If DJI was keen on keeping its newest consumer drone under wraps, it has failed utterly. An image of the upcoming Mavic 2 drone was first leaked online earlier this month, and now UK store Argos has published a catalog that shows off the new drone in a prominent ad which also lists the drone's features.
The accidental leak shows off two models of the DJI Mavic 2, which hasn’t been launched yet – DJI canceled a launch event scheduled for July 18. How a major retailer could inadvertently publish an ad before an official launch is unclear – either Argos mistakenly jumped the gun or DJI failed to inform the store of the cancellation of the launch event.
According to drone news publisher DroningOn, a Facebook user by the name of Isa Turan contacted DJI via the social media platform to ask whether the leak was legitimate or a Photoshop gimmick, and was told the catalog was printed before the ‘See the Bigger Picture’ event was postponed.
Breaking out ‘Blad
While the Argos advert spills the beans on everything except pricing, the surprising bit of news is that the Mavic 2 will come in two models – the Pro and the Zoom.
@DroneDJ the new UK Argos catalogue is out and it has the Mavic 2 in it 😮 #mavic #mavic2 #dji #djidrones pic.twitter.com/Z6vVA8J28KJuly 28, 2018
Each model seems to have its own set of skills: the Mavic 2 Zoom purportedly includes a 2x optical zoom lens (24 – 48mm), while the Mavic 2 Pro sports a Hasselblad camera with a 1-inch sensor. However, it seems to lack a zoom lens.
According to the advert, both models are capable of 31 minutes of flight time, with a top speed of about 45mph.
Both models will also be able to transmit live 1080p videos across a distance of up to five miles and will each feature 360-degree obstacle avoidance (described as "omnidirectional obstacle sensing") in the form of DJI’s Advanced Pilot Assistance Systems (APAS) and Active Track 2.0 (an updated version of DJI’s auto-tracking technology).
However, no mention has been made of the rumored removable gimbal or the maximum video recording quality – we can only assume it will follow in the footsteps of the Mavic Air and the Mavic Pro and feature 4K shooting.
Enterprise Edition
Elsewhere according to a blog post on DroneDJ, the German edition of the DJI website has accidentally uploaded a thumbnail image of what appears to be the DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise Edition.
It’s the first time anyone has seen the new drone from below, providing the ‘bigger picture’ that DJI was supposed to have revealed earlier this month.
However, the technical details listed below the image don’t match up with the Argos ad, which clearly states the flight time as 31 minutes and not the 21 minutes mentioned on the German DJI website.
Waiting to take off
Just because Argos has accidentally printed an ad for the Mavic 2 doesn’t mean the launch of the new DJI drone is imminent. There's been no official word on a launch date since company postponed the July 18 ‘See the Bigger Picture’ event.
All we have right now is what to expect when the Mavic 2 drones finally land, and a pending decision on whether you want a Hasselblad camera with no zoom or the flexibility of a 2x lens.
