It’s been a tumultuous year for DJI, so is the world’s biggest drone maker still the best in its flying camera field?
DJI has soared high above most other drone makers in the past few years, but there’s no doubt it’s hit some turbulence recently. With the pandemic keeping most of us indoors and the US adding the company to its ‘Entity List’ at the end of 2020, it’s been a challenging year for the drone king. So is it still a good time to buy a DJI drone? There are a few things to consider before answering that question, and we’ve covered them all in our guide below. Beyond DJI’s political difficulties in the US, there are the added factors of increased competition from the likes of Autel and Skydio, plus recent changes to DJI’s own range in the form of new models. This means that deciding whether or not to buy a DJI drone will very much depend on your budget and the type of images or video you’re looking to shoot. But whether you’re looking for your first drone or wondering whether it’s still worth considering more advanced models like the DJI Phantom 4 Pro V2.0, our guide will help you reach the right decision. DJI recently faced resistance in the United States from the US Department of Commerce. On 18 December 2020, the company was included on the US ‘Entity List’ with other Chinese companies like Huawei, which was added to the list in 2019. This trade blacklist doesn’t mean that DJI is banned from selling drones in the US. It simply means that DJI is currently restricted from accessing US technologies and components. While this could well impact product development and access to supply chains in the long term, right now the decision has no direct impact on US drone buyers. DJI products are still available to be bought, sold and used in the US. So, why has DJI been included on the entity list? The US government didn’t specifically say why DJI had been included, but it did reveal why four companies (including DJI) had been blacklisted. These reasons included «facilitating the export of items by China that aid repressive regimes around the world”, and «enabling wide-scale human rights abuses within China through abusive genetic collection and analysis or high-technology surveillance». Of course, DJI refuted these allegations and there’s no evidence that DJI drones have either been involved in these activities or ever used malicious code. In June 2021, the Pentagon also cleared two DJI models for use, saying that they were «recommended for use by government entities and forces working with US services». As things stand, then, we’re still very happy to recommend DJI drones to our US-based readers. This could change in the future if the US government takes an even tougher stance against Chinese technology companies. But as the recent Pentagon report shows, this seems unlikely – and despite the incident, DJI remains by far most popular drone brand in the US with a relatively unchanged 76.1% market share, according to analysts Drone Industry Insights. Over the past year, DJI has released several drones that cater to the needs of most people – so while there are a few exceptions (which we’ll go into below), it is certainly a good time to buy a DJI drone.
