Searching DJI website , it seems the Phantom 4 is out of stock . How can this be?! This is the drone of choice. I’m not a regular reader of this site. Did I miss something??
Malone
Malone
Are the Phantoms discontinued?
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The *RUMOR* discussed on this forum and others is Phantom production has been halted in preparation for releasing a new drone, perhaps the Phantom 5. This is a standard manufacturing tactic to start building up a stock of the new product while generating a demand for the new drone by temporarily starving the market. A new product is kept secret and not normally announced until it is ready to ship. On the other hand, it may just be temporary as production has shifted to the other drones to meet demand, then revert back to building more Phantoms. A temporary shortage. I stress, these are the dominant RUMORS as there has been no official word from DJI. In short, nobody really knows - yet. Seems this situation can't linger on much longer without some explanation for DJI to keep their market lead.
Meta4
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DJI has never left the shelves bare before releasing a new model and it seems beyond unlikely that they would be out of stock for more than three months as a marketing gimmick.
They never had to halt production to concentrate on other models and it's unthinkable they would leave themselves out of stock for >3 months and then just resume.
DJI made a weak explanation a long while back, saying they had a problem with supply of some components.
It seems that wasn't the real cause now but DJI don't do a lot of communicating.
There's nothing to link the absence of the P4 series to the release of a P5.
Whatever DJI is up to with the Phantom, they aren't saying.
It's hard to imagine DJI ending one of the most popular drones in the market. As a former manufacturing guy, I think it makes sense to wind down inventory as you get ready to introduce a replacement product. Timing can be affected by a spike in demand for the old product or delay in the new product availability.
That's the bottom line, Meta4 - DJI just ain't saying. Fortunately, I'm not in a market for a new Phantom (my P3S still going strong). But for those who are, empty shelves for over 3 months is a quandary. Something is up, but what? Hopefully it will be worth the wait and not a disappointment, or the complete discontinuation of the Phantom line. All we can do is scratch our heads, wait and see.
I agree with Meta4, even if DJI are planning on releasing a new model, I don’t think they would be doing themselves any favours running the shelves dry. For one thing there must be a steady stream of parts required for repair and replacement purposes. People will continue to have accidents with their babies.
I wonder whether the U.S. trade tariffs are having any impact on this?
I wonder whether the U.S. trade tariffs are having any impact on this?
I can tell you that eBay i shaving a great time selling Phantom 4s at a profit that's for sure. If you wanted to unload one, now would be the time (assuming you have another for yourself of course). I wish I had a spare to sell, nice $ to be made.
I think it’s now officially suspicious that the P4 is still it of stock, no P5 expected, no replacement announcement / this is beyond weird and entering into concerning - my company needs two more and we can’t find them, except over priced on eBay (non-authorized dealer so a no-go for us)
False alarm, I used a different browser, it says back ordered, it must have been a cached page .
Pure conjecture on my part but here's what I think .....
In the past couple of years we have seen Pt 107 come about in the USofA and in other countries such as Canada and Britain registration and licensing and registration requirements tightened. We are seeing governments making it harder for hobbiests to fly and commercial pilots keep tighter records and get more permissions. We have seen new laws requiring that aircraft meet certain minimum safety and maintenance standards and certifications before being allowed to fly. New rules such as lighting, ADS-B in (and out?) have been passed or are being discussed. Traffic management software is being tested and fast tracked and will be required.
DJI improved the Matrice and other larger models with new safety features and updates for the commercial market At the same time we have seen them market a line of small Mavic Enterprise models to commercial and fires responder users. The Phantom models exist in what they have referred to as "prosumer" markets. It seems to straddle the line between hobby pilots who want to shoot videos for YouTube and commercial pilots who need a platform which will do surveys, mapping and even search and rescue jobs.
