DJI Air 3S dual-camera drone upgrades to a 1-inch sensor and LiDAR

DJI has announced the DJI Air 3S ($1,099+). While a minor refresh of the DJI Air 3 ($1,099), the Air 3S does come with one significant improvement. The 1/1.3-inch sensor in the main camera of the Air 3 has been replaced by a 1-inch sensor in the new Air 3S.

The new 1-inch sensor bumps the resolution slightly from 48MP to 50MP and adds a new panoramic mode. The DJI Air 3S also sees a few other upgrades, including adding LiDAR to its obstacle avoidance sensor array and 42GB of internal storage.

DJI Air 3S – 1-inch sensor and LiDAR

The DJI Air 3S is an incremental update over the DJI Air 3, so for many users, there won’t be much point in upgrading, especially given the hit you’ll take selling your DJI Air 3 on the used market. For new users, though, jumping up from <250g drones, it’s a very attractive new option.

Both the DJI Air 3 and the DJI Air 3S features a 24mm equivalent focal length main camera and a “3x telephoto” (about a 72mm equivalent) camera. In the DJI Air 3, both of these cameras featured 1/1.3-inch sensors. The telephoto lens on the Air 3S still uses a 1/1.3″ sensor, but the 24mm wide camera has been upgraded to a 1-inch sensor.

This brings a slight resolution bump, up to 50 megapixels, but also potentially offers sharper images and better low-light performance. That low-light performance is helped by the addition of a LiDAR sensor to the drone’s obstacle avoidance sensor array. This is actually the first DJI drone to feature front-facing LiDAR.

42GB Internal Storage

I did have to laugh a little at one point reading the press release. The internal storage of the DJI Air 3S has been upgraded to 42GB. This is a significant, and very welcome, increase to the 8GB storage of the Air 3. The bit that made me laugh, though, was that DJI says that they’re “setting a new standard” with this.

This isn’t exactly true, as the HoverAir X1 Pro Max – review coming soon – features 64GB of internal storage, as well as a microSD card slot. So, DJI isn’t really setting a standard here at all with only 42GB. Still, 42GB of internal storage is very nice to have in a drone like this for when you forget your card.

The DJI Air 3S boasts up to 45 minutes of flight time per battery. This, too, is a specification that’s usually fudged on drone manufacturer websites. It may very well get 45 minutes in a perfectly calm lab environment, but it’ll drop in the real world, where it has to battle the elements – and a human operator.

You’re also not going to run it until it’s completely flat in the real world, either. You need some juice to fly the drone back to you and land safely.

For existing DJI Air 3 owners, it’s probably not worth the upgrade unless you feel the difference in main camera sensor is beneficial to you. But for new users looking to buy their first drone… Unless there’s a huge discount clearout on the Air 3, you’re probably better off going for the Air 3S.

Price and Availability

The DJI Air 3S is available to buy now, directly from DJI. The base model, including the DJI RC-N3 controller, costs $1,099. The Fly More kits cost $1,399 and $1,599, depending on whether you want the RC-N3 or RC 2 controller, respectively.

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