Responding to a DRONELIFE story on the recent price reduction of the Phantom 3 one reader commented that “Phantoms are the next iPhone. You will never be able to stay up-to-date. A newer version will always be on the horizon. ”
Is this reader correct? He certainly appears to be on the mark! We compared the release history of iPhone models with the release history of DJI Phantom models. As we have suggested before, DJI wants to be Apple (don’t we all). In fact, DJI founder and CEO Frank Wang told the Wall Street Journal that Steve Jobs was his role model. If you read interviews with Wang, the influences of Jobs are apparent.
So how DO the model release schedules compare? Since its initial release in 2007, Apple has introduced seven models of iPhone (not counting the “s” releases). Apple has averaged a new model introduction every 15 months.
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Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPhone
DJI has introduced three models (excluding the FC40 and the Phantom 2 Vision lines and the Inspire family) since its original Phantom launch in 2013. If we assume that this recent Phantom 3 price reduction is indicative of a new model introduction in the next few months, DJI has averaged a new model introduction every 10 months, outpacing Apple.
- Phantom 1 – January 2013
- Phantom 2 – December 2013
- Phantom 3 – April 2015
- Phantom 4 – April 2016 (That’s a guess!)
So watch out current Phantom owners, as DJI is fast to make you envious of the latest and greatest Phantom model. Don’t blink because you may miss the Phantom 5 or 6.
Alan is serial entrepreneur, active angel investor, and a drone enthusiast. He co-founded DRONELIFE.com to address the emerging commercial market for drones and drone technology. Prior to DRONELIFE.com, Alan co-founded Where.com, ThinkingScreen Media, and Nurse.com. Recently, Alan has co-founded Crowditz.com, a leader in Equity Crowdfunding Data, Analytics, and Insights. Alan can be reached at alan(at)dronelife.com
As we have suggested before, DJI wants to be Apple (don’t we all). In fact, DJI founder and CEO Frank Wang told the Wall Street Journal that Steve Jobs was his role model. Where did you get this information?
http://blogs.wsj.com/corporate-intelligence/2014/11/10/qa-chinese-drone-founder-explains-why-steve-jobs-is-his-role-model/