Immediately, DJI is formally saying the Mavic 4 Professional, which could possibly be probably the most versatile drone it’s ever made. It’s the primary with a 360-degree rotating gimbal for footage that tilts, rolls, and provides true vertical filming. It’s the primary Mavic to supply 51 minutes of battery life, tied with the previous Mini 3 and near the longest flight occasions DJI has achieved. It’s the primary with a built-in 100-megapixel digital camera, which might additionally file 6K/60fps HDR, as a part of its triple-camera array.
One other necessary distinction: it’s the primary off-the-shelf DJI drone that gained’t launch in the US.
Immediately, it’s occurring sale in Canada, Mexico, and each different nation the place DJI sells drones, however the firm tells The Verge it has no timeline on bringing it to the US. DJI gained’t honor its restricted guarantee in the event you cross the border to buy one in Canada or Mexico. It’s not even sending the drone to US-based expertise reviewers — we don’t have one, and we’re undecided after we’ll get one.
Why is the Chinese language drone maker doing this? The corporate says Trump’s tariffs had been among the many high causes it selected to desert a US launch — and there’s additionally the truth that, seven months later, US Customs remains to be holding up DJI’s capability to import drones into the nation. Final October, DJI mentioned {that a} “misunderstanding” initially pressured the corporate to desert its plans to supply the Air 3S at retail; this time, DJI could not promote its new drone right here in any respect.
We despatched the corporate over a dozen questions on this determination, and you could find full solutions on the backside of this submit. However earlier than we go there, let’s first dive into all that’s new with the Mavic 4 Professional.
With a beginning value of roughly between $2,000 and $2,500 based mostly on foreign money conversion charges (it’s $2,049 CAD in Canada, $50,999 in Mexico, €2,099 in Europe, £1,879 within the UK, and $3,099 in Australia), the Mavic 4 Professional isn’t low-cost — however it’s not far off the value of its predecessor the Mavic 3 Professional.
Whereas it solely weighs about 3 ounces (105g) greater than its triple-camera predecessor, the two.3-pound (1.06kg) Mavic 4 Professional provides up eight extra minutes of flight time from its new 95Wh pack, probably the most battery capability DJI’s ever put in a client drone and simply shy of the everyday restrict for lithium batteries that you would be able to carry on a aircraft. All three of its cameras now supply 4K 120fps modes, along with 4K60 HDR, and the gimbal can tilt up twice as far (70 levels) for upward taking pictures.
You additionally get 64GB of inside storage — up from 8GB. DJI can even promote a “Creator Combo” with a 512GB SSD and a proprietary 240W energy adapter and charging hub to cost up three batteries extra shortly.
Prime velocity is now practically 56 miles per hour (90 kilometers per hour), up from practically 47 mph (75.6 kph) beforehand, and it could actually journey over 25 miles (41km) on a cost, up from its predecessor’s 17 miles (28km). Not that you would be able to ship it fairly that distant, as its most transmission vary has merely doubled to 18.6 miles (30km).
Whereas DJI’s sticking with the identical specs for its 70mm medium tele digital camera (1/1.3-inch 48MP sensor, f/2.8 aperture), the 168mm telephoto’s had a little bit of improve, with a barely bigger 1/1.5-inch, 50MP sensor (up from 1/2-inch, 12MP) and a barely wider f/2.8 aperture (evaluate to f/3.4), each of which might let it seize extra gentle. And talking of sunshine, DJI says its omnidirectional avoidance now works in low gentle at as much as 18 meters per second (roughly 40 mph), considerably sooner than the Mavic 3 Professional (27 mph) and even the Air 3S.
Additionally it could actually pull the identical trick because the Air 3S the place it could actually map its path utilizing ahead going through LiDAR sensors, then return-to-home while not having GPS satellite tv for pc alerts; right here’s a video DJI produced to point out that off with the Air:
DJI’s additionally touting its new-for-Mavic monitoring talents: “As soon as monitoring begins, Mavic 4 Professional can hold a topic in focus even when partially obscured by bushes or if they’re standing on a bridge. It additionally detects autos as much as 200m with directional consciousness, supreme for delivering professional-grade automotive cinematography,” the corporate brags.
Immediately DJI can also be saying a brand new controller known as the DJI RC Professional 2, which comes with some fairly neat methods. Its massive 7-inch display is on a folding arm that robotically folds down the joysticks for simple transport — no extra screwing and unscrewing! It robotically powers on the controller if you open it and the entire display’s on a swivel so you possibly can rotate it for vertical filming. It’s additionally obtained an HDMI port, 128GB of built-in storage, and a excessive value: €999 / £879 / CAD $999 all by its lonesome, or bundled in DJI’s priciest combo kits.
