GoPro's First Drone Already Has A Rival, DJI Mavic Pro

By Florin Ivan

Posted on September 28, 2016

DJI and GoPro went from making love to making war. Well, sort-of. The former partners failed to launch together a new drone, leaving GoPro as the sole manufacturer of Karma. That meant one thing: DJI had to launch its counterpart, a smaller, lighter but strikingly similar designed foldable drone, Mavic Pro – now, that’s karma #actionmagic

DJI Mavic Pro

Mavic Pro beat GoPro Karma‘s record at weight, scoring 1.65 pounds (vs. 2.22) thanks to an ingenious folding system. Two arms fold into the body, while the rear one go underneath (like a cat’s paws) and the propellers are “resized”, too. Unlike Karma, Mavic Pro comes with computer vision system that tracks subjects whether it’s a simple pedestrian or one on a bike like in the Active Track function here. Other two front-facing sensors help with collision avoidance and two down-facing cameras help it land safely.

Mavic Pro DJI

The camera has a narrower field of view than a Phantom 4 one, just 78 degrees, but stands on a 3-axis gimbal, covered in a transparent dome. It can stream live 1080p video to various platforms, including Facebook Live, through the companion app. The controller is foldable too and offers haptic feedback, buzzing when the drone is flying too high or too fast.

Mavic Pro Controller

Speaking of speed, Mavic Pro goes at up to 40 miles per hour and can fly for about 27 minutes on a charge. The batteries are replaceable, one costing $89, while the drone is $1199. Not cheap at all, but as Lisberg argued: “Our intention has never been to make the cheapest product. It’s been to make the best.”

If you’re in the same mindset as him, you can go pre-order your drone now and wait until October 15th to get it shipped (earlier than Karma’s scheduled shipping).