DJI Price Cut Spurs Phantom 4 Rumors

DJI recently announced a massive price cut for its Phantom 3 Professional drone in conjunction with the company’s 10th year anniversary, fueling speculation that it is preparing for the release of the highly anticipated Phantom 4.

This all fits nicely in the Phantom’s product cycle which sees a new model released every year at or just before summer (the Phantom 3 was released in April last year and the Phantom 2 Vision+ in July 2014). In fact, the company has already sent out invites for a major event in New York on March 1. Though details are scant as to what DJI is planning to unveil during this event, we all know what’s coming on the horizon.

The Phantom 3 Professional is now selling for $999, down from its previous price of $1259. That’s a massive discount of about 21% so if you’ve been craving to get a P3 Professional and are willing to give the upcoming P4 a skip, now is the right time to splurge that cash.

After all, the P4 will probably occupy the P3 Professional’s earlier price bracket once it is released meaning it should be selling for anywhere between $1250 and $1500.

According to leaked photos and a report published by the Chinese website sb-dji.com, the Phantom 4 will have obstacle avoidance sensors, a redesigned battery and camera gimbal system and a few other improvements.

The quadcopter shown in the photos also appear to have a Phantom-style body with some slight changes — LED lights positioned at the bottom of the motors instead of the arms. The arms also have ventilation vents at the bottom.

One photo shows what appears to be sensors at the side of the body. Many speculate these to be obstacle avoidance sensors but we can only wait to confirm if any of these rumors are true at all.

Based on the rumors we’ve been hearing so far, here is a summary of what might come with the Phantom 4:

  • Obstacle Avoidance
  • Redesigned camera gimbal
  • New camera (possibly 6K)
  • Improved video downlink (possibly 1080P)
  • Subtle body redesign

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