Here's why you never saw the DJI Avata 360 coming...

This leaked image of the DJI Avata 360 – as we're being told it is called – could easily be mistaken for any DJI Avata or perhaps just the DJI Neo (depending on how trained the eye in question is). Regular DJI tipster Igor Bogdanov, however, is absolutely convinced of the name, and it was him who posted the image...

Since then, of course, others have been in on the action with boxes and all sorts, but Bogdanov, who posts as Quadro_News, is a relatively trustworthy source, and what his posts and others he has linked to have done is explain why we've seen leaks of this drone before, but not necessarily thought "Ah, that must be DJI's answer to the new Antigravity A1 360-degree drone."

While the A1 uses a nearly fixed 360-degree camera system (it is on a dampened unit to cushion vibrations), it appears DJI has opted to place a camera system on a version of the 1-axis gimbal, so that one of the lenses of the camera can be pointed forwards for relatively normal operation, or the block can be rotated 90-degrees to reveal a second fish-eye lens, which, combined with the first lens, captures a full 360-degree sphere.

That design means that, if seen when a lens is facing forward, it doesn't appear to be very '360' to an observer. It also serves the same lens-protecting job that Antigravity's motorized landing legs achieve – protecting the glass.

Some leaks, then, of this drone existed, but didn't excite the interest they should have, because everyone thought it was relatively 'normal'.

(We don't know for sure, by the way – this is not a released or an announced product. But this image has been circulated by two reliable sources. We can assume, too, that it would operate in an FPV way using the FPV sphere or offer manual tilting of the one camera, but that is only a guess.)

When the Antigravity A1 takes off, it retracts its landing legs to afford the lower lens a full view. DJI's design could do this and only have a motor in the gimbal, also keeping weight under control.

This might (we can't be sure from a leaked image and guessed name) mean that the drone could be sold in the same way that the current DJI Avata 2 drone is, without all the components at once. Antigravity has to sell goggles and a controller with its A1 drone, pushing the price higher than some had hoped – whether this represents good value is discussed in our Antigravity A1 review.

DJI, by contrast, has kept many bundle prices artificially low by separating devices into individual parts. This, at least, keeps the first price many see more appealing, as well as making the drone replaceable, sensible for an FPV drone. (This category is often flown fast, and is vulnerable to an accident.)

Clearly, the company can replicate this with a possible 'Avata 360'. and perhaps the circulating retail box (showing existing DJI Goggles 3 and DJI Motion controller are real), which may also mean some DJI fans will be equipped already and actually have a cheaper route in.

Skimming through the other rumor posts, we see several repetitions of 8K (hardly a shock with 360 cameras), some suggesting 8K at 50fps which would be interesting. There is also the suggestion of forward LiDAR. These last stats were circulated by ChinaBiz Insider and their suggested launch date has already come and gone, so remember all these things still come with a little wishful thinking from most posters!