2021 was an exciting year in the drone world. With new releases from DJI including the Mavic 3, Air 2S and its first foray into the FPV world with the DJI FPV, it seems as if DJIs dominance of the drone market will continue in 2022 with the expected release of some new drones over the coming year.

As yet, nothing has been confirmed of course, but the rumour mill is in full flow with a series of recent leaks online suggesting that DJI may be gearing up with some exciting new hardware.

It may be difficult to believe that the DJI Inspire 2 was originally released way back in 2016. It is a drone that is still widely used among professionals across many different industries. Despite its age and sometimes annoying idiosyncrasies it is still considered to be one of the best drones for film work before you enter the world of heavy lift drones. The imagery that this drone can capture is still awe inspiring. Couple that with the flexibility of switchable lenses; real ATTI mode flying; ridiculous acceleration and top speed; the ability to operate in harsh environments and a relatively quick deployment time - it really is a testament to DJI that this drone is still being used around the globe in spite of its age.

In 2022, however, the drone world has changed a lot. Safety is now a much more important consideration when purchasing and operating a drone. The Inspire 2 has little of the safety features that are now considered mandatory, especially when you factor in the all of the new legislation around flying drones. Full obstacle avoidance such as APAS 5.0 found on the new Mavic 3 would be an obvious inclusion along with Airsense found on some of DJIs newer releases.

The FPV camera would likely be due a huge upgrade too. The tiny low resolution camera found on the Inspire 2, which is used as the actual 'eyes' of the aircraft, has long been considered a major limitation of the drone. I would expect for DJI to also include an iteration of the their 'Smart Controller' in some capacity too. Their M300 commercial drone already comes with this as standard and it seems inconceivable that the I3 wouldn't have something similar in 2022.

Flight times would also be due a welcome increase from the 15-20 minutes currently experienced on the I2. A lot of R&D will have gone into improving the flight efficiency of the I3 over the I2. It'll likely weigh less than its predecessor but I would expect that the unique look of the I2 will be maintained in some way. After all, it did and still does look like no other drone out there.

The recent release of DJIs 'all-in-one' cinema camera, the Ronin 4D, brought with it a new X-series camera, the X9. Previously, the Inspire 2 used the X7 and X5s as its proprietary camera systems. The new X9 system is capable of filming in 8K RAW and presumably would form the logical link between aerial filming and ground filming. Grading footage from just one system would be a dream come true for content creators. A clever move by DJI offering a unified filming system.

If and when it is released, expect a pretty hefty price tag. By then the Sony Airpeak S1 will have been out for a few months and I think that this will be the only direct competition to the Inspire 3. The Sony Airpeak is currently looking at a retail price of $8,999USD (£6800GBP) and that is without a gimbal or the actual Sony A series camera that you need to attach to it.

As with all DJI releases though, expect it to bring something to the table that raises the bar yet again.

When the original DJI Mini was released, it was genuinely considered by many to be a real game changer for the drone industry. It was the first commercially available drone with a 2.7K camera to weigh under 250g. Important for one huge reason. Regulations.

In the UK, any drone weighing under 250g is exempt from the vast majority of restrictions laid down to heavier drones. You can fly them over people (with the exception of mass gatherings) and you can fly them near to people. No other category of drone gives you this freedom. The Mini 2 upped the game further with improvements to its camera offering a 4K 30fps camera and RAW photos.

The Mini 2 has little to improve on for a drone weighing so little and considering its price tag (around £500GBP/$675USD). It already provides a wealth of technology which I wouldn't have even thought possible only a few years ago. Perhaps upping its camera to offer 60fps in 4K might be a welcome addition; some kind of log profile for video to allow proper grading in post production; safety sensors to reduce the likelihood of crashes. All of these would be welcome upgrades but it is most likely that DJI will also include some kind of dedicated FPV mode and integration with their existing or a new version of their FPV goggles.

If DJI take an already proven and commercially successful <250g drone, perform a few upgrades to the camera and safety system and package that all as a FPV capable system; I think that they may well be on to their biggest seller of 2022.

There are no firm details at the moment but you can be sure that the Mini 3 will be a huge hit when it is released later in the year.