All the new drones DJI will release in 2021: Mavic 3, FPV & more

It’s a new year, so let’s take a look ahead at what new drones DJI might have in store for us.

Last year started out slow with DJI not releasing a major product until May when it announced the Mavic Air 2.

Then after a calm summer, DJI ended the year with a bang — releasing 6 products in 5 months including the Mini 2, Pocket 2 & RS/RSC-2.

This year DJI will have its release calendar a lot more balanced.

Let’s take a look at all the new drones (and other cool products) we can expect from DJI in 2021.

DJI FPV Drone & FPV Headset 2 (Q1)

With rumors and leaked images of a DJI FPV drone beginning to appear as early as November 2020, it’s not shocking that we’ll be seeing this drone sooner than later.

It was originally rumored to be released January 8th but was pushed back due to Covid-19 and/or stock issues.

With CES dominating the tech media from January 11-14 or so, DJI will either be releasing its FPV drone in the final 2 weeks of January or waiting until after the Chinese New Year.

Leaked specs include:

• $1500 starting price
• 120kmph top speed
• 4K/60 video
• 21min flight time

It will most likely be released alongside DJI’s new FPV Headset 2 and a redesigned gaming-style controller but there is also a chance that we see a staggered release due to the expected high demand for the FPV drone.

Inspire 3 (Q2-Q3)

The Inspire 2 is one of DJI’s oldest drones.

Launched back in November 2016, it’s still one of the best drones in its price range — though signs of its age are starting to show.

While it’s hard to know if DJI will launch the Inspire 3 or Mavic 3 first this year (due to the complete lack of leaks surrounding either one), the fact that the Inspire 2 has been listed as “Out Of Stock” in the DJI Store for over 2 months seems to indicate that a replacement is on its way.

Not much concrete is known about the Inspire 3 at this point so most rumors are speculation but upgrades should include:

• Increased flight time and range
• New controller (possibly similar to the smart controller)
• Releasing alongside new X8 camera

DJI Mavic 3 Pro/Zoom (Q3-Q4)

The Mavic 2 Pro is one of DJI’s most popular drones among freelance photographers and videographers due to its portability and relatively inexpensive price.

The M2P/M2Z were released back in August 2018 so there isn’t as much urgency to release a new version as in the Inspire line.

However, because of competitors in the same price bracket like the Skydio 2 and EVO 2 which are much newer, DJI will be under pressure to launch a Mavic 3 this year.

Rumored specs for the Mavic 3 Pro include:

• New Hasselblad lens and 1” sensor (but could also possibly get upgraded micro 4/3)
• Redesigned controller from the Mavic Air 2 and Mini 2 but with informational display
• 35min+ flight time
• 10km range
• Greatly improved object detection/avoidance to try and compete against the Skydio 2

The Mavic 3 will also likely be larger than the Mavic 2 in order to accommodate all the new tech (sensors, bigger battery, etc).

The fact that the new Mavic Air 2 is noticeably bigger than the original Mavic Air also seems to back this up.

Osmo Action 2 (Q3-Q4)

This isn’t a drone but I just had to include it in this list.

The Osmo Action was released May 2019, so it’ll just be turning 2 years old this spring.

Since then we have seen GoPro release two action cameras including the GoPro 9 which adopted the front-facing DJI introduced with the Osmo Action.

While it remains unclear just how committed DJI is to its action cam endeavors, we expect they will release the Action 2 (dropping the “Osmo” brand as they did with the Pocket 2) in time for the holiday shopping season.

Rumored specs for the Action 2 include:

• 4K/60fps HDR
• New RockSteady 2.0
• Improved battery
• Lighter design

What else could we see?

The DJI FPV drone, Inspire 3, Mavic 3 and Action 2 are just the main DJI products we have on our release radar for 2021.

There is always a chance of DJI releasing a new secret product or incremental update to a consumer level product.

Here’s a list of less likely releases I think might be coming but aren’t as sure of if/when:

• DJI OM 5
• DJI Mini 3
• An updated Mavic 2 Lite or Mavic Air 2 Advanced
• Handheld gimbal for X5, X7, and new X8
• Pocket 2 Pro with a 1″ Sensor

Will certainly be interesting to look back at this article at the end of 2021 to see which predictions I nailed and which were slightly off the mark.

Let me in the comments or on Twitter if you have any guesses/predictions for DJI’s 2021 product release calendar.