Isn't DJI Due for a new drone soon?

I'll admit, this is more of a selfish thing than anything else. I've been going back and forth with my finger on the "buy now" button for the DJI Phantom Pro 4 Obsidian. I really like the better IQ, otherwise Mavic would be my go to.

But I've been reading for months that the Mavic 2 or Phantom 5 should have been announced (or even released!) by now. But we keep getting minor updates of the same old things. Of course I want to see the specs and be tempted by the newest and greatest on the market, but more than anything I want the purchase price to go down on the Phantom 4 Pro.

I've been keeping on eye on the rumors for the last two months, looking to upgrade from my P3P. It's been very quiet. Some guys on the PhantomPilots forum say that the P4P is still the best consumer drone out there, so DJI doesn't have to rush a new aircraft out.

A Mavic 2 with the 1" sensor would be great!

The Obsidian hasn't been in stock anywhere I've seen except limited quanties direct from DJI.

The regular P4P has been fluctuating in price at BH between normal retail and the lower 1300s, today it's 1,299.99 so why would you spend $200 more just for color? Just my opinion.

I've been waiting to hear qualified rumors like you to make a choice between the newest version and the P4P when the price drops even more. BUT a local photog buddy went large and purchased an Inspire 2 with the X5 so last week he made me a great deal on his P4P with a couple extra batteries, filters and a backpack.

With the lousy weather here, I've only flown twice, but it's a nice upgrade from the P3P. The better camera is surely welcomed, but the bird is much more stable than my old one, even in some wind, hoping to do some long exposures that come out reasonably sharp. The ability to control the aperture is also nice and there are several more intelligent flight modes.

With my luck, now that I have a P4P, DJI will come out with a next version of something pretty soon

The firmware updates have caused a ton of grief and I suspect they are still working through the issues. Many have moved away from DJI due to the nanny controls they have put in around having to be tethered to the DJI mother ship to get full functionality as well as flight issues that have popped up.

I am in a state of limbo right now with my own drone because of all the issues, and many are flashing old firmware onto the drones.

TeamSpeed wrote in post #18486844
The firmware updates have caused a ton of grief and I suspect they are still working through the issues. Many have moved away from DJI due to the nanny controls they have put in around having to be tethered to the DJI mother ship to get full functionality as well as flight issues that have popped up.

I am in a state of limbo right now with my own drone because of all the issues, and many are flashing old firmware onto the drones.

I have read lots of horror stories about fw updates, but fortunately have not experienced any.

What reduced functionality are you referring to? Both my birds are up to date on fw and app versions. I fly with a wifi only iPad Air 2 that is not connected to the internet during flights and have seen no reduction in functionality.

cutwater wrote in post #18486848
I have read lots of horror stories about fw updates, but fortunately have not experienced any.

What reduced functionality are you referring to? Both my birds are up to date on fw and app versions. I fly with a wifi only iPad Air 2 that is not connected to the internet during flights and have seen no reduction in functionality.

Do you have the Goggles? I had them and returned them due to a) promises that weren't kept in original marketing material, and b) complications due to the new rules they employed. Also many are experiencing erratic flight patterns and takeoffs due to the new firmware. Also, not everyone has been able to update all the moving pieces and get their birds to not experience the 100' limitation.

DJI needs to stop putting different country's regulations into their software, or at least make it so EU rules don't affect US users. I haven't checked back in a month or so on the forums to see if DJI has fixed everything or not, but after a horrendous return experience of the goggles, and partially updating my items (app is updated, and controller is, Phantom 4 isn't), I haven't flown anything and have been waiting for the final resolutions of the issues.

TeamSpeed wrote in post #18487013
Do you have the Goggles? I had them and returned them due to a) promises that weren't kept in original marketing material, and b) complications due to the new rules they employed. Also many are experiencing erratic flight patterns and takeoffs due to the new firmware. Also, not everyone has been able to update all the moving pieces and get their birds to not experience the 100' limitation.

DJI needs to stop putting different country's regulations into their software, or at least make it so EU rules don't affect US users. I haven't checked back in a month or so on the forums to see if DJI has fixed everything or not, but after a horrendous return experience of the goggles, and partially updating my items (app is updated, and controller is, Phantom 4 isn't), I haven't flown anything and have been waiting for the final resolutions of the issues.

No, I don't have the goggles. I did experience the 100' radius issue with no warning about it when I was trying to chase a friend in his boat. It was easily solved that afternoon by logging out then back in to my account in the app. Maybe I've been really lucky, but I haven't had any issues other than sometimes the video feed on the P3P drops out for a few seconds to a minute.

Totally agree, DJI should have a way to turn off rules of other locales, maybe an option to activate it if you travel. The apps can seem buggy and things change with little or no documentation.

I have heard their customer service is pretty lacking.

