In 2019, DJI claimed that it will not discontinue the Phantom, its iconic series of drones that propelled the Chinese business to its current status. Nonetheless, DJI has recently announced the end of life for its final two Phantom drones, the DJI Phantom 4 Pro and Phantom 4 Advanced, with no new Phantom models in sight.
According to a support page, DJI manufactured its final Phantom in May 2018, and will now discontinue service for its final two Phantom models on June 1st, 2025. Seven-plus years of support is a pretty good run.
While DJI was not the first manufacturer of off-the-shelf flying quadcopter cameras — the first drone was released in 2013, while Parrot’s AR Drone was available in 2010 — the drone was one of the first ready-to-fly models extensively adopted by both consumers and video production professionals. Other firms manufactured numerous Phantom clones and copycat toys, and the Phantom’s distinctive pillow-and-legs design quickly became an instantly identifiable emblem for “drone.” I seen it on posters prohibiting drones in public parks, for example.
But DJI doesn’t appear to require the Phantom brand anymore. Most of its drones are now more rectangular in shape, with fold-down legs for portability, and it has several additional brands to continue that torch, ranging from the high-end Inspire to the Mavic, Air, Mini, and the new entry-level Flip series.
DJI appears to concur that these are the reasons the Phantom is no longer. A day after we published this report, DJI spokesperson Daisy Kong issued the following statement:
DJI launched the first generation of the Phantom drone in 2012, which was the first ready-to-fly camera drone available on the market. The DJI Phantom series changed the game for aerial photography and propelled DJI to become the innovative global technology company it is today.
As our R&D has evolved over the last 13 years, we continue to push the boundaries of drone technology, including exploring new form factors to make consumer drones more compact. Therefore, we have decided that, starting June 1, we will no longer provide service for the Phantom 4 Pro and Phantom 4 Advanced. We thank all the early adopters for their support as they participated in our journey of revolutionizing ready-to-fly camera drone solutions.
According to significant leaks from the usual suspects (Jasper Ellens, OsitaLV), a new Mavic 4 Pro and Mini 5 are on their way.
