So my dilema is do i upgrade my mavic3 for the mavic3 pro or do i wait and see if a mavic4 is coming this year.??

Dirty Bird Posted at 1-27 07:42
No dilemma at all.  As you already have a Mavic 3, at this stage in the game it makes no sense to upgrade to a Mavic 3 Pro for one extra camera.  You may as well just wait for the Mavic 4 & spend your money there.

At moment i'm without a drone because i sold my mavic3 just curious to when/if a 4 would be coming

I would guess the earliest we might see a 4 is towards the end of this year but that's just a guess. Anybody who says they know for sure is lying. Whenever a new line is introduced it is likely to gain a few small features but also have some features taken away. Long gone are the days of steady improvements across the board. DJI's marketing department is on another level and they'll make it sound like an upgrade worthy of its pricetag. Then when honest reviews come out we'll see that DJI has lessened the capabilities in some way that wasn't advertised. If you want a drone soon the best thing to do it find a Mavic 3 on sale or buy a refurbished one to save a little money. When a new one comes out we'll drool at the marketing/sponsored YouTube reviews about it before going back to our already owned drone.

Johnnokomis Posted at 1-27 09:00
I would guess the earliest we might see a 4 is towards the end of this year but that's just a guess. Anybody who says they know for sure is lying. Whenever a new line is introduced it is likely to gain a few small features but also have some features taken away. Long gone are the days of steady improvements across the board. DJI's marketing department is on another level and they'll make it sound like an upgrade worthy of its pricetag. Then when honest reviews come out we'll see that DJI has lessened the capabilities in some way that wasn't advertised. If you want a drone soon the best thing to do it find a Mavic 3 on sale or buy a refurbished one to save a little money. When a new one comes out we'll drool at the marketing/sponsored YouTube reviews about it before going back to our already owned drone.

Another take on this is when DJI comes out with new technology, they are fairly quick to get their current lineup migrated to best technology.  If I were DJI, I wouldn't let the Mavic 3 Pro languish too long on O3 while the Mini4Pro and the Air 3 enjoy the O4 spotlight.  To me, that means the M4P is already flying around the DJI offices and it's just a matter of time.  I'm saying this because I'm simply trying to soften the blow to us M3P owners when the M4P launches with a RCPro2 and a few other cool new features.  Doesn't matter when it launches, we'll feel "cheated." ;)

....speaking of, when the new drone launches, I like to look at it with the 80/20 rule.  No drone is perfect and you cannot wait until everything is near perfect before you launch it.  It's not a matter of "taking away" features but what features are ready to go *now* that work.  Waypoints is not a module sitting in a drawer just waiting for the next drone to bolt it on; this we know.  Compatibility with goggles isn't already built into the new code only to "commented out" by programmers when ordered by the Marketing team to block it from the feature list in an attempt to clear out the M3P inventories around the world.

We've seen this story over and over, the new drone is not going to launch with each and every legacy feature that took forever to eventually appear in the last drone.  The next launch is going to take some time to get all the goodies, too and the cycle can't be broken....yet.  The key for the consumer is timing.  You get your personal cadence going and you'll always have the best tech for the right price at the right time.  But you'll need a bit of extra patience and self-restraint.  

The Saint Posted at 1-27 11:49
Another take on this is when DJI comes out with new technology, they are fairly quick to get their current lineup migrated to best technology.  If I were DJI, I wouldn't let the Mavic 3 Pro languish too long on O3 while the Mini4Pro and the Air 3 enjoy the O4 spotlight.  To me, that means the M4P is already flying around the DJI offices and it's just a matter of time.  I'm saying this because I'm simply trying to soften the blow to us M3P owners when the M4P launches with a RCPro2 and a few other cool new features.  Doesn't matter when it launches, we'll feel "cheated." ;)

....speaking of, when the new drone launches, I like to look at it with the 80/20 rule.  No drone is perfect and you cannot wait until everything is near perfect before you launch it.  It's not a matter of "taking away" features but what features are ready to go *now* that work.  Waypoints is not a module sitting in a drawer just waiting for the next drone to bolt it on; this we know.  Compatibility with goggles isn't already built into the new code only to "commented out" by programmers when ordered by the Marketing team to block it from the feature list in an attempt to clear out the M3P inventories around the world.

Yea they didn't think their product release timeline through very much by having the M3P using last gens tech and obsolete after only being a month old. So for a year now I'm sure sales have suffered because there's a hole in their product offerings. DJI made a rookie mistake here.

