A leak has showed up showing what is believed to be a promotional graphic of the yet-to-be-released DJI Mini 5 Pro. While there could be doubts if it’s a real image, it does have one potential feature that correlates with another leak, which might just mean the other, much more exciting features could be true!
This leak comes courtesy of @Drones19170668 on X, a not well-known leaker, and potentially his first exclusive leak (to my knowledge). The reason why I state this is a “sketchy” leak is that some parts of the photos don’t seem to look original. For example, the “5” looks darker and has a unique outer glow. Now, this could just be marketing graphics to make the “5” pop more, but it is also larger and darker on the drone. However, critiquing leaked images is never a foolproof matter of judging authenticity; every image that is leaked from DJI usually is low quality and has something that looks off.
What gives this leak a boost in authenticity is a match with an earlier leak by OsitaLV: the mention of LiDAR sensors. So far, we’ve only seen leaked images of the front of the Mini 5 Pro, which show the LiDAR sensor facing forward, but there could be some on the back. This will improve obstacle avoidance even more with the limited sensors it already has.
The Mini 3 Pro was notorious for poor obstacle avoidance performance. It was there and would be fine if something was directly in front of you or behind you, but it was mostly blind to anything beside it. The Mini 4 Pro improved this with larger and wider optical sensors. The addition of LiDAR on the Mini 5 Pro will take this a step further.
50 Min. Battery Life
An expected increase will begin battery performance. Since the redesign and introduction of the Plus batteries with the Mini 3 Pro, the Mini series has been a leader in flight time. The Mini 4 Pro advertises a 45-minute flight time with its Intelligent Flight Battery Plus; the drone’s leak shares the possibility of breaking that 50-minute mark.
This will likely be with the Plus battery, which also pushes the drone’s weight past the 249g mark, increasing regulations on the drone. Without the Plus battery, the Mini 4 Pro gets 35 minutes of flight time, still nothing to laugh at, and the Mini 5 Pro will likely improve that.
1″ Camera Sensor
The Air 2S was widely loved, and still is loved, for its unique 1-inch camera sensor. Due to multiple reasons, the Air 2S took some of the best photos the drone industry saw from a consumer product, and I would bet it can still fight toe to toe against the Mavic 3‘s Micro 4/3 camera.
This is why I’m excited for the possibility of a 1-inch camera returning to the DJI drone lineup with the Mini 5 Pro. Although it does seem a little far-fetched that they could fit one in such a small payload, DJI is good at what they do.
It is important to note that a “1-inch” sensor is not actually 1″ in size. Here is a better article that explains why it’s called that; however, they are much larger than what DJI currently puts in its Air 3S and the zoom lenses of the Mavic 3 Pro.
I also wouldn’t be shocked to see many of these features come in the hopefully soon-to-be-released Mavic 4 Pro and then eventually to the Air 4. As nowadays, they all seem to borrow a few pieces of tech from each other during each release, especially cameras.
Will the Mini 5 Pro come out this year?
Likely. The Mini 4 Pro was released at the end of 2023, so we are over a year old on that drone’s architecture. DJI usually releases its drones between early spring and late fall. With the Mavic 4 Pro slated to be released in the spring, that would leave a summer to fall release for the Mini 5 Pro; my bet would be closer to the summer.
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