The Discontinuation of the Phantom and The Advancement of Technology.

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The Discontinuation of the Phantom and The Advancement of Technology.

The Phantom 2 Vision Plus was the first that started it all for me. It came with a revolutionary concept called the Vision App that worked on your smart phone. It did not have a Go Pro camera like the Phantom 2 did. Since that time, DJI came out with the Phantom 3 and Phantom 4 as well as upgrades on that.

To me, the Phantom 3 Standard was the Phantom 2 Vision Plus without the glory. Of course, the Phantom 3 Advanced and Professional were both two better than the Phantom 2 Vision Plus. At the very least, the chances of the P 3 Pro would have a lower chance to fly away. Once we got into the Phantom 4, the sensor technology was to leave a long lasting impression for me.

“Why does DJI have to update these products? I just bought this and what a waste of money.” Well given that the very nature of technology is change. Improvement is one step away from the engineering board. Personally, the Mavic killed just about everything else out there. It also shows what technology can do when a company cares enough to make their products one better.

So what is at stake for DJI? When does all of this change?

mavic.jpg
 
So what is at stake for DJI? When does all of this change?

That's pretty wild - and in such a short time on the market the P4 is no longer going to be in production! Definitely a case of technology improvements moving very fast.

Maybe, they are looking at the P4Pro and the Mavic/Pro as being so technologically sound - why keep producing..."inferior"....Phantoms with the "old technology" where there are too many issues resulting in returns, repairs, replacements and so called fly-aways. Perhaps their thinking is........... "we can make em better with less warranty claims and increase our profit margins as a result".

Or, maybe they know something more than the consumer knows as to the future of hobbyists and drone flying that's the cynical side of my thinking - LOL - but hey, just saying!
 
The Discontinuation of the Phantom and The Advancement of Technology.

The Phantom 2 Vision Plus was the first that started it all for me. It came with a revolutionary concept called the Vision App that worked on your smart phone. It did not have a Go Pro camera like the Phantom 2 did. Since that time, DJI came out with the Phantom 3 and Phantom 4 as well as upgrades on that.

To me, the Phantom 3 Standard was the Phantom 2 Vision Plus without the glory. Of course, the Phantom 3 Advanced and Professional were both two better than the Phantom 2 Vision Plus. At the very least, the chances of the P 3 Pro would have a lower chance to fly away. Once we got into the Phantom 4, the sensor technology was to leave a long lasting impression for me.

“Why does DJI have to update these products? I just bought this and what a waste of money.” Well given that the very nature of technology is change. Improvement is one step away from the engineering board. Personally, the Mavic killed just about everything else out there. It also shows what technology can do when a company cares enough to make their products one better.

So what is at stake for DJI? When does all of this change?

View attachment 73821
Agreed, it's the nature of technology. My i7 laptop is a year old and it is obsolete. This is expected.

I've been shooting Canon SLR's since the 70's. I've progressed to digital, shooting a 300D, 20D, 40D, 7D and most recently, the 7DmkII.

I'm comfortable with technological advancements. Technology will move forward, but that doesn't make what I own any worse. So long as there are repair parts for my drones I will continue flying them. When repair parts become hard to source I will do what is necessary to keep my birds up in the air.

There is a downside to technological advancement, and I see that downside here. Folks who desire a drone are paralyzed, always waiting for the next iteration of a product. Some of these folks wait forever, others bite the bullet and buy something.

Life is too short to put off things that shouldn't be put off. The mavic will be obsoleted as soon ad DJI figures out how to do it. Go out, get yourself a bird and start flying it is what I say.

I love my P4. Was I disappointed when the P4P was released? Absolutely not. The existence of the P4P doesn't take away anything from my P4.

Drones will continue to become more advanced and less expensive. It's been this way with TV's forever. My 50" UHD 4K Vizeo cost me less than a 27" CRT television of the 70's era did. That's a very good thing.

Cheers
 
However, from a price point perspective business will be lost as nothing for sale in the middle. P3S to P4pro? I understand business but am scratching my head at this one.

yup
 
So this is kind of disappointing to read. As someone that only could afford the P3S and just getting it but was looking forward to moving up to the P4 in the future it sounds like I won't have the opportunity to do so. :(
 
That's pretty wild - and in such a short time on the market the P4 is no longer going to be in production!
This news has been way overblown. Let's look at the release history of the Phantom line, per Wikipedia:

Phantom 1: January 2013
Phantom 2: December 2013 (11 months later)
Phantom 3: April 2015 (16 months after Phantom 2)
Phantom 4: March 2016 (11 months after Phantom 3)

If DJI is keeping with its release pattern, it's going to be much like Apple with the iPhone. You can bet on a new model every year. At least you can plan on it.

It's late January. I suspect the reason the Phantom 4 is out of production is that DJI knows how many they have in stock compared with how many they're selling every month, compared with when they plan to release a new model. No need to keep building it if they have a few hundred thousand already produced and they plan to release a new model in a couple of months.

I also suspect, like the Phantom 3, there are plenty of unsold 4s that will be discounted until they're gone. Look for some good Phantom 4 sales on Black Friday in 10 months.
 
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So this is kind of disappointing to read. As someone that only could afford the P3S and just getting it but was looking forward to moving up to the P4 in the future it sounds like I won't have the opportunity to do so. :(

Cheer up. The P4P will become much more affordable when the P5 hits the shelves.
 
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Or, maybe they know something more than the consumer knows as to the future of hobbyists and drone flying

I am thinking that what I stated previously as to above quote might be more realistic as to considering further and far more federal regulations and tighter restrictions when it comes to the hobbyist.

I'm sure DJI has a lot of inside information relating to this stuff as we the consumerwould - as such they may be almost "forced" into some tighter restrictions as to their future drone capabilities. As such they are re-thinking or rather being more proactive toward getting ahead of the game with what they build and how it flies for future models.
 
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:sleepy::sleepy::sleepy:
 
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I understood the OP's post to be that the Phantom line all together was no longer going to be made.
The notice DJI sent to its dealers that I read says only the entry-level Phantom 4 is ending production. The Phantom 4 Pro and Pro+ are still in production.
 

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