Their goal isn't to sell everyone a drone. They try to split the most wanted features between several models. So it's a guarantee that the next Mavic is going to leave some things on the table that'll be available on a separate drone. There is no all-in-one drone anymore like the Phantom 4 was/is. The Air2s was the last release that even comes close. If the Air 3 was to get an SDK it's value would skyrocket for the same reason. I'm not counting on that happening though.

I don't think a Mavic 4 won't be out this year.

The lesson I learned with the MAVIC 3 is that it's not wise to buy a DJI drone within the first half year of its announcement. The second lesson is don't count on getting a feature in the future. The third lesson is that smart controllers will most likely not be compatible with the next drone. Personally, I will wait half a year after the announcement of MAVIC 4, evaluate the drone as it is (without hopes of improvements with updates) and most likely will not buy the next smart controller.

KokoFresha Posted at 1-28 02:44
The lesson I learned with the MAVIC 3 is that it's not wise to buy a DJI drone within the first half year of its announcement. The second lesson is don't count on getting a feature in the future. The third lesson is that smart controllers will most likely not be compatible with the next drone. Personally, I will wait half a year after the announcement of MAVIC 4, evaluate the drone as it is (without hopes of improvements with updates) and most likely will not buy the next smart controller.

The lesson I learned with the MAVIC 3 is that it's not wise to buy a DJI drone within the first half year of its announcement.
You should learn from more models than just one.
Almost all DJI drones are perfect as launched.
The Mavic 3 was an exception.

I have to second the comment made about waiting a few months before "jumping on" any brand-new drones.
The Mavic 3 was a perfect example of that. It was released/sold with many features not working and various concerns revealing themselves.
If you NEED another drone now, grab the Mavic 3 Pro and enjoy it...It is what the Mavic 3 should've been at release anyway

The Saint Posted at 1-27 11:49
Another take on this is when DJI comes out with new technology, they are fairly quick to get their current lineup migrated to best technology.  If I were DJI, I wouldn't let the Mavic 3 Pro languish too long on O3 while the Mini4Pro and the Air 3 enjoy the O4 spotlight.  To me, that means the M4P is already flying around the DJI offices and it's just a matter of time.  I'm saying this because I'm simply trying to soften the blow to us M3P owners when the M4P launches with a RCPro2 and a few other cool new features.  Doesn't matter when it launches, we'll feel "cheated." ;)

....speaking of, when the new drone launches, I like to look at it with the 80/20 rule.  No drone is perfect and you cannot wait until everything is near perfect before you launch it.  It's not a matter of "taking away" features but what features are ready to go *now* that work.  Waypoints is not a module sitting in a drawer just waiting for the next drone to bolt it on; this we know.  Compatibility with goggles isn't already built into the new code only to "commented out" by programmers when ordered by the Marketing team to block it from the feature list in an attempt to clear out the M3P inventories around the world.

We feel cheated because all the cool guys on YouTube are telling how good and better this new drone is. Much better than the drone we have.
But in fact, the drone we have, the Mavic 3, is still a beast of a machine.
We shouldn't forget that, and certainly not be ashamed to keep using it!
Remember that everything you see and hear on YouTube, is all part of the big hype train that's coming along every launch of new products.
A lot people seem to think: "Oh, something new is out. The old isn't good anymore. I want new, new, new."
The Mavic 3 is still top segment, and will stay in the top 5 for a good time.

I'm ready right now.  When does it release?  lol

Labroides Posted at 1-28 04:17
The lesson I learned with the MAVIC 3 is that it's not wise to buy a DJI drone within the first half year of its announcement.
You should learn from more models than just one.
Almost all DJI drones are perfect as launched.

What happened once can happen again. I try not to repeat my mistakes.

KokoFresha Posted at 1-29 01:36
What happened once can happen again. I try not to repeat my mistakes.

What happened once can happen again. I try not to repeat my mistakes.
Go ahead and ignore the enviable record DJIO has with releasing drones that work just fine from day 1 and believe they always make a mess of new releases.
But the facts aren't on your side.

FYI ..  the Mavic 3 worked perfectly on release, but DJI screwed up a firmware release after that.

Labroides Posted at 1-29 07:44
What happened once can happen again. I try not to repeat my mistakes.
Go ahead and ignore the enviable record DJIO has with releasing drones that work just fine from day 1 and believe they always make a mess of new releases.
But the facts aren't on your side.

