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Mini SE launches in China as DJI’s cheapest, entry-level drone

DJI is slowly and steadily expanding the geographies where its cheapest drone yet, the Mini SE, is available. After hitting the shelves in Southeast Asia and South America some three weeks ago, the Mini SE is making a debut in its home market, China. There, the 249-gram drone is shipping with a price tag of 1,999 yuan, which roughly converts to $309.

It’s worth remembering that the DJI Mini SE is not a low-cost version of the Mini 2, but a less expensive Mavic Mini, which was first released in 2019. What’s different is that the Mini SE is packed in the shell of the Mini 2 and uses the same intelligent flight battery as the Mini 2.

Key specs of DJI’s cheapest drone

The 249-gram ultralight drone comes with a maximum flight time of 30 minutes and a 4 km high-def transmission range. Its 3-axis mechanically stabilized camera can capture 12 MP stills and 2.7K HD resolution videos.

If you’re new to drone flying, you should know that the DJI Fly app has a Flight Tutorial feature to help you get started with Mini SE quickly and safely. The same app would also give you a variety of video editing templates so that beginners with no editing experience can also turn aerial footage into stunning videos for social media.

Want share-worthy videos even quicker? Use the four QuickShot modes available – Dronie, Circle, Helix, and Rocket – to direct the movement of the drone while recording. These are great for automatically generating short videos and sharing them instantly with friends on social media.

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US launch of DJI Mini SE?

Well, the launch of DJI Mini SE in the United States is beginning to remind us of the will-they-or-won’t-they trope of popular sitcoms. When we contacted DJI earlier this month to find out what was happening with the US launch, this is what they told us:

The DJI Mini SE is a specialized product tailored for entry-level drone pilots in markets where consumer drone use is emerging. There are currently no plans to sell this product in the US or Europe (apart from Russia). DJI Mini 2 remains our flagship entry-level drone, with its superior 4K/30fps resolution and up to 10km image transmission (subject to local rules and regulations).

However, only a few days later, the drone hit the database of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) – which is typically an indication that a product is ready to be released commercially. DroneDJ colleague Scott Simmie has shared the photos from the FCC filing here.

We suspect the US launch will take place after all. That’s because, with sub-250-gram drones becoming more and more popular, it makes sense for DJI to try to flood this category at all price points and keep the competition away. So, stay tuned!

Read more: Hubsan’s 249g Zino Mini Pro drone hits FCC database before launch

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Avatar for Ishveena Singh Ishveena Singh

Ishveena Singh is a versatile journalist and writer with a passion for drones and location technologies. She has been named as one of the 50 Rising Stars of the geospatial industry for the year 2021 by Geospatial World magazine.