Waiting to pick up the sub-250-gram Autel EVO Nano or the Autel EVO Lite mid-range drone this holiday season? You may want to explore other options.
After numerous leaks, Autel officially announced two new drone series – EVO Nano and EVO Lite – with multiple configurations on September 28, 2021. It’s been more than a month since the underwhelming launch of what look to be great products, but we’ve yet to receive an update on the shipping.
At the time of launch, authorized dealers had indicated a timeline of late October or early November. But now, it would appear that Autel Nano and Autel Lite drones may not hit the shelves until next year.
According to B&H Photo Video, which is accepting pre-orders for the new Autel drones, the Nano and Lite would become available only on February 1, 2022.
Here’s a screengrab that shows the expected availability of the Autel Nano on B&H:
And another, showing the in-stock forecast for the Autel Lite drones:
A history of production and delivery delays
This news will certainly be disappointing for Autel fans, but it wouldn’t be the first time Autel gives a product a soft launch, only to drag out its in-hand delivery.
The EVO II drone showed up in FCC filings (typically the last step before commercial release) in November 2019, was officially announced in January 2020, and finally became available for purchase in April 2020.
EVO II Smart Controller V1 was also released on April 20, 2021, but its shipping commenced after a gap of two months, on June 24.
EVO II Smart Controller V2 was delayed even further. After a June 4, 2021, launch, the product showed up in Enterprise kits on September 22, and finally became available to buy as a standalone product on October 8.
Further, EVO II V2 drone, which was released alongside the Smart Controller V2, didn’t begin to ship until July 30.
On a side note, this pattern sure seems to indicate that the drone maker would announce the Autel EVO III when its Nano and Lite drones finally hit the market.
In the meantime, Autel’s biggest competitor, DJI, refuses to make its customers wait, ensuring that even the just-released Mavic 3 drone is available for next-day shipping in major markets like US and Canada.
Read more: DJI ‘working on assuring compliance’ for Mavic 3 in Europe
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