That is right!  I remember that series of events and lived it.

Agreed.

Labroides Posted at 1-29 07:44
What happened once can happen again. I try not to repeat my mistakes.
Go ahead and ignore the enviable record DJIO has with releasing drones that work just fine from day 1 and believe they always make a mess of new releases.
But the facts aren't on your side.

the Mavic 3 worked perfectly on release
Lets be realistic now, it worked on release but perfectly is not how the Mavic 3 debuted. There was no active track, no mastershots, no POI, no waypoints, no spotlight mode, no quickshots, no Quick Transfer, no hyperlapse, no burst mode etc. Oh and of course the extended wait time to get a GNSS lock. This fix didn't arrive until the 4th firmware update.

Johnnokomis Posted at 1-29 10:23
the Mavic 3 worked perfectly on release
Lets be realistic now, it worked on release but perfectly is not how the Mavic 3 debuted. There was no active track, no mastershots, no POI, no waypoints, no spotlight mode, no quickshots, no Quick Transfer, no hyperlapse, no burst mode etc. Oh and of course the extended wait time to get a GNSS lock. This fix didn't arrive until the 4th firmware update.

There was no active track, no mastershots, no POI, no waypoints, no spotlight mode, no quickshots, no Quick Transfer, no hyperlapse, no burst mode etc.
DJI advised that those features were not available at release but would be in the near future.
Buyers were well aware of this and could have waited to buy later if those features were important to them.

Oh and of course the extended wait time to get a GNSS lock. This fix didn't arrive until the 4th firmware update.
But on release the GNSS worked perfectly.
It was a subsequent firmware update that caused the sat acquisition time debacle.

Labroides Posted at 1-29 13:58
There was no active track, no mastershots, no POI, no waypoints, no spotlight mode, no quickshots, no Quick Transfer, no hyperlapse, no burst mode etc.
DJI advised that those features were not available at release but would be in the near future.
Buyers were well aware of this and could have waited to buy later if those features were important to them.

So how did you come to the conclusion that the Mavic 3 on release day was anywhere close to perfect? Any other tech company who released a product with a list of missing features that long would be classified as a terrible product launch. Imagine Samsung launching the Galaxy S24 Ultra with majority of the features, new and old, all having **available with future firmware upgrade along with it. All new tech is going to require firmware updates to squash a few bugs here and there. That's not what we're talking about here though. DJI did the bare minimum to get this thing released before the Holiday season and were nowhere near finished with it at launch. Not to mention their advertised flight time lies, SDK availability lies at the time etc.

Johnnokomis Posted at 1-29 19:49
So how did you come to the conclusion that the Mavic 3 on release day was anywhere close to perfect? Any other tech company who released a product with a list of missing features that long would be classified as a terrible product launch. Imagine Samsung launching the Galaxy S24 Ultra with majority of the features, new and old, all having **available with future firmware upgrade along with it. All new tech is going to require firmware updates to squash a few bugs here and there. That's not what we're talking about here though. DJI did the bare minimum to get this thing released before the Holiday season and were nowhere near finished with it at launch. Not to mention their advertised flight time lies, SDK availability lies at the time etc.

So how did you come to the conclusion that the Mavic 3 on release day was anywhere close to perfect?
Do you have to be so obtuse?
It worked perfectly on Day 1 ... it did everything that it was advertised to.
It was advertised that certain features would not be available on launch, but would be added later.
That's how it was advertised and that's how it came.

Not to mention their advertised flight time lies, SDK availability lies at the time etc.
1.  There are no "advertised flight time lies" no matter how many times ignorant people say there are.
The Max Flight Time in the specs comes with a note explaining the conditions under which it is obtained.
It's legitimate and a useful measure for comparing different drones.
Your car comes with fuel consumption figures that you'll never achieve too, but they were achieved under test track conditions.
It's the same with lots of products.
What's so hard to understand about that?

2.  The lack of an SDK is very disappointing, but the company never promised it.
It looks like there were intentions to release it, but the company later changed their policy.
What some well-intentioned employee said about what his understanding might have been is no iron-clad guarantee.

It seems you aren't interested in factual information, but prefer to spin a narative that suits your purposes.
I won't bother responding again.

Labroides Posted at 1-29 20:31
So how did you come to the conclusion that the Mavic 3 on release day was anywhere close to perfect?
Do you have to be so obtuse?
It worked perfectly on Day 1 ... it did everything that it was advertised to.

