Retail leak on rumored DJI Mini 3 drone suggests $530 basic price

While successive online leaks about the Mini 3 drone that DJI is believed to be preparing for launch have left little doubt about the craft itself, information available about its pricing has generated more questions than answers on how the product will be positioned. A new alert out of Europe, however, seems to provide more clarity on that score, indicating an entry-level tag of around $530.

As DroneDJ readers will know from previous reports, the rumored (and amply substantiated through social media leaks) DJI drone under development appears to be a step-down version of the Mini 3 Pro. As such, it is expected to reflect the strategy adopted by the company over the past year of releasing full-feature, tech-amped products first, followed by less expensive iterations that drop some of the pricier capabilities. 

Read: DJI launches Mavic 3 Classic: Mavic 3 chops, softer wallet bite 

That logic drove DJI’s release of the Mavic 3 Classic as a step-down version of the top-of-the-line photography Mavic 3, and the Mini SE  as a more affordable alternative its Mini 2 predecessor. Visual evidence in images of, and company documents on the drone – which some DJI sleuths expect will be announced December 9 ­– is designed as a Mini 3 Pro craft minus Active Shot, obstacle avoidance tech, and more than half of the transmission distance capacity.

Under the established step-down scenario, the least expensive version of the new product would be slotted somewhere between entry-level prices for the Mini 2 at $499 ($599 as a Fly More Combo), and Mini 3 Pro range of $699 for the drone on its own ($759 with a RC-N1; and $909 with the DJI RC).

Yet leaked pricing information last week showed figures ranging from about $850 to over $1,100 – something that would give the Pro-light product an incongruous Pro-Plus cost.

Read more: New DJI Mini 3 leaks offer product clues, pricing confusion [Update] 

Today, @IgorBodganov supplemented his previous leaks on expected Mini 3 pricing with a screencap from a Czech retailer that should be manna to expecting DJI fans: a €529,90 sticker that should translate to $530 or lower in the US. (Despite the dollar currently trading less on markets than the euro, identical products are almost invariably sold at lower prices in the US regardless of exchange rates – to the undying vexation of European consumers.)

The Czech retailer page (and price) is apparently for a drone-only sales option that would indeed place the product somewhere between low-end Mini 2 and Mini 3 Pro variants. Based on ranges cited earlier, the Fly More Combos could be expected to add $100 and $150-plus respectively to the cost of a solo craft.

Which, if true, would make a great deal more sense than previous ranges – though is still no guarantee that Mini 2 owners whose budgets don’t allow a jump to a Mini 3 Pro will find the new step-down drone affordable enough to shell out for.

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