The DJI Mavic 4 Pro is shaping up to be the most anticipated drone of the year. While we don’t know the full specs yet, DJI dropped a teaser this week that has the drone community buzzing.
While the company hasn’t confirmed it outright, the imagery and tagline — “Spin Your World”— accompanied by a launch time (May 13 at 8 a.m. ET) strongly suggest a new flagship drone is imminent. The promo material, posted to networks including X and Instagram, suggest a drone with three cameras, including a Hasselblad camera. The word “Spin” suggests a camera that can spin (or at least rotate).
What will very likely be a new drone follows a strong and diverse lineup of new products to come out of DJI recently. The DJI Neo is a great, budget-conscious beginner drone. The DJI Flip takes it up a notch as a still-friendly beginner drone with more advanced specs. The DJI Air 3S is my favorite drone I’ve flown to-date, period. Perhaps unsurprising that I love its style, since it’s the best travel drone.
So what exactly should we expect—and what do we want—from DJI’s newest flagship? Based on past Mavic pitfalls, emerging tech in the DJI Air 3S and DJI’s own teaser, here’s what I’m hoping to see in the DJI Mavic 4 Pro:
6 features I want most in a new DJI Mavic 4 Pro drone
1. A truly rotating Hasselblad camera
The tagline “Spin Your World” suggests one major design breakthrough: a rotating camera gimbal. For years, vertical shooting on Mavic drones meant cropping a horizontal image, sacrificing sharpness and resolution. A physically rotating sensor would finally allow full-resolution vertical capture, ideal for social media without compromise.
And yes, the social media post indicates that the Hasselblad branding is back, signaling pro-grade color science and lens quality. If DJI builds on its triple-camera system from the Mavic 3 Pro but lets one of those lenses rotate natively, it could be a game-changer for vertical content creators.
2. Better battery life
Surprisingly, the DJI Air 3S actually has longer battery life than the Mavic 3 Pro. The newer, cheaper drone offers up to 46 minutes compared to 43 on the Mavic 3 Pro. The Mavic 4 Pro needs to reclaim that crown with extended airtime, especially for those using high-res sensors that burn through power.
A larger, more power-efficient battery system (perhaps even hot-swappable?) would be a welcome upgrade for pros in the field.
Related read: DJI Air 3S vs. DJI Mavic 3 Pro: even with a lower price, is the Air 3S actually better?
3. LiDAR Obstacle Sensing
The Air 3S’s precision obstacle avoidance set a new bar. If the Mavic 4 Pro introduces LiDAR-based sensing, it could enable more precise autonomous flight, even in low light or complex environments. Think smarter tracking, better ActiveTrack reliability and safer indoor flight.
4. O4 video transmission
The OcuSync 4 (O4) transmission system debuted on the Air 3 and Mini 4 Pro, offering higher-resolution live feeds and rock-solid connectivity. The Mavic 4 Pro needs to adopt this tech — and possibly improve it further with 4K live feed to the DJI RC Pro.
5. More internal storage
Speaking of modern standards, more internal storage is a must. The 8GB offered on past Mavic drones is fine in a pinch, but in reality it’s not enough for high-res shooters. Even the Air 3 offers 46GB internally. We’re hoping the new DJI Mavic 4 Pro can at least match 46GB , and ideally SSD speeds for ProRes workflows.
6. New flight modes and smarter autonomy
The teaser’s smooth rotations hint at a new class of cinematic flight modes, potentially using the rotating gimbal for fluid pan-tilt-roll shots. Combined with AI-based subject tracking and smarter obstacle avoidance (à la Skydio), the Mavic 4 Pro could open creative doors for solo filmmakers.
How much will the DJI Mavic 4 Pro likely cost?
As of today, the DJI Mavic 3 Pro with DJI RC is sold out on DJI’s website—perhaps to make way for its successor. That package was priced at $2,199, while the Fly More Combo with DJI RC Pro clocked in at $3,889.
We expect the Mavic 4 Pro to land somewhere in that range — or higher if it includes the rumored rotating gimbal and ProRes recording. Given the Air 3S starts at just $1,099, DJI may position the Mavic 4 Pro as a true professional’s tool, with pricing to match.
Of course, U.S. customers do need to account for tariffs. Whereas other consumer products haven’t yet seen price markups because they’ve already been sitting in U.S. warehouses, that won’t be the case here. As of now — following weeks of tit-for-tat escalation between China and the U.S. — U.S. tariffs on Chinese products have exploded to a staggering 145%.
While some companies are eating the cost of the tariffs (or at least some of the cost), it’ll be interesting to see how that impacts prices on this all-new drones. In fact, DJI itself already hinted that tariff price hikes were coming.
It’ll also be interesting to see how the drone holds up at U.S. Customs. Many readers have reported having issues getting their hands on the DJI Air 3S because of holdups with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
“Spin Your World”: what to expect on May 13
If the DJI Mavic 4 Pro delivers a rotating Hasselblad camera, better battery life, LIDAR-level autonomy and more internal storage, it could mark a new era for drone creators. And if DJI gets it right, the Mavic 4 Pro might not just spin your world — it could reshape the whole drone industry.
Stay tuned to The Drone Girl for more updates. The drone launch is on May 13 at 8 a.m. ET, and I’ll be watching.
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