Hi Labroides,

I usually read your comments in different threads and in a big amount of them I completely agree with your arguments, but sorry, in this one I am not with you.

The launch of the Mavic 3 was a disaster because DJI wanted to have it on the market for Christmas and the SDK strategies are pure rubbish in order to not affect the enterprise line numbers.

Regards.

Labroides Posted at 1-29 20:31
So how did you come to the conclusion that the Mavic 3 on release day was anywhere close to perfect?
Do you have to be so obtuse?
It worked perfectly on Day 1 ... it did everything that it was advertised to.

Us drone enthusiast are divided on a lot of topics and that's perfectly fine. Debating and having conversations about these topics are the main reason I'm on here. The disastrous launch of the Mavic 3 is one of those rare topics that everyone agrees on. So you coming here and calling it perfect is odd. I'm not sure if you're a brown noser boot licking customer. Or you're a full blown DJI employee trying to give the company the much needed PR boost that they are desperate for. Either way, you are the only one with this opinion.

Johnnokomis Posted at 1-30 10:47
Us drone enthusiast are divided on a lot of topics and that's perfectly fine. Debating and having conversations about these topics are the main reason I'm on here. The disastrous launch of the Mavic 3 is one of those rare topics that everyone agrees on. So you coming here and calling it perfect is odd. I'm not sure if you're a brown noser boot licking customer. Or you're a full blown DJI employee trying to give the company the much needed PR boost that they are desperate for. Either way, you are the only one with this opinion.

The disastrous launch of the Mavic 3 is one of those rare topics that everyone agrees on.
Your view is common here, but the launch was not a disaster.
The disaster was the GNSS debacle that happened a month or so after the launch and for some unfathomable reason, took DJI way too long to fix.

So you coming here and calling it perfect is odd. I'm not sure if you're a brown noser boot licking customer. Or you're a full blown DJI employee trying to give the company the much needed PR boost that they are desperate for. Either way, you are the only one with this opinion.
Either way?
There is another option.
You are wrong and neither of your assessments applies to me.
That should be pretty clear if you's read much of what I post here.

I'm just an experienced user who cares about accuracy.

Johnnokomis Posted at 1-30 10:47
Us drone enthusiast are divided on a lot of topics and that's perfectly fine. Debating and having conversations about these topics are the main reason I'm on here. The disastrous launch of the Mavic 3 is one of those rare topics that everyone agrees on. So you coming here and calling it perfect is odd. I'm not sure if you're a brown noser boot licking customer. Or you're a full blown DJI employee trying to give the company the much needed PR boost that they are desperate for. Either way, you are the only one with this opinion.

You must not have followed the Mavic 3 launch. Yes, it met ALL the advertised functions AT THE TIME OF RELEASE. EXCEPT the SDK. That one still stinks.

Mobilehomer Posted at 1-30 17:15
You must not have followed the Mavic 3 launch. Yes, it met ALL the advertised functions AT THE TIME OF RELEASE. EXCEPT the SDK. That one still stinks.

I very clearly remember watching the release video live stream on the evening it happened. I just wasted some of my personal time re-watching it and have some screenshots from it to share. I can't believe we're actually having this disagreement when the facts are just a YouTube search away. These functions were all advertised "AT THE TIME OF RELEASE" I believe you're quoted as saying. The evidence shows, that was a lie.

Johnnokomis Posted at 1-30 19:02
I very clearly remember watching the release video live stream on the evening it happened. I just wasted some of my personal time re-watching it and have some screenshots from it to share. I can't believe we're actually having this disagreement when the facts are just a YouTube search away. These functions were all advertised "AT THE TIME OF RELEASE" I believe you're quoted as saying. The evidence shows, that was a lie.
[view_image]

I very clearly remember watching the release video live stream on the evening it happened. I just wasted some of my personal time re-watching it and have some screenshots from it to share. I can't believe we're actually having this disagreement when the facts are just a YouTube search away.
Your very clear memory is unreliable.
Nice try, but you need to look further than Youtube promo videos produced well before the actual launch on Nov 5th.
When the video was produced, DJI was optimistic of being able to provide those features, but things didn't go well in final implementation.
If they waited for all features to be working to their satisfaction, they would have missed the Christmas sales period and they made the decision to advise potential buyers during the DJI launch event, that many of the anticipated features would not be available until a firmware update in January.

