so Autel has been teasing some stuff on their socials and theres been some chatter over on reddit about possible new hardware coming before end of year. i dont know how much of it is legit vs just speculation but the renders someone posted looked pretty interesting if real. the sensor size rumored is supposedly competitive with the mini 4 pro which would be a big deal given Autels track record of being slightly behind on image quality.

i know Autel kind of has a reputation as the brand you buy if you want to avoid the DJI ecosystem for whatever reason, usually export control concerns or just not wanting everything going through DJI servers. but if they actually close the gap on camera performance i think theyd be worth a serious look. anyone been following this more closely than me or have better info on whats actually coming

yeah ive been loosely watching this too. Autel has been on a weird trajectory, like the EVO Nano and Lite generation were decent but never quite felt finished? the obstacle avoidance on the Lite plus was pretty underwhelming compared to what DJI had at the same price. if they actually got their act together on the sensor and the flight controller software is cleaner this time around it could be interesting.

the DJI avoidance thing is real for some people too, i have a friend who does contract work for certain clients who flat out wont allow DJI on site anymore. so the market for a genuinely competitive alternative is definitely there its just that Autel hasnt fully delivered yet imo

renders on reddit lol. ill believe it when i see actual units shipping. no offense but every year theres some hype cycle about a DJI killer and it never really pans out the same way. Skydio tried it in the consumer space and kind of pulled back, Autel has been trying for years. the ecosystem lock-in with DJI is just so strong at this point its hard to compete even with good hardware