The leaked rotating ball on the DJI Mavic 4 – now we might know what it is for!

All the leaked images of the replacement for DJI's Mavic 3 Pro premium folding drone – and a natural contender for best camera drone – seem to show an all-new ball-shaped camera module. But until now we've not really established why there should be such a significant change in the design.

DJI has certainly not been afraid of new designs – the recent DJI Flip and DJI Neo releases are both entirely new airframes and came out within a few months of each other – but nevertheless it's a surprise to see a significant change to a product trusted by professionals without good reason, so why might there be such a change (if there is a change – these are just leaks, after all!)

Firstly we do put a lot of credence in the sources of the leaks. We have seen numerous leaks that have proven to be truthful in large part from both Jasper Ellens and Igor Bogdanov which have gone on to become products so I do take them seriously.

So, yes, we think we're seeing a new design. Moreover, there have been a sustained set of images over a period of time purporting to show box designs, the drone and a series of testing situations, and they all, consistently, seem to have what is being trailed as a 'Mavic 4' with a ball-like camera housing.

Since DJI rarely go backwards, we're expecting three cameras in there, but rather than just a new bit of aerodynamic cleverness, it's not starting to look possible – and other commentators are speculating – that the circular design also allows the drone to rotate the cameras – just like the social-media friendly Mini 3 Pro and Mini 4 Pro drones.

This would be another change from the Mavic 3 design, which only allowed horizontal shooting, and would be very useful for creating vertical-format video using the (presumably) lower-resolution mid-tele and tele cameras.

Any low-light improvements are speculation too, but that is an area DJI has concentrated on in other recent launches (like the Air 3S) so is to be expected, and leaked videos show a landing light. Other more confirmed features, according to a leaked FCC report, include 14.32V / 95.3Wh battery (so perhaps 45 minutes flight time). When might we know more? Some are hinting March/April, but this drone has been in development for a year, and there won't be a rush, but we have already seen some supply issues and discounting on the Mavic 3 Pro.

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