This was also leaked before the launch event:
https://dronexl.co/2021/11/04/dji-mavic-3-firmware-updates/

The Mavic 3 was released, it sold well and worked well ... until the unexplained and inexcusable GNSS debacle that went on for months, that seems to have confused you and coloured your memories.

If you are still in doubt, you can read this thread that shows that the missing features were announced at the launch.
https://forum.dji.com/thread-252553-1-1.html

Labroides Posted at 1-30 19:29
I very clearly remember watching the release video live stream on the evening it happened. I just wasted some of my personal time re-watching it and have some screenshots from it to share. I can't believe we're actually having this disagreement when the facts are just a YouTube search away.
Your very clear memory is unreliable.
Nice try, but you need to look further than Youtube promo videos produced well before the actual launch on Nov 5th.

If I'm still in doubt about what..? You just confirmed what I have been saying this entire thread. Have you been hit in the head mate? You've gone from calling it a perfect launch to agreeing with me even though you try to spin it like I'm in the wrong. Earlier I said:

"DJI did the bare minimum to get this thing released before the Holiday season and were nowhere near finished with it at launch."

Then you rambled, called me wrong and said things like It worked perfectly on Day 1 ... it did everything that it was advertised to. Then you just did a 180 and reworded my previous comment with: If they waited for all features to be working to their satisfaction, they would have missed the Christmas sales period.


Mate, that is the whole point I've been trying to make with you.


How did you go from the Mavic 3 was perfect on release To things didn't go well in final implementation.

Johnnokomis Posted at 1-30 19:55
If I'm still in doubt about what..? You just confirmed what I have been saying this entire thread. Have you been hit in the head mate? You've gone from calling it a perfect launch to agreeing with me even though you try to spin it like I'm in the wrong. Earlier I said:

"DJI did the bare minimum to get this thing released before the Holiday season and were nowhere near finished with it at launch."

You accused me of being either a brown noser boot licking customer. Or you're a full blown DJI employee trying to give the company the much needed PR boost that they are desperate for.
Neither is anywhere near the truth.
Now I'm having trouble working out whether you have serious problems understanding plain, clear English, or you are just doing some embarrassingly bad trolling.
Maybe you need to get a grownup person to read and explain things to you?

Labroides Posted at 1-29 07:44
What happened once can happen again. I try not to repeat my mistakes.
Go ahead and ignore the enviable record DJIO has with releasing drones that work just fine from day 1 and believe they always make a mess of new releases.
But the facts aren't on your side.

I had forgotten that in one of our previous arguments with you, you accused me of comments like mine lowering the price you can sell a used drone for. Once again, please do not seek conflict with me!

KokoFresha Posted at 1-31 01:12
I had forgotten that in one of our previous arguments with you, you accused me of comments like mine lowering the price you can sell a used drone for. Once again, please do not seek conflict with me!

Whatever it is that you are trying to say, I can't understand it.

Labroides Posted at 1-30 21:34
You accused me of being either a brown noser boot licking customer. Or you're a full blown DJI employee trying to give the company the much needed PR boost that they are desperate for.
Neither is anywhere near the truth.
Now I'm having trouble working out whether you have serious problems understanding plain, clear English, or you are just doing some embarrassingly bad trolling.

Quit trying to dodge the question. Here's your chance to set the record straight. Was it:
A) the Mavic 3 worked perfectly on release
B) things didn't go well in final implementation


You said both but both cannot be true.

Johnnokomis Posted at 1-31 08:24
Quit trying to dodge the question. Here's your chance to set the record straight. Was it:
A) the Mavic 3 worked perfectly on release
B) things didn't go well in final implementation

It gets tedious trying to make you understand simple, clear English or deal with your uninformed trolling.
As I've already explained multiple times, the Mavic 3 worked perfectly on release.

Labroides Posted at 1-31 14:34
It gets tedious trying to make you understand simple, clear English or deal with your uninformed trolling.
As I've already explained multiple times, the Mavic 3 worked perfectly on release.

Let's pretend for a moment that it did work perfect the day it was released. Why would DJI then have to warn resellers about missing features and go back to add numerous disclaimers on their launch video. Why would they have to rush and launch it missing most of the features they had said were available? Remember it's a perfect drone in this example. A perfect drone wouldn't need disclaimers added to the marketing videos.

I don't expect you to change your opinion, you've played both sides of the debate and frankly I'm still not sure what your opinion is. Regardless, it's fun watching you dig your grave deeper and deeper with every response. Your personal insults don't change the undeniable facts I've shown.