Hope you get your issues sorted out and get the opportunity to enjoy the Phantom again.

cutwater wrote in post #18487024
No, I don't have the goggles. I did experience the 100' radius issue with no warning about it when I was trying to chase a friend in his boat. It was easily solved that afternoon by logging out then back in to my account in the app. Maybe I've been really lucky, but I haven't had any issues other than sometimes the video feed on the P3P drops out for a few seconds to a minute.

Totally agree, DJI should have a way to turn off rules of other locales, maybe an option to activate it if you travel. The apps can seem buggy and things change with little or no documentation.

I have heard their customer service is pretty lacking.

Hope you get your issues sorted out and get the opportunity to enjoy the Phantom again.

I will give one piece of advice, don't buy anything directly from DJI unless you know you are never returning it. That experience was a nightmare. I could give the entire painful story, but will spare you unless you really want to know. Wwwwooowww....

TeamSpeed wrote in post #18487028
I will give one piece of advice, don't buy anything directly from DJI unless you know you are never returning it. That experience was a nightmare. I could give the entire painful story, but will spare you unless you really want to know. Wwwwooowww....

A friend bought a P4 from Best Buy while waiting for his P4P from DJI. He flew it for 25 days and returned it, no questions asked by BB. You are definitely better off with vendor that has a liberal return policy. If I remember, DJI direct was only 7 days return

cutwater wrote in post #18487200
A friend bought a P4 from Best Buy while waiting for his P4P from DJI. He flew it for 25 days and returned it, no questions asked by BB. You are definitely better off with vendor that has a liberal return policy. If I remember, DJI direct was only 7 days return

I feel really uneasy about the idea that a person can run a product for 25 days straight and then go back for a refund. That may be the law but it's just not ethically acceptable.

cutwater wrote in post #18487200
A friend bought a P4 from Best Buy while waiting for his P4P from DJI. He flew it for 25 days and returned it, no questions asked by BB. You are definitely better off with vendor that has a liberal return policy. If I remember, DJI direct was only 7 days return

I think I had 14 days for the Goggles, don't remember, but I initiated the return in time, and tracking showed they received it on time. However, they sent back a repair order upon receipt, and all I wanted was a refund. They shipped it back overseas from CA, and I had to wait forever for a refund, despite the fact they acknowledged receipt and also tracking showed it. I had to get on the forums and complain, and a mod finally helped me out, along with a nicely worded email to their legal team. I received my refund about 2 days after both of these things, but that was 2+ weeks later after sending it back.

DaviSto wrote in post #18487259
I feel really uneasy about the idea that a person can run a product for 25 days straight and then go back for a refund. That may be the law but it's just not ethically acceptable.

Why is it not ethical? Who says somebody used the product? We buy things on sale for a birthday, etc and 25 days can easily pass before that person knows they need to return it. Also, the warehouse stores have a 90 day or greater return policy.

If somebody purposely uses this return policy as a personal "lease for free" over and over, then we are in agreement. i assume you didn't mean to paint everyone with such a broad stroke, correct? As with anything in the world, there are always those that abuse the system, but that doesn't mean that the vast majority are being unethical or immoral.

TeamSpeed wrote in post #18487263
Why is it not ethical? Who says somebody used the product? We buy things on sale for a birthday, etc and 25 days can easily pass before that person knows they need to return it. Also, the warehouse stores have a 90 day or greater return policy.

If somebody purposely uses this return policy as a personal "lease for free" over and over, then we are in agreement. i assume you didn't mean to paint everyone with such a broad stroke, correct? As with anything in the world, there are always those that abuse the system, but that doesn't mean that the vast majority are being unethical or immoral.

The post said "He flew it for 25 days" ... can't be clearer than that! It's abuse.

DaviSto wrote in post #18487268
The post said "He flew it for 25 days" ... can't be clearer than that! It's abuse.

I doubt he flew 25 days in a row, but who knows. It takes a few flights to know how it all works, how the app works, and to try out all the modes. I could see 2-3 weeks of periodic attempts at different things to see if it is going to work for long-term use. We bought ours for real estate use, and it took me a few weeks and a few flights to get all the things nailed down. The Phantoms are very elaborate and have a ton of options and configurations to try out. I refuse to guess at the person's motives, so I will assume the best of intentions.

I'm just basing my judgement on the words that he said. I believe it's abuse.

DaviSto wrote in post #18487286
I'm just basing my judgement on the words that he said. I believe it's abuse.

I doubt he flew for 25 consecutive days too, however, I believe it was his intent to use it until the other unit arrived, so I agree with your assessment. I certainly wouldn't do it, but unfortunately, people do. My wife has gal friends the buy a dress to attend a wedding, leave the tag on, and return it afterwards. Same kind of thing and I don't think it's right.

Anyhow, I don't believe the OP wants to read us discussing the ethics of product return, he's more interested in any news of new drone from DJI.