DJI announces its latest Mini 3 Pro drone

DJI is giving its smallest drone a newer look and new ways to do what it does best in the form of the Mini 3 Pro. If you follow DJI, you may have heard this was coming, but it’s now official, and the details look interesting. For one, this is the first time DJI has used “Pro” to describe its Mini drones, and the reason for doing it here has a lot to do with the upgrades and capabilities.

As you might expect, this new Mini 3 Pro is sticking to its compact design traits, so it will be foldable and easy to carry, given its lighter weight. It isn’t any heavier than its predecessor, weighing at a very feathery 249 grams. That number is important because drone flight regulations often shift for any device weighing 250 grams or more.

Small and feature packed DJI Mini 3 Pro 

While it does maintain the diminutive stature of DJI’s previous minis, like the Mini 2 and Mavic Mini, DJI did make a real attempt to push features and performance to justify the “Pro” designation. For starters, it comes with a remote controller that has a built-in screen. That’s a first for any of DJI’s mini drones. It’s also significant because it means you don’t always have to use your phone to see what it sees. From the looks of it, it may be a simpler version of DJI’s existing RC Pro controller that was often sold separately as a more professional accessory.

The controller’s presence makes all the more sense because of the new sensors DJI put on the drone itself. The company equipped the Mini 3 Pro with dual-vision sensors in the front, back and bottom to avoid obstacles during flight. That’s a big reason why it is also claiming this to be the “safest Mini to date.”

Obstacle avoidance on DJI drones is hardly new, but to include it in something this small does have big implications because it would allow you to capture footage and worry less about accidentally crashing it in the process. Without flying it, it’s hard to tell just how well the Mini 3 Pro can navigate around and away from tighter spots, but at least has the ability to do so in ways previous models couldn’t.

Image enhancement

Not to be outdone, DJI also wanted to push further limits with the camera. It opted to go with a larger 1/1.3-inch CMOS sensor that can shoot 4K at 60fps. Previous models could only shoot up to 30fps in 4K, so it is a big jump. For still photos, you can shoot in RAW at 48-megapixels. Slow-motion video is also doable in 1080p at 120fps. DJI claims low-light and night shooting will be much better, but that remains to be seen.

The gimbal can still tilt, roll and pan, but also rotates into a vertical portrait orientation. If you’re thinking TikTok or Instagram Stories, that’s very much what DJI had in mind. When it rotates 90-degrees, it allows you to record footage that you can then share on social media in that more favourable orientation.

No matter the orientation, focus tracking is in the mix, letting you focus and follow yourself or another subject. There are also different modes, like Dronie, Rocket, Circle, Spiral, Asteroid, and Boomerang.

It can fly up to 25km/h at its max speed, with a max distance of 18 km away before the controller loses its connection. That is variable, though, because obstacles could shorten that distance considerably. Best to be careful if you’re not in a really open area.

DJI says the standard battery can keep it going for 34 minutes, though again, that is probably relative number, as wind speed and camera recording do play into how long batteries last with drones.

The DJI Mini 3 Pro is coming to Best Buy. See how it compares to the latest drones available.