Mavic 4 Professional pricing
| Merchandise | Canada(tax not included) | Mexico(contains tax) | UK(contains tax) | Europe(taxes varies by nation, so costs can range) | Australia(contains tax) | Japan(contains tax) | New Zealand(contains tax) |
| DJI Mavic 4 Professional | $2,049 CAD | $50,999 | 1,879 GBP | 2,099 euro | $3,099 AUD | 277,200 yen | $3,599 NZD |
| Fly Extra Combo (DJI RC 2) | $2,799 CAD | $68,369 | 2,459 GBP | 2,699 euro | $4,039 AUD | 497,860 yen | $4,585 NZD |
| 512GB Creator Combo (DJI RC Professional 2) | $3,459 CAD | $87,599 | 3,209 GBP | 3,539 euro | $5,359 AUD | 497,860 yen | $6,015 NZD |
| DJI RC Professional 2 | $999 CAD | $18,999 | 879 GBP | 999 euro | $1,529 AUD | 158,400 yen | $1,629 NZD |
So, what precisely is DJI saying now that Trump’s greatest tariffs on China have been paused for 90 days? The pause gained’t change what occurs right this moment with the launch. “That mentioned, we’re at the moment reassessing the market situations and developments, and can share any updates as soon as now we have accomplished a full analysis. Please relaxation assured that we’re making each effort to guard the pursuits of our clients,” reads an emailed assertion from DJI spokesperson Daisy Kong.
Listed here are the opposite questions we despatched DJI, and the corporate’s responses.
Will the DJI Mavic 4 Professional go on sale in the US? If not, why not?
The DJI Mavic 4 Professional is not going to be out there on the market within the U.S upon its world launch on Might 13. Like many world firms, now we have needed to alter our market technique as native situations and the business atmosphere have developed. Whereas we don’t have a timeline for after we can introduce the product to the US market, we’re intently monitoring the state of affairs and actively exploring each doable answer.
Are you able to present the highest three causes, so as?
How a lot did tariffs need to do with the choice?
Below situations of excessive uncertainty, changes to market methods aren’t all the time pushed by a single issue; tariffs, nevertheless, are definitely among the many key concerns.
How a lot did the ticking time clock within the US need to do with the choice?
This was not a consideration as DJI had already obtained approval from the FCC and the TSCA certificates wanted to launch the Mavic 4 Professional within the US market.
What US retail value had been you initially hoping to hit? What US retail value would you will have wanted to ask as a way to fulfill Trump’s tariffs?
We’re not capable of share any perception on our pricing technique.
Tariffs apart, did DJI acquire all of the required clearances to place the product on sale? Which clearance(s) are nonetheless lacking?
Sure. DJI is totally dedicated to compliance in each market the place we function. We acquire all vital clearances and approvals earlier than making any product out there on the market. The DJI Mavic 4 Professional has already been permitted by the FCC and obtained the TSCA certificates wanted to be launched within the US market.
How quickly do you anticipate the Mavic 4 Professional may arrive within the US if not now? Throughout the 12 months? Inside 2026?
America is a vital market, and we’re dedicated to creating our merchandise out there to our US-based clients. Whereas we at the moment don’t have an estimated timeline, we’re intently monitoring the state of affairs and actively exploring each doable answer.
Do you anticipate not transport it to the US in any respect, ever, as a result of you should have missed the window of alternative for it to be contemporary and new and it’ll make extra sense for its successor to reach within the US as a substitute?
Will the Mavic 4 Professional be offered in Canada/Mexico/each different nation the place DJI sells drones?
The DJI Mavic 4 Professional might be out there in all areas the place DJI operates, besides the US market, beginning Tuesday, Might 13. This contains Canada and Mexico.
If US residents buy a DJI Mavic 4 Professional exterior the US from a DJI approved retailer, will your US arm honor the usual restricted product guarantee?
To be clear, we don’t suggest buying DJI merchandise overseas and bringing them again, as chances are you’ll be topic to varied import laws. Our restricted guarantee for DJI drones is just legitimate within the nation or area the place you bought your drone. Worldwide protection will not be supplied for DJI drone merchandise.
Outdoors the Mavic 4 Professional, are you able to verify that DJI drone shipments are nonetheless getting held up by US customs?
DJI continues to actively work with US Customs and Border Safety (CBP) to resolve the present customs-related misunderstanding. You possibly can learn extra about what’s occurring on our weblog.
When do you anticipate provide normalizing at US on-line and bodily retail?
DJI stays dedicated to the US market and is intently monitoring current challenges affecting product availability. We’re actively working to deal with and mitigate any influences and uncertainties, and to make sure merchandise are accessible to our clients quickly.
Outdoors the Mavic 4 Professional, are some other future US product launches on pause? Is there any purpose to imagine a DJI Mini would ship within the US this 12 months if a Mavic will not be?
DJI stays dedicated to the US market, and we’ll proceed to introduce new merchandise to the market. As all the time, we don’t touch upon merchandise that haven’t been introduced or launched.
Are you able to verify that you simply aren’t transport even small portions of this drone into the US for functions of product opinions and testing?
Because the DJI Mavic 4 Professional is not going to be out there on the market within the US market at launch, we is not going to present overview samples to US-based reporters on mortgage. We are going to share any additional information when it’s out there.