Flying High

Daniel Bennett throws on his winter woollies and braves the great outdoors to put DJI’s new Mavic Pro drone to the test

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Form and function

Our first 10 minutes with the Mavic were spent simply marvelling at the thing. The gunmetal grey paint and angular chassis scream dystopian sci-fi and we like it. With the arms tucked in, under its belly and behind its back, the Mavic shrinks down to sit on the palm of your hand. The teeny footprint makes it incredibly discreet: larger drones attract crowds in seconds.

The 4K camera is mounted on a gimble with added stabilisation. This, paired with sensors all over its shell, creates a vision system that enables it to fly autonomously. Even the remote – into which you dock a smartphone to get a live view from the drone’s camera – is small but perfectly proportioned and instantly familiar to anyone who’s played on games console.

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