DJI has announced its smallest drone yet: The Mavic Mini. The US$399 mini drone folds up small enough to fit into a pocket, and it’s meant to be much easier to fly than a more sophisticated (and expensive) drone like the Mavic 2 Pro.
DJI says the Mavic Mini can fly for up to 30 minutes on its 2,600mAh battery, and it can reach an altitude of 3,000 meters (9,842.5 feet). Unlike its bigger brother, the Mavic Mini doesn’t do 4K video, topping out at 2.7K video or 12MP photos. And the brand-new DJI Fly app has ready-made templates that allow people to quickly generate videos to post to social media.
But perhaps the most important thing for the Shenzhen-based company is that its new drone weighs just 249 grams, meaning it doesn’t require registration in countries like the US. Avoiding regulations for drones weighing 250 grams or more is clearly something DJI considers a selling point, as it’s advertising it on the Mavic Mini website.