The spotlight on GoPro’s revelation of the Karma Drone, its first product in the drone market, gets taken away as DJI, the leader in commercial drones, quickly responds with the release of their Mavic Pro that also is much portable and lighter than their highly successful Phantom series.

And just like the Karma Drone, the Mavic Pro also has foldable rotor arms that go to the side of the body and ready to be quickly stowed away. It looks like fold-up drones, started by Yuneec, are the rage this year. Whilst you can put the Karma Drone in a backpack, the Mavic Pro is much slimmer that you can even jam it into a purse.

Surely, there are compromises that DJI had to do in order to come out with a sleeker, lighter, and foldable drone. Actually, the compromise is really nothing compared to the overall features that the Mavic Pro offers --- the camera at true 4K resolution at 30fps (1080p HD at 96fps), 27 minutes of battery life on a single charge, livestream video up to 4.3 miles, and stream this video to Facebook, YouTube and other online video services at 1080p HD which the latest DJI Phantom can only offer at 720p. The only advantage of the DJI Phantom is a faster speed of 45mph (Mavic Pro is 40mph) and wider FOV of 92 degrees as compared to the 78 degrees for the Mavic Pro.

It also has the obstacle avoidance feature and now comes with gesture control, make a gesture at the drone for it take a selfie with the drone camera, according to the company.  But the feature we like is Active Track, all the drone pilot has to do is tell the Mavic Pro who to track and it can Trace (follow behind, follow in front, or circle around the subject), Profile (fly alongside the subject), and Spotlight where the camera stays on the subject as the drone flies in different directions. For even slower and precise movements, there is a Tripod mode and a Terrain Follow mode where it can follow the subject at a set altitude from the ground (from 1 foot to 10 meters).

For the controller, it comes with a controller that is as small as a game consoler’s controller and you can also clip a smartphone to it so you can see a real time feed as the drone flies. Apart from piloting the drone with the controller, the camera can be controlled independently. With the OcuSync, you can view the flight with VR goggles. You can also fly the Mavic Pro without the controller and just by tapping the screen the drone can take off, fly, return, and land.

With the geofencing tools that DJI provides, drone pilots will be able to avoid restricted areas as based on guidelines set by authorities such as the FAA. But if you get permission to fly in a restricted area, the geofencing feature can be overridden.

How much will it cost, you say? The basic package is at US$999 or US$749 without the remote control. This is still cheaper than the GoPro Karma Drone which retails at US$800 and still does not come with the GoPro Hero Camera whereas the Mavic Pro comes with the 4K camera. The only feature that the GoPro Karma has over Mavic Pro is the Karma Grip will can then be used as a grip as a handheld gimbal for the GoPro Hero. DJI has an equivalent version called the OSMO Plus but cannot be used with the Mavic Pro.

DJI is now taking pre-orders for the Mavic Pro with the earliest shipping of orders in mid-October.