I believe that the recent corruption that DJI uncovered in their financial audits goes a lot deeper than we were told and many of their suppliers are being forced to clean house. At the same time DJI has to decide if they want to continue to pour R&D into UAVs which will be marketed to hobby fliers who are having harder times finding legal places to fly or if they should pivot harder toward more "Enterprise" models.
Aaaannnndddd, all while having to ensure that any new models they produce are going to be able to meet the new, stricter standards being placed on them by the various government and regulatory agencies.
I would not be surprised to learn that DJI is hard at work trying to design and get parts for a new model Phantom which will be future proof regarding Remote ID, Collision Avoidance and Airworthiness certifications. But until some of the new rules/laws are agreed upon and settled it would be unwise to begin work on producing that model of aircraft for sale only to have to offer retrofits shortly afterwards.
That's just my 2 cents and I may be completely wrong.
In the past couple of years we have seen Pt 107 come about in the USofA and in other countries such as Canada and Britain registration and licensing and registration requirements tightened. We are seeing governments making it harder for hobbiests to fly and commercial pilots keep tighter records and get more permissions. We have seen new laws requiring that aircraft meet certain minimum safety and maintenance standards and certifications before being allowed to fly. New rules such as lighting, ADS-B in (and out?) have been passed or are being discussed. Traffic management software is being tested and fast tracked and will be required.
DJI improved the Matrice and other larger models with new safety features and updates for the commercial market At the same time we have seen them market a line of small Mavic Enterprise models to commercial and fires responder users. The Phantom models exist in what they have referred to as "prosumer" markets. It seems to straddle the line between hobby pilots who want to shoot videos for YouTube and commercial pilots who need a platform which will do surveys, mapping and even search and rescue jobs.
I believe that the recent corruption that DJI uncovered in their financial audits goes a lot deeper than we were told and many of their suppliers are being forced to clean house. At the same time DJI has to decide if they want to continue to pour R&D into UAVs which will be marketed to hobby fliers who are having harder times finding legal places to fly or if they should pivot harder toward more "Enterprise" models.
Aaaannnndddd, all while having to ensure that any new models they produce are going to be able to meet the new, stricter standards being placed on them by the various government and regulatory agencies.
I would not be surprised to learn that DJI is hard at work trying to design and get parts for a new model Phantom which will be future proof regarding Remote ID, Collision Avoidance and Airworthiness certifications. But until some of the new rules/laws are agreed upon and settled it would be unwise to begin work on producing that model of aircraft for sale only to have to offer retrofits shortly afterwards.
That's just my 2 cents and I may be completely wrong.
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As of right now production on the Phantom 4 Pro V2.0 has been halted, and even marked out of stock on DJI's official website. There is nothing out officially yet, but signs are pointing to this drone getting discontinued soon.
I saw the P4P, P4P+, P4A,P4A+ and obsidian versions all go discontinued on the B&H site for several days. I had been watching them for several months because I wanted to buy one. After the pro versions were discontinued I bought an A+ on sale shortly before it changed to discontinued. Then the Advanced versions became available again. And then the pro versions did too.
I know I know - bringing this topic to life again but ... I was at my local authorized DJI shop talking with the dealer. No, he doesn't have any special insider info and this is just speculation between two guys but ... frankly, I think we can pretty much end this convo with: Looks like DJI, in the consumer realm, is phasing out the Phantom line in favor of the Mavic. What does the Phantom have to offer that the Mavic doesn't? And, if you accept that they are now pouring their combined consumer side efforts into just the one line instead of between two they can produce a better product for the same price. As in, it's more likely to expect a Mavic 3.0 than a next Phantom model.
The more we talked about it it really made sense to me in a way that only talking aloud sometimes does (rather than typing or reading it).
We kept coming back to: Why would they release another Phantom? What would they do there that they couldn't do or do better with the Mavic platform?
The more we talked about it it really made sense to me in a way that only talking aloud sometimes does (rather than typing or reading it).
We kept coming back to: Why would they release another Phantom? What would they do there that they couldn't do or do better with the Mavic platform?
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