will hinder the launch of their new drone. DJI has published a study and designed a patch to prevent data from being transmitted outside of its intended recipients. However, it is difficult to say if there is a risk to the security exist or have already been exploited," he said. The biggest factor behind the potential release of the Mavic Air 2 is that DJI remains so dominant in the drone space that it doesn't need to stick to traditional release schedules. "The bottom line is that the company has no real competitors, and its designs, manufacturing processes and technologies are top-notch," added William Stofega. "DJI's purchase of Hasselblad cameras gives it a capability that its competitors can't match. It also has the drone market with nearly 75% of the market share, which gives the company tremendous leverage over prices," he concluded.
![DJI Mavic Air 2]()
(Image credit: DroneDJ)
To fly high
So here we are, while it may seem like a strange time to launch a new consumer drone, with many countries in lockdown due to the global pandemic, analysts believe that DJI's dominance plus a little spicy competition from Skydio are the reasons why. for which he apparently pushed for what appears to be a Mavic Air 2 launch on April 27. Of course, this is also great news for techies looking for a little gadget distraction during these troubled times. We'll bring you all the official DJI launch news, but in the meantime, you can enjoy our DJI Mavic Air 2: Release Date, News, and Feature Roundup.