DJI Air 4: Yup we’re talking about it already

A potential first leak of the DJI Air 4 has surfaced that shows the potential successor of the mid-range drone is in the works. It also shows potential changes that echo what is being done on the upcoming Mavic 4 Pro.

Jasper Ellens shared an image of what he assures us is the DJI Air 4. Yes, we know we’re just a handful of months out from the release of the Air 3S, the upgraded version but in the same body as the Air 3, which came out in July 2023.

Is it too soon to even believe any leaks that could refer to an Air 4 being in the works? Well, like most tech companies, DJI is constantly working on new products years in advance of their release. I mean, the research and development time for new products does require time to be completed. This early image of a crashed test unit could be just that, as Ellens states:

“A crashed prototype shows it will have a similar top design with #three top sensors like the to be released #DJIMavic4. The arms are a bit thicker than the #air3s so the finished product hopefully looks better. Cheers!”

Those three top sensors, and zero rear sensors, make me think that the body of the Air 4 will be similar to that of the Mini 4 Pro and Mavic 4 Pro drones. This would place the rear of the drone’s body below the rear propellers, improving airflow and giving those top sensors a view of what is behind the drone. This would make sense if the final Air 4 product does not feature rear-facing obstacle avoidance sensors.

Ellens points out that we shouldn’t expect a final product until later this year. By that point, the Air 3 would be two and a half years old; that’s pretty old in tech years. By that point, an overall refresh of the drone’s design makes sense.

Outside of the top body sensors, there’s not much else we can see from this early leak. Got any feature requests? I know I would love to see a return of the dual-camera payload and a hope for true vertical recording.