Even with this lockdown, manufacturers, including airsoft manufacturers, are releasing new products. While they had big plans for their unveiling, the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic has forced them to downgrade and resorting to mainly using the internet using social media platforms. No grand entrances or announcements this time.

While China is getting the flak for not being transparent enough about the coronavirus and that it everything the Chinese governments says is taken with gain salt, there is at least one good news that we welcome from that country. DJI, the leading drone maker in the world, has released what drone enthusiasts have been excited about, the Mavic Air 2.

The first Mavic Air was very much a big success for the Chinese company and for the Mavic Air 2, they have packed it with features. Touted as a smart drone, it comes with preprogrammed with scene detection modes for photos such as blue skies, sunsets, snow, grass, and trees. The drone optimizes the shot depending on the scene.

The camera comes with a half-inch Quad Bayer sensor, an improvement over the 1 2/3 sensor found in previous models and for camera enthusiasts this means improvement in image sharpness and quality even if still photos are at 12 megapixels. But if you’re not happy with 12 megapixel stills, it has a composite image option, combining stills to form a 48 megapixel image. We wonder which camera drone has that feature in 2020 though smartphones now have that feature. As for the lens, it is equivalent to a fixed 28mm f2.8 lens.

As for videos, the Mavic Air 2 is the first DJI drone to offer 4K 60fps video with 4K HDR at 30fps. It is also capable of exporting 8K timelapse which means an even greater detail for timelapse videos.

Another main selling point for the DJI Mavic Air 2 is that it is the safest drone they released, as it is equipped with the AirSense technology that detects and warns the drone pilot of aircraft nearby. It has improved autonomous flight modes, anti-collision detectors in front and in rear as well as auxiliary lights that are useful when landing in poor visibility. Flight time is 34 minutes which is the longest duration amongst the drones in DJI’s lineup.

The controller has been redesigned and we actually like the new controller as it is friendlier to those using larger screen smartphones.

Price for the Mavic Air 2 will be US$799.00 when released and probably there’s no rush to buy one right now as drone owners may be stuck at home with the ongoing pandemic. It will be mainly available in China for the meantime and then will slowly make its way around the world starting May 11 given the supply chains are disrupted.