DJI appears to have all-but confirmed the launch date for the leaked Air 3S drone in a teaser for an event on October 15. And new leaks suggest the mid-range flying camera could be more interesting than originally expected.
The date and times for your gadget diary, according to DJI’s social media teaser, are October 15 at 9am ET / 2pm BST, or 12am on October 16 in you’re in Australia. That’s when DJI’s ‘Chase the View’ event will kick off – and while there are no explicit mentions of drones in the teaser, it does show a camera sensor and aerial view of the northern lights.
We’ve also seen leaks on an almost daily basis for the DJI Air 3S in recent weeks, including an unboxing video, so the drone is almost certain to land on that date. What’s been slightly less expected is that the Air 3S, despite being a smaller ‘S’ update rather than an Air 4, appears to be more than a minor upgrade.
The #DJIRCTRACK will be great for your #Air3S being able to track above #50km/h, and likely will also work with your #Mini4Pro in the future as the specs reveal. I don’t think it will O4 link to the Neo though. As it needs omnidirectional sensors for complicated returns. Cheers pic.twitter.com/10KGRjdWjAOctober 10, 2024
According to the leak, the RC Track accessory will track “moving subjects, such as vehicles and cyclists”. It’ll also seemingly let you do a lot of things – including takeoff, switching camera angles, setting ‘Return to Home’ for a predefined location, and landing – that typically need a larger, clunkier controller. Handily, it’ll also apparently support voice controls.
There could be good news for existing DJI owners too – Ellens claims that, alongside being able to track objects at speeds of over 50km/h, the RC Track accessory will “likely also work with your Mini 4 Pro in the future”. On the downside, it may not work with the smaller DJI Neo, though, as it could require omnidirectional sensors for return-to-home functions.
Should you wait for the Mavic 4?
As always with DJI, there’s usually another new drone around the corner – and while specifics about a possible DJI Mavic 4 are thin on the ground, there were some leaks in September that suggest that drone could be coming later this year (and perhaps more likely) in early 2025.
While the Air series is DJI’s mid-range offering, the Mavics are its flagship for pro photographers and videographers – which typically means more powerful cameras with larger Four Thirds sensors (and higher price tags).
Deciding between the two will likely come down to what kind of camera you need. The latest Air 3S rumors suggest it’ll be upgrading its main camera with a larger 1-inch sensor, which will sit alongside its 1/1.3-inch telephoto camera).
If you’re an amateur shooter who’s looking to shoot epic travel snaps and videos, the incoming Air 3S will likely be more than enough – and could well land in one of the top spots in our guides to the best drones, barring any major technical clangers.
Either way, DJI’s event on October 15 will be well worth tuning into for fans of flying cameras – and we’ll be bringing you all of our early thoughts as soon as it takes off.
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mark.wilson@futurenet.com (Mark Wilson)
