New boxed DJI Mini 2 SE leak claims drone available ‘tomorrow’ [Update]

Though DJI remains unusually quiet for a company rumored to be set to launch its first drone of 2023, an additional online photo leak this morning adds support to the theory a new Mini 2 SE model may be rolled out tomorrow ­– though where (and, of course, if) remains to be seen.

Reliable DJI leaker @DealsDrone followed up evidence uploaded Monday of a looming new drone release with a photo today of what looks to be a boxed Mini 2 SE ready to hit store shelves. Which, the tweet asserts, it indeed will Thursday as the product teaser he first shared seemed to suggest.

[Update at 1:25 p.m. CET]

DJI sleuth Igor Bogdanov seconded the earlier photos with addition evidence of his own that a launch is nearing.

Were DJI playing by its usual playbook, the “2023.02.09 | 11:30” text on the teaser would indicate the timing of a formal presentation of a new Mini 2 SE, rather than the product’s immediate availability in stores. But if specs subsequentially leaked are accurate – and, indeed, the rumored existence of the craft true – they would suggest DJI is playing its product development hand a little differently this time around.

Read: New leaks of rumored DJI Mini 2 SE add detail – and raise questions – about a new drone 

If the leaked product details are legit, the Mini 2 SE would appear to be positioned as DJI’s new entry-level drone, with its introduction marking the beginning of the end for the Mini SE. 

The company has repeatedly rolled out more affordable variants of premium models introduced just months before – notably of the Mavic 3 and Mini 3 Pro. But in filling that role for the 2020-released and still quite popular Mini 2, the Mini SE 2 would represent that step-down strategy being applied to a long-established product.

If that indeed happens, it would also presumably signal DJI lifting the cost of entry to its dance by phasing out what the obtained specs suggest would become a largely obsolete Mini SE – and its $299 sticker – to make room for a Mini 2 SE priced somewhere closer to the Mini 2’s $449. Meaning the mini-est of minis would be getting max-ier. 

Read: What could DJI release in 2023? Here’s a leaker’s guess

All of that, however, remains entirely speculative given DJI’s continuing silence scarcely 24 hours from what the teaser suggests to be a Thursday unveiling.

But one thing that  appears more certain is if DJI does launch the Mini 2 SE as rumored, the drone won’t be flying off US shelves right away. Thus far, the product hasn’t turned up on the Federal Communications Commission database – the sine quo non for US sales – as the Mini SE did after it earlier fulfilled its intended role of becoming a more affordable entry-level craft in emerging drone markets.