Why You Can Trust CNET Take to the skies aboard a DJI Mavic Mini drone for $287 (Update: Sold out)
DJI's smallest and lightest drone is easy to fly, shoots 2.7K video, doesn't need FAA registration, and is now 28% off its usual price.
Drones are great for taking airborne selfies and shooting vacation videos, but you don't want one that's too big -- they are often complicated, expensive and fraught with FAA rules. Tiny toy-class drones have their own shortcomings. The new DJI Mavic Mini, though, is just right. It's nimble in the air and easy to handle, and it's equipped with a beefy 2.7K Quad HD camera. Usually priced at just-a-little-too-pricey $400, right now you can pick up the DJI Mavic Minifor $287. But to get this deal, you need to put the Mavic Mini in your shopping cart, and add two Kyocera Standard Battery Doors. When you get to Verizon's checkout page, you should see that the price has dropped top $287.
If you have any trouble, be sure you've added the Kyocera battery door to your cart twice. Why? Who knows. Verizon clearly wants to get rid of these things.
The Mavic Mini is brand new, not a refurb, and should come in its regular retail packaging. And $287 is a great deal -- the drone only arrived at retail in the fall, and in our review of the Mavic Mini, CNET editor Joshua Goldman was impressed with how easy it was to fly, as well as the battery life -- a full 30 minutes, when 15 to 20 minutes is more typical of drones this size. It's also remarkably quiet; Joshua says, "I was standing within a few feet of it having a conversation without shouting or having problems hearing."
Unfortunately, the Mavic Mini doesn't have any collision-avoidance sensors on board, but its light weight means that it can survive accidents that larger and heavier drones might find fatal.
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