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DJI Has Released A More Affordable Mavic 3 Drone
The company’s new Mavic 3 Classic shares plenty of the original Mavic 3’s best features, but at a far more affordable price point.
DJI has just added a new model to its drone lineup, the Mavic 3 Classic, which is positioned as a more accessible variant of the popular Mavic 3 machine. The latest drone boasts many of the flagship’s best features, but at a more welcoming price for newcomers.
The Mavic 3 Classic costs $1,469 for the base unit, though this will end up at more like $1,599 or $1,749 when teamed with either a DJI RC-N1 or DJI RC controller, respectively. Though it’s unlikely many buyers will take the option, it should be noted that the new drone will also be compatible with the company’s RC Pro controller.
So what do you get for the Classic’s asking price? The new budget model loses the additional telephoto lens of the original Mavic 3 drone but offers the same 4/3 CMOS 20-megapixel camera, O3 Plus transmission system, and 46-minute flight time.

The Mavic 3 Classic’s 24mm equivalent lens can record video at 5.1K / 50fps, 4K / 60fps, and 1080p / 60fps using H.264 and H.265 encoding, while slo-mo footage can be captured at 4K / 120fps and 1080p / 200fps. If you want to download images and video directly from the drone, you’ll enjoy 80MB per second transfer speeds when using a Wi-Fi 6 connection.
Newbie Friendly Features
The Mavic 3 Classic looks to be the perfect drone for newcomers to the hobby, sporting features like automated quick shots and a cruise control feature for nervous pilots. When in this mode, the drone flies at a set constant speed, allowing you to focus on photography without the risk of a crash.
The drone can independently plan its own routes to weave around hazards, thanks to eight visual sensors feeding information to an APAS 5.0 obstacle avoidance system. Like many other models, it can also return to home when a connection is lost or if the battery pack is running low.
Availability And Regulations
The Mavic 3 Classic is available now, though you’ll have to check local regulations to ensure it’s legal in your region. In Europe, for example, drone pilots can fly the Mavic 3 Classic in the A1 Open Category without obtaining a remote piloting license.
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At I/O 2026, Sundar Pichai Concedes AI Must Deliver Real Value
Gemini 3.5, a personal agent called Spark, agentic shopping, and Android XR eyewear are all aimed at making AI feel useful, not just impressive.
Google’s annual I/O developer conference (I/O 2026) has recently become a status update on the same question: can the company turn its AI spending into products people use every day? This year, chief executive Sundar Pichai described Google as being in a phase of hyper progress, while conceding this is the part of the cycle where people want to see real value in the products they use on a day-to-day basis.
The strategy on display was to push agents — AI systems that act on a user’s behalf — into nearly every Google product at once. Search now has an “intelligent search box” that returns generated explainer videos alongside links. Gmail, Docs, YouTube and Maps are gaining their own agent layers, including a Docs Live feature that turns spoken instructions into drafted text with citations.
Two new models, Gemini 3.5 and a cheaper Gemini 3.5 Flash, arrived the same day. Google says 900 million people now use Gemini, and that more than 50 billion images have been generated with it. The pricing tier names are likely to confuse buyers: a new AI Ultra plan launches at $100 a month, while the older Gemini AI Ultra drops from $250 to $200.
The flashier announcements were Gemini Omni, a video generator pitched as a more realistic answer to OpenAI’s discontinued Sora 2, and Gemini Spark, a personal agent that handles recurring tasks across a user’s Google account. A new universal shopping cart lets agents complete purchases across multiple retailers from inside Google itself, placing the company between the merchant and the buyer, and also owning the checkout.
Also Read: DJI Teases Dual-Camera Osmo Pocket 4P For 2026 Launch
Google also confirmed its Android XR eyewear, built with Samsung and frames from Warby Parker and Gentle Monster. Audio-only glasses ship this autumn; a display-equipped version, which would superimpose live translations into the wearer’s field of view, is still in development. Both sets translate, however only the display version shows you the result.
What Pichai did not resolve is the bargain underneath all this. An agent is only useful to the degree it knows your calendar, your inbox, your shopping history and your physical surroundings. Google has now confirmed that, in time, the same context may carry advertising.
