DroneDJ Weekly: DJI responds to Mavic 3 GPS issues, Mini 3 video leaks, and more

This week we saw more rumors of the upcoming Mini 3 drone and, finally, a response from DJI over the Mavic 3 GPS issues. We also got a look at Autel’s Dynamic Tracking on the Lite+. Catch up on the top drone news below.

First leaked video of DJI’s upcoming Mini 3

Videos leaked show a fully assembled Mini 3 post a possible crash. In addition, the video showed off new features we have been seeing rumors of, like obstacle avoidance and a new design allowing for vertical recording. Reportedly the serial number of the drone has been active since the beginning of March, meaning DJI has been testing the Mini 3 for quite some time now.

This drone looks like a test unit and could have experienced a nasty crash, leaving one of the points the camera gimbal attaches to the aircraft broken. Hopefully, now that we know DJI is making and testing the Mini 3, a release date is right around the corner.

DJI responds to continued Mavic 3 GPS issues

If you are an owner of DJI’s flagship Mavic 3 drone, you have probably either been a victim of this or have heard of others suffering from the problem. Many users of the Mavic 3 have described issues while trying to connect to enough GPS satellites for a home lock. The issue was supposed to be fixed in DJI’s 0600 firmware for the Mavic 3, but it wasn’t.

It took the company over a week to respond to the issues. DroneDJ confirmed a support email from DJI stating it is working on a fix that would come via another firmware update in the next two months.

Two new models of Autel’s Dragonfish come to the US

Autel’s robust Dragonfish drone will now have two new models available to customers in the US, the Pro and Lite. The two variations do as their names imply. Autel’s Dragonfish Pro is a larger, more capable version that gives you a higher flight ceiling, flight time, and payload capacity. The Lite is a smaller, more compact Dragonfish variant, allowing for increased versatility.

First flights with Autel’s Lite+ and Dynamic Tracking

Autel released new firmware for its Lite and Nano series drones, adding many new features. The most anticipated is Dynamic Tracking on the Lite+. Sadly the tracking only supports people, no cars or bikes, but for now, that is okay.

Autel isn’t necessarily known for its great tracking software, DJI and Skydio currently lead that market. Autel’s tracking is buggy and sometimes flat-out dangerous, but it shows a lot of promise. If left to just track the subject and not follow, it does a pretty good job. However, we and others have experienced issues when having the Lite+ follow you around complex and even basic scenarios.