The market for drones is crowded, so the big question when DJI introduced the DJI Mavic Air 2 is whether the company could do enough to make it stand out.
The DJI Mavic Air 2 is the successor to the DJI Mavic Air, which launched more than two years ago to many positive reviews. But it’s immediately clear as soon as the DJI Mavic Air 2 comes out of the box that it doesn’t share a lot of similarities with the previous model, as FlytPath demonstrates in the clip below.
FlytPath on Design
The DJI Mavic Air 2 sits squarely in the middle of DJI’s new lineup, between the DJI Mavic Mini and the DJI Mavic Pro 2. At $799, does the new DJI Mavic Air 2 pack enough new features to make it a worthwhile contender for the middleweight crown?
According to almost all of the reviews we watched, the answer is a resounding yes. Several of the reviewers claimed the DJI Mavic Air 2 is the best drone they’ve ever reviewed. And Peter McKinnon even goes so far as to suggest that the drone, which is packed with advanced-level features, is the start of an exciting new class of mid-range drones.
Peter McKinnon on a New Class of Mid-Range Drones
Range for Days
One of the biggest improvements in the DJI Mavic Air 2 is its transmission range. The original Mavic Air offered pilots a range of about 2.4 miles using a WiFi connection. For the updated model, DJI switched to a new transmission system called Ocusync 2.0 that gives the drone an eye popping 6.2 miles of range.
Not only does Ocusync 2.0 dramatically expand the flying range of the drone, reviewers found that it was significantly more reliable too. No one reported any of the connection issues that are common in WiFi drones.
Here’s Moment walking through the upgrade to Ocusync 2.0.
Moment on Ocusync 2.0
A Major Camera Upgrade
If DJI proved anything with the DJI Mavic Air 2, it’s that they don’t mess around with upgrades. The previous model came with a 12 megapixel camera. You’d think DJI would make an incremental improvement with the DJI Mavic Air 2, but you’d be wrong.
DJI swung for the fences by swapping the old camera for a 48 MP powerhouse that had reviewers drooling over its quality. And, as Tom’s Tech Time points out in the clip below, the camera actually produces 48 MP pictures, not images stitched together to mimic the same quality.
Tom’s Tech Time on 48 MP Pictures
4k with 60 FPS
And that’s not the end of the story with the camera upgrade. The DJI Mavic Air 2 is capable of shooting 4K at 60 FPS. To put that into context, the more expensive DJI Mavic Pro 2 can only shoot 4K at 30 FPS. Here’s Moment demonstrating the quality of video coming from the drone.
Moment on 4K video at 60 FPS
The camera can also shoot up to 240 FPS in HD with surprising quality. Matti Haapoja points out in the clip below that the surprising quality of the shots is from DJI increasing the bitrate of the camera to 120.
Matti Haapoja on 240 FPS HD Video
Improved Intelligent Flight Modes
Another improved feature of the DJI Mavic Air 2 is the intelligent flight modes, which allow the drone to fly autonomously. The intelligent flight modes include Active Track, Spotlight and Point of Interest or POI, along with Hyperlapse and Quickshots.
Several reviews mentioned that they were really impressed with how the intelligent flight modes are integrated into the new DJI Fly app. Users can select a subject and mode without navigating to a sub menu, as Potato Jet demonstrates below.
Potato Jet on Intelligent Flight Modes
Hyperlapse received a lot of attention from reviewers as well. The DJI Mavic Air 2 can shoot 8K hyperlapse videos and offers pilots four autonomous flight patterns, called Free, Circle, Course Lock and Waypoint. Just make sure your battery is fully charged and you have some spares on hand, as this footage can take a while to capture as Matti Haapoja shows us in the clip below.
Matti Haapoja on 8K Hyperlapse
This brings us to the only real flaw that any of our reviewers were able to find in the drone. It seems that the Active Track feature struggles to avoid obstacles when flying backward, as Matti Haapoja found in his tests.
Matti Haapoja on Obstacle Avoidance while Flying Backwards
Pilot Friendly Safe Flight
Despite its struggles flying backwards, reviewers found the obstacle avoidance system in the drone, called the Advanced Pilot Assistance Systeem (APAS), worked exceptionally well. The system uses .5” sensors located on the front and bottom of the drone to navigate obstacles. FlytPath walks us through how the system works below.
There’s another cool new feature that we have to mention called AirSense, which alerts pilots to other manned aircraft, including other drones, in their vicinity. Watch Potato Jet show how it works in the real world.
Potato Jet on AirSense
Bigger Remote. Better Design
Just like pretty much everything about the DJI Mavic Air 2, the controller is significantly different than its predecessor…and that’s a good thing. It’s bigger, more ergonomic and allows pilots to mount their phones above the controller, instead of underneath. It also integrates the antennas into the phone mount. FlytPath walks us through the new controller setup below.
FlytPath on the New Controller
Better Battery and Much More
There are more features in this great little drone than we can fit into this article. But before we move on, we have to spend a minute on battery life. The battery life in the DJI Mavic Air 2 is dramatically improved, increasing from approximately 21 minutes to about 34 minutes of flight time.
The Verdict
This drone might be the closest thing to an all around home run that we’ve seen. Offering a ton of high-end features at a price under a thousand dollars, it’s a great buy for everyone from beginners to advance shooters.
The only caution we found is for advanced shooters looking for the ability to adjust aperture and color settings, which are fixed in the DJI Mavic Air 2. For that type of customization, advanced shooters need to consider a higher end drone.
Here’s Air Photography with the final word on the DJI Mavic Air 2.
See each of the expert reviews below: