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The Phantom boasts an iconic, instantly recognizable design that marked DJI's foray into the consumer drone business back at the start of 2013. Since then, the product line has been upgraded 4 times. The DJI Phantom 4 series became especially popular with the commercial drone operator sector when the Pro line was introduced in November 2016. The camera has a 1" 20MP CMOS sensor plus 4K/60p video, along with 5 directional obstacle sensing and 4 directional obstacle avoidance – amongst other upgrades.
The Phantom 4 Pro V2.0 was introduced in May 2018. There isn't much difference from the previous model in the Phantom 4 series except for the addition of an OcuSync transmission system and low-noise propellers. When all versions of the Phantom 4 series were sold out, some for over half a year at the time, the company made an unfortunate announcement. ‘Due to a shortage of parts from a supplier, DJI is unable to manufacture more Phantom 4 Pro V2.0 drones until further notice. We apologize for any inconvenience this might cause and recommend our customers explore DJI’s Mavic series drones as an alternative solution to serve their needs,’ read an official statement from DJI last April.
In a statement to DPReview regarding the re-launch, Patrick Santucci of DJI said:
'DJI is excited to announce that the Phantom 4 Pro V2.0 will again be available for purchase on January 6, 2020. This popular and versatile drone had been temporarily out of stock because of a shortage of parts from a supplier. DJI sets high standards for the extremely advanced components in our products, which require advanced lead time and technical precision to manufacture. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused our customers, and we thank them for their patience as we ensure the Phantom 4 Pro V2.0 will continue to meet their high expectations.'
Much of DJI's efforts over the past 18+ months have been focused on the Mavic series – from the Mavic 2 line to the sub-250-gram Mini. A Mavic 3 is rumored to be released in the coming months. This is why it came as a shock that DJI announced the return of its Phantom 4 Pro V2.0 drone earlier this week. Some enthusiasts have taken to the drone forums to predict a forthcoming Phantom 5 successor, despite rumors being all but dismissed at the same time the V2.0 was initially discontinued.