DJI Phantom 4 Leaks and Rumors

The DJI Phantom 4 is almost as inevitable as me drinking a beer when I get home from work.  It’s not if it will happen.  It’s only a matter of when.  Yes.  The DJI Phantom 4 is coming.  And if DJI follows the same release schedule as the last few phantoms the DJI Phantom 4 release date will be sometime towards the middle to end of 2016.  However, it is possible that DJI might release a Phantom 3+ or some other half step drone similar to Apple’s iPhone release schedule where they release an incremental “S” upgrade every other year.  This would make sense, as the Phantom 2 was followed by the Phantom 2 Vision Plus, rather than the Phantom 3.

Time will tell, but the rumor mill is full of leaks that the whole new Phantom 4 is already in some degree of production.

The DJI Phatom 4 Leaks

Recently leaked (or purportedly leaked) images of production parts of the DJI Phantom 4 have been found on the internet.  These appear to show an upgraded LiPon Intelligent Battery, a new shell and upgraded motors, and some new ergonomics to how this design functions, including upgraded grips on the battery clips.  The most interesting aspect of the leaked images is how tall the motors are on the new Phantom 4.  Its possible these are early prototype pictures and that the final production version will be smaller.  We’ll have to wait and see.

DJI Phantom 4 Rumors

There have been several rumors as of lately on what new features the Phantom 4 will bring to the already feature rich line of Phantom Quadcoptors.  Some of these leaks or rumors seem pretty credible, while some just seem ridiculous.

• 6K Video:  I find this to be the least credible.  No one has a video device to play 6K on yet and 4K hasn’t even really taken a major foothold in the market.  My belief is that 4K will be the go forward for at least two more generations of Phantom drones.
• Longer 30 minute flight time: This seems like a no brainer, especially with the talk of more efficient motors and an upgrade battery.
• Advanced Follow Me: The Phantom 4 will have a bracelet you can wear for follow me that will not require you to carry the remote control during a follow me exercise.  This will be fantastic for people who want to Phantom 4 to follow them when skiing or swimming.
• Object and Crash Avoidance: The DJI Phantom 4 will have an obstacle and crash avoidance system which will look for things like tree branches, guy wires, posts, etc and avoid flying into them.
• New Landing Gear: Everything from a shorter landing gear to a retractable landing gear have been mentioned.  However, this seems like something that would likely be saved for the professional or Inspire line of drones.  I don’t put much faith in this one.

Well that’s all the rumors I have heard!  Leave a comment below if you know of any others!