News

New DJI Mini 2 SE Drone Has A 10km Range & Costs Just $369

The latest upgrade is only a modest one, but still represents great value for money.

Published

4 years ago

February 9, 2023

Nour Nasir

new dji mini 2 se drone has a 10km range and costs just $369

DJI

After multiple circulating rumors, DJI will release a new Mini 2 SE drone with a couple of modest updates over the existing entry-level model. Notably, DJI has added its in-house OcuSync 2.0 transmission system to the new model, so the device can now fly more than twice as far as the original Mini SE, which maxed out at 4km.

The new system should also make for more stable video feeds at the further end of the drone’s range, though many regions now have laws in place to limit flying to line-of-sight distances.

DJI claims its latest drone can fly for 31 minutes on a fully-charged battery, which is roughly the same as the outgoing model, adding just one extra minute of flight. As for the rest of the drone’s specs, things look pretty identical to the previous model. The Mini 2 SE tips the scales at 249 grams and retains the existing camera system with a three-axis gimbal and 1/2.3-inch CMOS sensor able to capture 2.7K video and 12MP stills.

Also Read: Sony Announces New Walkman W-ZX707 And NW-A306 Models

The DJI Mini 2 SE will be available for $369 on its release in March. However, you’ll also be able to purchase a “Fly More Combo” that adds additional batteries, replacement propellers, and a carrying case for $519.

News

Microsoft Plans $10 Billion-Plus Gulf Expansion Despite Iran Conflict

Security is shaping Microsoft’s approach, from resilience work with governments to what it will say about how the money splits by country.

Published

4 days ago

September 24, 2026

Nour Nasir

Microsoft

Microsoft is planning more than $10 billion of investment across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait through 2030, Vice Chair and President Brad Smith told Reuters, calling the spending schedule aggressive. The Iranian conflict that began on February 28 has not persuaded the company to scale back.

“We’re sustaining all the investments we planned to make before this conflict started, and we are in fact adding to them,” Smith said. The $10 billion-plus total does not, however, show how large those additions are.

The investment, which Smith described as part of Microsoft’s continued infrastructure expansion, is aimed at cloud and AI infrastructure and at the company’s growing regional operations. Microsoft also intends to put more than $400 million into subsea and terrestrial connectivity across the Middle East by 2030.

The spending fits the region’s own ambitions too. Gulf governments have been investing heavily in AI infrastructure as part of a push to diversify their economies beyond oil and gas and turn themselves into global technology hubs. Major cloud and AI providers have been drawn in part by the land and relatively low-cost energy on offer.

Microsoft is widening its partnerships with regional AI companies, though not on identical terms. In 2024, it invested $1.5 billion in Abu Dhabi-based G42 for a minority stake, and Smith currently sits on G42’s board. Saudi Arabia’s Humain and Qatar’s Qai are working with Microsoft on selected priority areas, but Smith said the company does not plan to make capital investments in either.

Also Read: Egypt’s Mobile Wallets Are Booming, But Cash Still Has Power

The conflict has added another strand to Microsoft’s work in the region. Since it began, Smith said, the company has supported regional partners with digital resilience assessments, and it is now working with Gulf countries through a digital resilience initiative focused on preparedness and the protection of critical data.

So far, the company has given no country-by-country breakdown of the investment, citing security among other factors. So while the headline figure is public, how Microsoft divides the spending among the four countries is not.