The Osmo Mobile 3 is DJI's new folding gimbal for your smartphone

DJI’s last two iterations of Osmo Mobile handheld gimbal for smartphones have been pretty popular. But like most smartphone gimbals, they can be a bit big when not in use, not that easy to transport. So, for the new Osmo Mobile 3 announced today (nope, it wasn’t a drone announcement), DJI has gone foldable. As well as being physically smaller than the Osmo Mobile 2, the price is a little smaller, too, at only $119 for the basic package.

The Osmo Mobile 3 is clearly designed to be small when not in use so that you can take it out with you more often and use it in more places. DJI says they “went back to the drawing board with the goal of creating a portable yet intuitive product that uses the latest DJI technology”. I don’t know if it’ll fit in your pocket, but it at least packs up small for fitting in a bag without flopping around all over the place.

Compatible Phones: Weight ~200g, Max thickness 9.5mm, Width: 62-88mm
Battery: 2450mAh 18650 Lithium-ion
Battery life: 15 hours
Charge time: 2.5 hours
Pan range: -162.5° to 170.3°
Tilt range: -104.5° to 235.7°
Roll range: -85.1° to 252.2°
Max controllable speed: 120°/s
Wireless connectivity: Bluetooth LE5
Dimensions unfolded: 285 x 125 x 103mm
Dimensions folded: 157 x 130 x 46mm
Weight: 405g

When unfolded, it has the usual comfortable grip and DJI says you’ll get 15 hours of use out of the battery before it needs a charge. It features zoom control, talks to your phone, understands gestures, a new Story Mode, Sport Mode similar to the DJI Ronin, ActiveTrack 3.0, Timelapse, Motionlapse and Hyperlapse, Panorama and Slow Motion modes.

The “Story Mode” sounds interesting and maybe it’s just the way it’s pitched, but possibly not aimed towards more serious mobile content creators…

Story Mode – Bring creative editing to your video with a host of preset music, video transitions, and filters. Choose one of 13 fun templates and Mimo will handle the camera movement for you. After shooting, Mimo automatically generates your very own professionally edited short video, ready to be shared.

If it works well, though, it might be good for short social media videos.

The Osmo Mobile 3 also includes DJI’s new ActiveTrack 3.0. It’s designed to help capture sequences that have fast movement. Just select a subject on your screen and start tracking. It uses “deep learning and computer vision algorithms” which DJI says provides smooth and reliable tracking.

One feature that may be particularly useful is Hyperlapse. Combined with ActiveTrack 3.0, this can potentially make for some very smooth tracked moving sequences. Timelapse and panorama modes can also be very handy in a gimbal stabiliser. And given that this is from DJI, those features should actually work. The Osmo Mobile 3 talks to your phone with the DJI Mimo app, available for Apple and Android.

The Osmo Mobile 3 also features a Sport Mode similar to that found within the DJI Ronin gimbals for larger cameras. It also offers other neat features like a Dolly Zoom. Yes, that’s right, it talks to your phone while you move to zoom the camera to be able to give your shots that Hitchcock Zoom. Use sparingly. It loses its effect if you use it on every single shot you make!

The DJI Osmo Mobile 3 is available to buy now starting at $119.