DJI’s 8K Avata 360 drone is here — but there’s a strange catch for US buyers

DJI Avata 360 in the hands of Adam Juniper.

The new DJI Avata 360 drone was authorized for sale in the USA late last year, so is not impacted by the ban on new DJI drones. However, the highly-antiipated drone will still not launch for sale on the DJI official USA store despite being launched around the world today.

There are some rumors of a future release date in the USA – DroneDJ is suggesting that there could be release date as soon as March 30 – but I put this to DJI and the company did not confirm this. Nonetheless prices on the Avata 2 have fallen in the US.

It is likely, too, that unofficial channels will emerge – US-based camera retailer B&H already has a link for the new drone listing it as 'coming soon'.

The new DJI Avata 360 is DJI's first drone (and only the world's second) with an 8K 360-degree camera system, meaning it can essentially see the entire world around it – a sphere – and that information can be digitally manipulated after the flight for multiple creative possibilities.

👨🏻‍🔬 Read my full review Avata 360 with sample videos and images

The drone uses dual 1/1.1-inch (or "effective 1-inch" as DJI puts it) image sensors, boasting 2.4 μm pixels (relatively big, helping the drone capture detail in low light)., and can capture video at 60fps in HDR.

DJI Avata 360 (Image credit: Future)

The drone features the ability to fly with traditional controllers or FPV goggles, and a AI subject tracking feature called 'Spotlight Free' – likened to an alternative to the 5-figure priced Inspire 3, but the virtual gimbal means it can be done after the flight.

Video can be edited in both the DJI Fly (phone) and DJI Studio (computer) app, and it is surprisingly sophisticated.

The drone also boasts 42GB (enough for about 30 minutes of 8K 60fps 360 video), as well as a MicroSD card slot.

Since the drone isn't (yet) officially on sale in the USA, there are no prices in dollars, but it is available for prices from £409 / AU$799 (about $550) for just the drone, through £639 / AU$1159 (about $855) with the DJI RC2 controller, to a Fly More Combo for £829 / AU$1619 (about $1110) – making it very competitive in this new category.