DJI brings back the Phantom drone, a year after it vanished from stores

In November 2018, DJI claimed that a “parts shortage” had left the Chinese drone company without the ability to produce its Phantom 4 Pro. By April, the company’s entire iconic Phantom lineup had mysteriously vanished from shelves. But 14 months after the company’s flagship drone went AWOL, it’s back on sale this month.

DJI told DPReview that the parts shortage is now over and the Phantom 4 Pro V2.0 is now back on sale as of January 6th — and sure enough, we’re seeing it in stock at DJI’s own official store, B&H, BuyDig, and Amazon (via Beach Camera) for $1,729. Yes, that’s more expensive than the $1,499 it originally cost in 2018, and you have Trump’s tariffs to blame.

Does it actually make sense to buy the somewhat quieter, lower-latency 2018 revamp of the late-2016 pro model of this early 2016 drone? Perhaps: its 1-inch sensor, variable aperture, and 30-minute flight time are still a potent combination, even if the Mavic 2 Pro can fold down and has a couple other tricks up its sleeves. But after seeing some intriguing new directions for drones at CES like the Falcon bicopter and Autel’s EVO II spec-beast, not to mention the Skydio 2 autonomy, it might make sense for would-be drone pros and tech enthusiasts to keep on waiting.