So with a rumored March release date (or announcement of a release date), all of us drone nerds are anxiously awaiting the Mavic Pro II. As of now, we have unverified “leaks” and basically speculations. I’d like to add my personal thoughts on the matter and tell you 10 things I want to see in this new drone.
I did do a similar post on the Phantom 5 and what I wanted to see there, but with the Mavic series, given it’s portability and that there’s a huge demand for more portable drones these days, I’ll go further and tell you things I wish to see on it! Being that this Mavic Pro was my introduction into the drone world, and that it left me shocked at how awesome it was, I would really love the second generation of it to do the same.
Update: The Mavic Pro 2 is out.
It has most of the things I wanted, but you can get a full review of it here.
1) Upgrade the camera, and I mean REALLY upgrade it.
No less than a P4P level camera. 20 MP and a shot at 4k @ 60 FPS, especially since the Autel Evo is said to come out with a drone later this year that will likely have that.
I have found that the Mavic Pro was on par and even better in terms of the camera footage than the regular P4, so I feel the second generation should be on par or better (ideally better) than the Phantom 4 Pro, which as of now is the most elite drone on DJI’s list (by the end of 2018, it will likely not be so anymore).
But in any case, to this day, if there is a drone I prefer to shoot awesome shots with, it’s the P4P, so naturally having that same potential on the MP II will be awesome.
Update: Did this happen? Well the camera is noticeably better than the Mavic Pro 1, but it’s not as good as the P4P sadly (maybe in low light).
2) Give it 5 sensors, please DJI!
The Mavic Air came into the market as the first to have 3 sensors, the P4P has 5, would it really be that tough to put extra sensors on the side? And since we’re on that subject, I said I want the P5 to have a 6th sensor, on top. If they could do this on the Inspire 2, lets make it happen on both the next generation Mavic and next generation Phantom.
Update: It has 6, but they all work only when active track is “active”. Usually it’ll be 4 during regular flights.
3) Can we stop using the DJI Go 4 app?
I can’t say it’s outdated, but man does it have a lot of bugs and any DJI owner who uses this app knows what I’m talking about, it’s just too annoying to work with sometimes. Why not have a separate program like the Yuneec Typhoon H has or the future Autel Evo will have? It’ll save people a huge headache…
Update: Nope, still stuck on this app!
4) Can we possibly make it more portable than the Mavic Air?
Thus far, the latest “speculation” is that the MP 2 will be even bigger than the first MP and while this is sort of exciting because it likely means there will be a bigger, better camera, I think this would have an adverse affect since the MP was the pioneer of all the portable drone rage back in the day and to reverse that course now may reverse that reputation. I know that realistically it’s almost impossible to have an awesome camera on a small drone, but at the very least, if the Autel Evo can do it, why can’t DJI?
Update: It’s bigger than the regular MP1 and obviously bigger than the Air, so this didn’t happen, but with a regular case I picked up, I didn’t have portability issues with the MP2.
5) Intelligent flight modes have to mimic the MA, the P4P and go further.
There is one VERY good, but missing feature I want to see on the P5 and honestly on all future drones: A backtracking feature which would put the “return to home” feature to shame.
I have said a lot about this type of thing on this article regarding the Phantom 5, but in my experience flying drones in tough spots, it’s often hard for it to just go up in the air and fly back to you. Sometimes I fly between trees, in canyons and that option may not be possible, so backtracking would allow the drone to fly back the same way it got there, which was the safe route. I mean it’s basically like a situation where you get lost in the woods and the best way to get back home is to backtrack. Why can’t we have this on drones? It would really raise the safety bar higher.
Update: They do!
6) A better gimbal/camera protection.
Honestly, I’m OK with what the MA has, and something like this on the MP 2 will be awesome. No more 2 covers like it was on the regular MP.
Update: I honestly do not like the gimbal protection they use for the MP2. I believe it scratches the gimbal.
7) A 30 minute + flight time.
25 minutes on the regular MP is awesome, but let’s add some more time!
Update: Yes the flight time is great!
8) A much longer range.
Both the Phantom 4 and Mavic series (not the Air) have a 7-8 KM range. The next general needs to surpass that, at least to 10 KM. Also, they need to stop using WiFi and keep using the same connection system as they have on the Phantom and Mavic Pro, that tends to have a stronger, and more reliable connection.
Update: Yes the new ocusync 2.0 is on this drone and it’s awesome.
9) Make the body look cooler and be made of material that gives it that “Ferrari” feeling.
I like the body of the Mavic Pro and the Mavic Air seemed a bit too plastic for me, but if they can make the MP 2 be made of good, expensive, sturdy material, it would definitely add to the privledge of owning one.
Update: Its really the same kind of body as the regular MP1.
10) Waterproof!? Am I asking for too much?
Well at least vs the rain. As awesome as drones are today, we all know that taking them out in bad weather is an absolute no no. The biggest issue is that there are exposed area on the propellers and on the body (as well as the battery area). I heard rumors the P5 will be waterproof, but again, this is all just a rumor. Prior to hearing that, I never imagined we could have something like that, but that rumor alone begs the question of if we can do this.
Update: Nope it’s not!
Alright, one more thing! Can we make it SUPER quiet?
The thing that most people dislike about drones are their potential crashing dangers and the noise they make. The last thing I ever want to do is annoy anyone in the area where I’m flying, so a quiet model zooming around, minding it’s own business would really help push people over to appreciating these things.
And finally, I just want to say these things I’d like to see aren’t out of this world. If there’s anything true about technology and it’s evolution is that it evolves based on previous examples. In this case, we have a lot of examples and frame to work with. We know what a MP can do. We know what a MA can do. We know what we love about the Phantom and what we don’t love, so if we can build on the advantages we want to see off these 3 models and make the MP 2 be the best version of all 3 of these, we’re going to have a new king in the drone world.
Update: YES, the Mavic 2 Pro is SUPER quiet!