GoPro Karma Vs DJI Mavic Pro

The global drone market (also referred to as an unmanned aerial vehicle or UAV) is forecasted to eclipse $21B by 2022 representing a 20% uptick from 2016 according to market research company, Markets and Markets. While a great portion of this market is attributed to military or defense drones, the consumer drone industry is set to increase over 400% in the next five years due to technological advancements making drone flight manageable for beginners and increasing competition between top drone makers (Business Insider).

American camera maker GoPro recently unveiled its first drone, Karma, entering a burgeoning UAV industry and providing GoPro owners and enthusiasts a dedicated craft for flying their compatible GoPro cameras (sold separately from the Karma drone). Not to be outdone, leading drone manufacturer, DJI (short for Dai-Jiang Innovation), promptly broke news of its latest pocket-sized drone, the Mavic Pro, lending itself to numerous direct comparisons and discussions between the two from aficionados, aerial photographers, videographers, and content creators.

While the top speeds of both GoPro and DJI’s new drones (35 mph and 40 mph, respectively) are well within the new FAA rules “Part 107” recently released on June 21, 2016 for small unmanned aircrafts, both drones represent significant advancements in commercial drone technology particularly in portability, size, and maneuverability. As drones become increasingly popular and accessible in both price and portability, aerial footage (both drones feature live streaming capabilities) may begin to saturate photo and video media raising the bar for both content creation and audience expectations.

Beyond very notable size differences, each drone showcases a variety of new technological features. DJI’s Mavic Pro boasts the ability to be controlled and piloted through a user’s smartphone device with a number of auto-sensory features including obstacle avoidance and user follow automation. GoPro’s Karma features a removable gimbal and cloud-storage service (with GoPro’s new Plus monthly subscription) in addition to the camera brand’s suite of editing tools and apps.

To help consumers discern the salient differences between DJI’s Mavic Pro and GoPro’s Karma drone, influencer marketing company Mediakix shares the following infographic that breaks down each UAV over 20 primary categories ranging from basic specifications to camera capabilities to model pricing and availability dates.