Leak suggests DJI’s rumored Avata CineWhoop drone may be delayed

Anticipation that DJI is preparing a July or August launch of a CineWhoop Avata drone has been rising amid repeated product leaks since May – including a new photo of the craft uploaded Sunday. However, recent reports are also indicating release of the indoor FPV craft may be set back beyond summer, due to looming internal company production changes.

Much of the speculation surrounding the rumored DJI Avata drone has been fanned by usually reliable product leaker @DealsDrone – also the source of a trove of information about the company’s latest Mini Pro 3 release. And despite his posting Sunday of an apparent prototype of the indoor FPV craft somewhere out and about, his previous tweet on the UAV advised excitement about a nearing product introduction should probably be re-corked for a while.

“BAD NEWS,” @DealsDrone tweeted. “I know a lot of people are waiting for Avata news, but it seems that Avata is going to delay the release. I heard about the related factory expansion and moving to a new location…”

Though anybody’s guesswork is as credible as another’s when it comes to interpreting rumors and analyzing leaks, there is some reason to suspect DJI may not be taking the Avata to market by the end of summer as suggested. 

That reasoning is linked to DJI’s expected move to its new, snazzy “creative community in the sky” headquarters in Shenzhen sometime later this year. As part of that, the world’s leading non-military drone maker is also reportedly undertaking expansion of its production capabilities. 

That may not only involve the “factory expansion” noted in the @DealsDrone tweet, but possibly relocation of certain sites in closer proximity to the new HQ and campus. Any of that (much less all at once) would presumably make mass manufacturing and global introduction of the new DJI Avata drone particularly tricky.

And while DJI is doubtless keen to dive deeper in booming indoor FPV drone activity with the CineWhoop Avata – or something much like it apparently now under development – the firm may also feel the need to progress at a sustainable pace after what has been a very busy year. 

Read: DJI Mini 3 Pro review: the perfect drone for social media influencers and startup cinematographers 

In addition to the launch of the Mini Pro 3 in May amid rollouts of various other products, the company has also had to juggle problems linked to use of its drones in battles in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Meanwhile DJI has had to push back against continued efforts in the US to expand blacklisting of its drones, and even weather partial COVID-19 lockdown orders around China.

Meanwhile, given some of the bugs that cropped up in the wake of its recent Mini Pro 3 release, and Mavic 3 launch last year, DJI may wind up taking a pragmatic view in planning the introduction of the Avata indoor FPV drone. If so, its own looming structural and production shifts could well shape scheduling in ways conflicting with and confounding rumored release dates.